Driving a semi-truck in snow and ice can be a daunting and dangerous task. Having lived within a few miles of Lake Superior most of my life, I know a bit about driving in snow and ice. Here are 12 things from my experience that will help you safely operate your truck in winter conditions.
1. Increase Your Following Distance
When the roads are slick, it will take you much longer to stop. Increasing your following distance will give you more room to stop and more time to react to emergency situations that may happen in front of you.
2. Don’t Travel in a Pack
Avoid traveling in packs of traffic. Staying away from other vehicles will help you to manage the space around your rig much better, giving you a better chance of recovery if you start to spin or slide.
It also helps keep you out of the spray or snow cloud created by other vehicles, improving your visibility.
Most importantly, it will keep you away from other drivers who may lack winter driving skills or be operating a vehicle that is not well suited to the conditions.
3. Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Lowering your speed in poor weather gives you much more time to react to emergencies and reduces your stopping distance.
This one isn’t just about your traveling speed, though. You need to slow down everything. Your steering inputs, acceleration, and braking must be slower and done with a lighter touch. There is much less available traction in snow or ice, and you need to be very careful to maintain what traction you can find. If your tires lose traction, you lose control.
4. Watch out for Black Ice
Black ice is extremely dangerous and can be hard to spot. However there are a few things to look for that might tell you if the roads are icy.
If the road has a shine to it, even if it does not look wet, there is a good chance that ice has begun to form. This shine can be dull or glossy. Ether one can be an indicator that the conditions are icy.
If the road looks wet or glassy, but you do not see spray from other traffic, the road is likely to have ice on it. You can also listen to your tires if no other traffic is around. A slight ripping sound means the road is wet. If they are running quietly, you are driving on ice and need to slow way down.
Remember, black ice can form even if it’s not raining or snowing. Even the exhaust of passing traffic can provide enough moisture to ice up the road surface on very cold days. This is especially common in urban areas.
5. Be Wary of Bridges
Bridges and overpasses present several concerns. Bridge decks often freeze before the rest of the road surface, especially when the ground is still warm but the air temperature is below freezing. The road may only be wet, but the bridge deck might be covered in ice.
Another issue with bridge decks can occur even if there has not been precipitation for days. Many bridges have a bump where the regular road surface transitions into the bridge. This bump will not only slightly unsettle your vehicle but can also knock chunks of ice and snow off of passing traffic which can cause an icy patch on or near the bridge.
Even passing under an overpass is something to be wary of. Snow and ice can melt from the bridge deck above, drip down onto the road, and refreeze, causing an icy spot.
6. Temperature Matters
Temperature matters a lot when it comes to snow. Snow acts much differently at 28 degrees than it does at 0 degrees.
The warmer it is, the wetter the snow will be, and wet snow quickly packs down to very slick ice. When it is colder, the snow will have less moisture and can offer a bit of traction.
In colder conditions, it is also easier to keep your windshield clear. The trick is to turn off your defroster and move the heater to your floor vents with it on a low setting. Keeping the cabin cooler and the defrost off keeps the windshield cold allowing dry snow to bounce off instead of melting and sticking.
If the temperature rapidly drops during or after a storm you can also expect ice to form.
7. Weight is Your Friend
The heavier you are loaded, the more traction and stability you will have. In addition, you should consider sliding your tandems as far back as you legally can and keeping your fuel tanks full. This will maximize the weight on your drive tires, giving you the best traction and stability.
Full fuel tanks have the added benefit of ensuring you have plenty of fuel to keep warm should bad weather leave you stranded for a few days.
8. Use the Top of the Gear When Possible
If your truck has a manual transmission or an automatic transmission that allows you to manually select gears using the top of the rev range will help prevent spinning out. Even if you spin out, you can let off the throttle for a moment and ease back on it once you have caught traction without needing to downshift to a lower gear.
9. Avoid Using the Engine Brake
Using the Jake brakes or other engine braking systems should be avoided in inclement weather. They are an excellent tool for reducing brake wear and safely descending large hills when the roads are dry, but they can be dangerous in slick conditions.
When in operation, they only supply braking power to the drive wheels, which can cause a skid due to less available braking traction. It is much safer to use the service brakes, which will spread out the braking force over all of your available axles.
10. Use the Rumble Strip
When snow and ice are packed down in the travel lanes and you are having issues getting traction, you can often find some traction by riding the rumble strip or moving over to an area of unmolested snow that has not been packed down. Moving out of the packed-down groove can help you to arrive at your destination safely.
11. Carry Tire Chains
In some states, having them on board during the winter is a legal requirement. But even if you do not run those states, carrying a set of tire chains and knowing how to use them can get you out of a jam.
I am not advocating for chaining up and trucking through the storm. If it’s bad enough to need chains, even though I know how to use them, I will park it. However, that set of chains might be the difference between being stranded on the highway and making it safely to a nice comfortable truck stop to wait out the storm.
12. Don’t Overdrive Your Skill Set
Not everyone has the same skill and experience level. Avoid speeding up just because other trucks are going faster. They might have more experience, skill, or a heavier load than you, so they can safely go faster. It’s also very possible that they are overconfident or an idiot, and you will see them twisted up in the ditch a mile up the road.
Drive your own drive and do what it takes to get the job done safely so you can return home to your loved ones. If you don’t feel it’s safe to continue, park it. That is always your call, no matter what dispatch says. Parking it when it’s unsafe to continue means you can live to truck another day.
This article was originally posted on truckingmentor.com. If it is now posted on any other site, it was done without permission from the copyright owner.