Driving In Winter Conditions

Winter driving creates a number of hazards. Here are some tips for safer winter driving. We will be adding more over time.

Slides / Skids

Here is a good video on how to correct slides / skids on icy roads:

Traction In Winter

There are a variety of tire chains available for cars, pickups and SUVs from various manufacturers. Here are some videos demonstrating tire chain installation.

This B.C. Ministry of Transportation video shows putting tire chains on a SUV. The chains have cam tighteners, a very useful feature. But at 3:06 of the video it seems to suggest that chains with cam tighteners don’t need bungee cords. If that is, in fact, the message, we disagree; cam tighteners are not a stand alone alternative to bungee cords. If you have chains with cam tighteners, use bungee cords AND cam tighteners.

This video is from a British manufacturer. Note that we have not tried this design.

This video is about installing traction cables. It is done in a dry, heated garage on a dry concrete floor. It’s not so easy when you doing this outside in real winter conditions:

This video shows a variety of products being marketed as alternatives to tire chains. Note that we have not tried any of these products so we cannot comment on their effectiveness.