Quebec’s first big snow storm is bound to hit the province soon. This will be signal that cold weather, snow and ice has arrived in the province. In such conditions, driving your car on snow and ice is inevitable and you must be prepared adequately to face these obstacles on the road. In this article, we will tell you about 3 things you must do to prepare for Quebec winter driving.
- Adapt your driving style to winter road conditions
Driving on dry paved roads during the summer is easy. Indeed, you can drive following the speed limits without worrying about skidding off the road. It’s a totally different story in winter however.
In winter, you have to manage the presence of ice, snow and slush on a regular basis and you cannot just drive the same way as you do in summer. Long braking distances and slippery roads are just some of the reasons why you should slow down and be more careful when driving in winter. If you do not adapt your driving style, you might destroy your car or worse, hurt yourself or others in an accident that was preventable.
- Install excellent winter tires on your vehicle
The cost of living is becoming more and more expensive every year and as a consumer, you are probably looking to reduce your expenses, which is quite understandable. However, if there is one thing that you should not cut in your expenses this year, it is on high quality winter tires.
Indeed, in order to be more effective at keeping you on the road, your winter tires must be of very good quality. Low cost tires will simply not be safe enough for the whole winter. In short, you can search for bargains to lower your expenses, but not the quality of the winter tires that you buy.
- Prepare an emergency kit for your car
Even if you try to follow the two previous points as much as you can, accidents can still occur. In most cases, you can call emergency services quickly using your cell phone. However, it is always possible that you end up in a predicament in a hard to reach area without cellular signal. If such a thing happens, you may have to wait a while before being rescued and an emergency kit will help make the wait easier.
To help you build your emergency kit, we have compiled a list of what should be there. Here it is :
- Warm clothes like a hat, boots, gloves, mittens and a scarf.
- A reserve of antifreeze and windshield washer.
- A sandbag.
- Adhesion plates.
- A snow brush.
- A scraper.
- A shovel.
- Some water bottles.
- Non-perishable, nutritious foods.
- Cotton gloves.
- A reflective bib
- A candle and matches.
- A flashlight with extra batteries.
- A warm blanket or survival.
- A fire extinguisher.
- Booster cables.
- A light device such as flares or sticks.
- A fluorescent triangle road signs.
- Hazard lights.
- A first aid kit.
This is what ends our article on the 3 things you must do to prepare for winter driving in Quebec. As you prepare according to what we mentioned it, you should be able to deal with all hazardous situations that winter may submit in the coming months. Drive carefully!
