Staying Safe in Your Toyota This Winter

You know that Toyota is top of the line when it comes to the best safety features on the market, but that doesn’t mean you ever want to put those safety features to the test in a serious accident. Wintertime is prime accident season, with ice and snow on the roads making the conditions less than ideal for even the most cautious of drivers, and the cold can actually cause more problems with the cars themselves, making them less safe to drive. Follow these driving tips this holiday season and get home safely in your Toyota car, even in the worst of snowstorms.

Check Before You Start

Before you start driving, make sure you’ve fully cleared your windshield, your rear window, your mirrors, all of your side windows, and your hood and roof of ice and snow. Even though most people just pay attention to their windshield visibility, this can be one of the reasons for major accidents. When all your windows are clear, you have full 360 visibility. Only being able to see in front of you means you might not see that car in your rearview has lost control until it’s too late to get out of his way.

Start the engine and sit tight in the car for a moment listening to the sound. If you hear any rattles or hesitations in that steady rumble, you might have a problem with your engine – and you don’t want to find out for sure in the middle of a patch of ice. Call your mechanic if you’re not certain and have him check it out.

Be a Grandma Driver

Everyone hates driving behind older people because they drive so slowly. They’re actually some of the safest drivers on the road, and they get into the fewest accidents. Most of the elderly learned to drive back when going 40 miles an hour was pretty unbelievable, and they’re well aware that they can get into serious trouble in an accident at that speed. Cars are now of course much safer – but winter weather conditions bring the safety level back down again.

So take a cue from grandma and drive 10 miles below the speed limit if road conditions are lousy. Stay in the right lane so others who are feeling more reckless about their safety can pass you easily, but don’t feel like you need to catch up. For most about-town driving, there’s no way you’ll get to your destination more than about two minutes faster if you speed. No one ever got into trouble for being two minutes late. Slow it down and get there safely.

Be Wary of Strangers

In good conditions, you’re only worried about your own driving, because you trust that all other drivers will obey the rules of the road. In winter, it’s far better to assume they won’t – not because they’ve suddenly become bad drivers as the seasons changed, but because road conditions make it impossible for them to obey even when they want to. Drivers who are inexperienced with snow conditions might not realize they need to brake earlier and that they can’t slam on the brakes as they do in good weather – and that means they could skate right through a solid red light without meaning to.

Assume the worst and keep a sharp eye on other drivers. Your  vigilance could be the difference between getting out of that red light runner’s way or being the one he plows into.S