Three Ways To Keep Your Snow-Covered Car Out Of An Auto Body Shop

There’s no question about it: winter does not love your car as much as you do. The reality is, sometimes it may seem like Ol’ Man Winter is pouring several inches of fresh powder on Bridgeton, Oakville, and Chesterfield, Missouri just to spite you. Nevertheless, there are certainly a number of ways in which you can keep your vehicle protected from auto body dents, scratches, and even worse with these winter driving safety tips from Car Craft Auto Body in St. Louis, MO.

Boost Visibility By Clearing Your Windshield

Perhaps you are in a big hurry. Maybe you are feeling lazy. Perhaps it is simply too cold. No matter what justification you may have, do not compromise visibility by not clearing off your windshield before you pull from your driveway. Even when you just halfway clear it off, you’re placing yourself, your passengers, and the individuals in other cars at a considerable risk. When roadways are slick you need to have just as much visibility as possible to improve your reaction time to the very best possible extent.

When you do clear off your windshield, there is definitely a right and wrong method of doing it. The very first step is to start up your automobile and crank the defrosters to start out melting the ice from inside. Also, this will get your automobile all toasty warm for whenever you hop in afterwards. Once the defrosters are doing their thing, utilize your handy dandy plastic ice scraper with brush to clear off all of that snow and ice. Do not use anything with metal on it because you don’t want to run the risk of mistakenly scraping your windshield along with the ice.

There are some more “Don’t’s” to remember too. First, do not try to accelerate the process by throwing hot water onto your windshield. I could go into all the difficult science behind it, but suffice it to say that you’ll probably find yourself with a shattered windshield. Cold glass and rapid heat do not mix. Next, don’t try to utilize the shortcut of having your windshield wipers clear off snow rather than brushing it yourself. Wipers are not intended to handle the kind of stress that heavy snow can be, and it really cannot do anything to ice. There are some special snow-ready wipers that you can buy at the store, and these are definitely a smart investment. Nevertheless, they still can’t be relied on to clear off massive quantities of snow left on your car overnight.

Get Your Automobile Ready To Battle The Elements By Cleaning Off Other Snow And Ice

When your windshield is clear, you’re still not ready to hit the road yet. You have to clear off the snow and ice from the remainder of the vehicle. You cannot simply pull out and let pieces of snow and ice fly out at the cars behind you. When you are clearing off the snow and ice, the very first thing to do is pick the right instrument. Nobody wants to have scratches in their auto body. That is why the best thing to do is to use a specialized snow removal brush such as those which are usually attached to your ice scraper. Absolutely do not pull out a shovel and just go at it. If you do, you will likely be making a trip to a St. Louis, Missouri auto body shop at some point in the near future.

The next action to take into consideration with auto body snow and ice removal is the particular areas to de-ice. Some things that people commonly forget include the mirrors, headlights, license plates, side and rear windows, and the tailpipe. Trust me, you definitely should make sure that your tailpipe is clear of snow and ice because that is where hazardous carbon monoxide gas exits your vehicle. Always brush off the top of the car as well. That’s more a courtesy to the other vehicles than anything else. No one wants to have an avalanche fall on their windshield while they’re going down the highway. Furthermore, your wheels and bumpers ought to be free from any snow before you decide to pull forward. That’s the best way to get a smooth start (but not too smooth) when you’re getting going.

Drive Slow And Smart To Stay Safe

When you are in your vehicle that has been newly freed from snow and ice, you’re ready to get going. Nevertheless, you still must take a few steps to stay safe whenever you’re traveling in slick, icy conditions. The first and most important rule is to slow down considerably whenever traveling in icy conditions. In normal conditions, you should leave around two to three seconds of space between you and the car in front of you. In snowy conditions, it is best to leave eight to ten seconds between you and the automobile in front of your car. Clearly, you cannot understate the importance of driving slowly whenever you are traveling on wintry roadways.

If you start to skid while driving, stay calm and be smart. Be sure you avoid panicking, slamming on the brakes suddenly, or making any other abrupt moves. Simply take your foot from the accelerator, steer your motor vehicle in the direction that you ought to move in, and let the skid take its course. Quickly, your motor vehicle will recover traction and you will begin moving normally again. If you do not feel confident in these simple techniques, the best thing you can do is practice it. Find a big open space like a parking lot at a store or a school on a non-school day and deliberately skid your vehicle so that you can practice regaining control of it. If you do not go nuts with it, this can be a quite beneficial exercise for you.

Should you get stuck for any reason, you should be careful what you do to get out of it. Needless to say, your first impulse is to slam on the gas. Sadly, spinning your tires will probably do you no good. Actually, you will actually dig a deeper hole for yourself and most likely mess up your tires. What you really need to do is clear out all of the snow around your tires and drop plenty of sand, salt, or kitty litter around the tires to give yourself some traction. Direct your tires away from the snow and towards solid ground. If you follow that easy process, you ought to be capable of getting back on track without any problem.

When the snow falls and the roadways freeze, the very best course of action is to remain inside and wait it out. However, there are occasions for most motorists where this is simply not practical. Using some common sense and these quick guidelines are the best way to keep safe on the road. If something goes wrong and you get into an auto wreck, there are many decisions that you will have to make. I hope that you’ll consider taking your car to Car Craft Auto Body in Chesterfield, Missouri. They have the tools and experience that you need to help you get right back on the road at the earliest opportunity.