How to Drive in Winter

Driving on snow and ice is probably the toughest challenge faced by motorists, and one for which conventional Driver's Education courses leave them woefully unprepared. Join us in taking an in-depth look at winter driving, covering the skills and attitude necessary to get through whatever Mother Nature sends our way this winter season.

Produced by: Team O'Neil 
Supported by: 
Ford Performance
Optima Batteries
Hawk Performance Brakes
Koni Shocks
Monster Energy
AMSOIL
Yokohama Tires

[badcompany]

Instructions unclear, dad's car is stuck in a ditch

[GeoffMartin]

You had me at "There no such thing as a car accident" :-) Thanks for saying it loud and upfront.

[robby]

Gotta give my guy credit and a round of applause for standing in that cold snow that long talking to us👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[fomosmith]

I love winter driving. I will always take the long way to/from work when the roads are snow covered.

[Adamitude]

I live in GA. My buddy and I are huge fans of the band, "Avenged Sevenfold".
We purchased concert tickets to go see them in Nashville, TN. The concert was in January, very cold conditions.


The drive was absolutely gorgeous. We drove through the most beautiful and magical winter scenery.
I remember very vividly the first initial moment we hit ice on the interstate.


Out of nowhere, people in front of us starting skidding, right before it was my turn.
The nose of my vehicle pointed hard to the right. At that moment I realized this is how regular every day people die.
I cautiously applied my raw instinct and countered the sliding with smooth, but quick action- putting us right where we should be, while managing to avoid surrounding vehicles.


I thank Dirt Rally and my racing wheel for training me for such an event. I don't know if I would've recovered so easily without them.
At the time I was a lot younger, I drove a 4 cylinder 2wd pickup. I am much more skilled at driving nowadays. I now drive a v6 stick with 4x4. WAY more fun.


My biggest fear now is not myself, but the surrounding drivers.
I drive fast, but I always make my intentions clear and drive in a manner that doesn't disturb or put others at risk.
I am very cautious and always gauge the hell out of surrounding drivers. Predicting other's poor decisions has saved my ass on several occasions.


Get off your phone. Be considerate of others and you will start noticing when people are considerate to you.
Always ask yourself "How can I improve the flow of traffic and also get where I need to go?"
Everybody wins when you drive with common sense.

[veuri]

Driving in Canada for 25 years. This is my first winter in a Subaru with winter tires... Damn they are good cars!

[Chimera]

I have found traction control to be unhelpful in the snow sometimes, it just bogs out the car when you start sliding and sometimes you don't want that
but man, snow drifting is so fun, so effortless. With my car (low hp) you gotta flick it really hard to get it sideways on tarmac, but in the snow the slightest touch of the gas or a light clutch kick will do it. it's almost like everything is in slow motion
that is- until you hit a mailbox

[ThomasShelby-qbic]

Team O. Neil school should he mandatory

[cachetheline]

A great point I think also worth mentioning is to be aware of OTHER DRIVERS.
You could be the best driver in the world, but then an awful driver comes up on you unprepared and if you're not paying attention you could still have to deal with the consequences.
Even as little as watching in the rear view as you approach a stop light for someone coming up too fast for comfort...

[ZakWilson]

Last winter, I successfully recovered from an unplanned 80 MPH 6-wheel drift in a 1-ton van pulling a trailer on black ice. It took several oscillations to regain control, and the pendulum effect of a sliding trailer meant I had to countersteer *before* the van oversteered to dampen the oscillations. I hadn't practiced any kind of skids with a trailer and had to learn the technique in a somewhat limited period of time.

On one hand, this is a success story, but it's also a failure. I should have detected the black ice before a wind gust made me aware of it by blowing the van into the other lane, and everyone in the van was put in danger because I did not. It's best to use enough judgement to not need all of your skill.

[the_irate_juan]

"Pay attention."
Sadly a lot of drivers can't even do that.

[CreatingCars]

Doing snow donuts with my grandpa in an empty parking lot will always be one of my favorite memories.

[frameschubser]

Did you say "Shades of grey"?
*spanks car*

[jacknelson]

A couple years ago I was doing some hooning in an empty parking lot and while I vastly improved my abilities to control my car on snow I also greatly overheated my power steering pump and wrecked it

[XLEG]

Team O'Neil = some of the most useful knowledge on the internet.

[Manakuski]

The first thing you forgot to mention (as the first thing, which you got to later luckily, i just think this should've been said first) is install real winter tires to the car. Most important thing to do when even thinking about driving during winter. Do not drive in real winter conditions with all-seasons or summer tires. This should be the #1 thing (it's taught us here in Finland to be the number 1 thing, you make sure the car is in winter condition before you even think about driving in winter).

[krdjmtc]

I'm from Florida, and this winter was the first time I drove in the snow. I was surprised by (1) how much traction was actually available, and (2) how little braking I was able to do. I did my first handbrake turn rally-style around a pole. Once I got back on the power the car hooked up again nicely, going right where I was pointing it. It probably felt cooler than it actually looked 😆

[jessaphillips]

Here’s a big thing I learned that greatly improved my winter driving. When you have to drive uphill you need to get your car to a controllable speed that gives enough momentum to climb it, but not too fast, and the right gear to keep your revs up enough to stay in the power band, and then hold your speed steady as you climb. For example, if your car can do 25 mph at 3, 000 rpms in second gear, you set it to that gear and speed before you hit the hill and only add enough throttle to keep the rpms from dropping below 3, 000. It doesn’t matter what type of drivetrain you have if your input is smooth enough to not transfer weight off the drive wheels.

[patonbike]

I like to test the roads by giving the brakes a little pressure and see if ABS kicks in.

[SoLSamuraibloodblade]

What’s the space you leave between you and the car in front. It’s your living room, the room you give if you want to live.

That’s the best advice my grandfather gave me when I started driving.

Also if you ever get to go to the rally school make sure to take any ride with Remmy, it’s a blast.