However, anyone who has experienced the benefits of winter tires knows the truth: All season tires, despite the name, are not good enough for all seasons. Most certainly not Calgary’s seasons.

“All season tires” should really be read like this:

“All season* tires (* seasonal flexibility refers to wet and dry seasons, not hot and cold.)”

This is something we tell students a lot at our Calgary driving school. This is because the defining feature of an “all season” tire is the tread patterns, which are designed to prevent hydroplaning on wet roads.

The Hydroplaning Hazard with All Season Tires

Hydroplaning happens when the tire can’t move water through its treads at a high enough volume to maintain contact with the road. This causes the driver to lose control of the vehicle. All season* tires help you keep control of your vehicle by moving water through the treads more efficiently.

But how does this tread design help in cold temperatures?

Answer: It doesn’t… at all.

Basic Science of Cold Weather Driving

The problem with all season* tires in cold weather is that the rubber begins to harden below 7°C. And once the temperature drops to -10°C, the tire material becomes more like a hard plastic than a flexible rubber.

When a vehicle hits a patch of ice in temperatures below -10°C, those all season* tires are not going to have much – if any – traction. Simply put, your vehicle might as well have summer tires.

Even when it comes to driving on snow, the treads in all season tires* are just too thin to maintain traction effectively.

In other words, tires designed for wet weather are simply not good enough for cold weather.

Why Winter Tires Work

Winter tires, on the other hand, are made with a rubber material designed to be more resistant to cold temperatures. When the temperature falls well below zero, they maintain their rubbery flexibility and will not lose nearly as much traction on snow or ice. The distance required to stop the vehicle is reduced dramatically when tires work like they should.

Think about it: When you’re coming towards a busy intersection and need to know accurate braking distance, do you want hardened tires with limited traction? Probably not. This is the situation that all season* tires put you in, and that winter tires save you from.

The Right Rubber + Treads Tailored to Winter = Ultimate Tire Safety

While the material used in winter tires is the most important feature, tread design is important too.

All season* tires have thinner treads that are incapable of tackling thick snow. In contrast, winter tire treads are specifically designed to take on snow and further increase the surface area of the tire’s contact with the snow – increased surface area means more friction, which means better traction.

More advanced winter tires even come with small metal studs embedded into the rubber, providing even more grip to prevent the vehicle from slip-sliding away.

Winter Tires and The Law

The province of Quebec has already made winter tires mandatory between December 15 and March 15. For a very good reason! Just look up videos of winter driving in Quebec and you will see why winter tires are legally required there.

In addition, Alberta and British Columbia have them as a requirement to drive in more mountainous areas. For example, it is illegal to drive the Coquihalla Highway (AKA: Highway 5) in BC without winter tires.

Other provinces are looking at introducing similar legislation, also for very good reasons (think preventing loss of life, serious injuries, and expensive property damage).

Only winter tires are appropriate for Canadian winters – all season* tires don’t cut it!

The post Why All Season Tires Don’t Cut it For Alberta Winters appeared first on Derek Brown's Academy of Driving.

From parking on sidewalks and stopping for pedestrians in the pedestrian crosswalk to weaving all over the road in high-speed traffic (and any other example you can think of), it seems like we sometimes commute alongside some fairly erratic drivers.

And that’s not even taking the weather into account!

Bring in some cold and snowy weather, and these erratic drivers become even worse. What was an everyday danger on the road now becomes a veritable hazard.

That driver up ahead who drifted into the middle of 2 lanes while looking at his phone? He’s now in an uncontrolled slide across your path, headed straight into the vehicle driving to your far right. You and every other vehicle nearby are at risk of a serious collision.

HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF WHEN DRIVING ON WINTER ROADS:

1. Know the road conditions.

These days, you don’t even have to step outside – much less be on a road – to know what the road conditions are. There are 2 very good websites you can check to find out what the current road conditions are:

• Alberta Transportation
• AMA

However, if you’re not able to check online then you’ll have to do it the old fashioned way by making a visual assessment of the road and paying close attention to how your car feels and reacts while driving.

Things to pay attention to include how well your car responds to steering adjustments and acceleration/deceleration, whether the vehicles around you are slipping or sliding, and whether your car feels like it has a good grip on the road.

2. Stay alert and focused.

You might not know it yet, but up ahead there’s someone talking on his Bluetooth, rummaging through a donut box with 1 hand while the other is loosely holding the wheel. When his lousy driving inevitably takes a turn for the worse, it will cause a chain reaction that you’ll have only seconds to avoid. This is one reason why you need to always pay attention!

As a Calgary driving school with over 50 years experience training all sorts of drivers, we know that staying alert and focused during the whole time you’re driving isn’t easy. There are hundreds of potential micro-distractions that can divert your attention for the precious few seconds it takes for things to go wrong. And when roads are icy, it’s that much more likely that even a small lapse of focus can lead to big issues.

3. Keep a constant eye out for “that guy”

We all know who “that guy” is. He’s the shmuck who weaves through traffic going 163km/h down Deerfoot Tr., or who’s going 48km in an 80km zone, or who’s stopped only half on the shoulder as he texts his buddy. That guy.

He’s out driving way more often than you think, disrupting traffic and endangering everyone with his blatantly irresponsible driving. Obviously don’t be that guy, but don’t ignore him either.

A good defensive driver is one who doesn’t just spot “that guy”, but who also keeps track of where that guy is and stays a good and safe distance away from him.

4. Keep a safe distance

The rule of thumb is to stay 3 seconds behind the vehicle in front of you, unless it’s a large commercial vehicle. If you’re behind a large semi or other commercial vehicle, or snow plow or road sander, stay at least 4 seconds behind.

Keep in mind that it can take up to 12 times longer to stop your car on slick winter roads, so use your best judgment when driving in snow and ice (and be sure to use winter tires!) But also keep in mind that a 36 second lag time behind the vehicle in front of you is much better than the delay you will have if you get into a collision.

How do you know you’re staying so many seconds behind?

Find a fixed object like a road sign or tree. Start counting in “Mississippis” (“1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi”) when the rear end of the vehicle in front of you passes this object; stop counting when the front of your vehicle reaches it. Whatever the count comes to is how many seconds behind that vehicle you are.

5. Make sure you stay readily visible

A lot of collisions happen because drivers couldn’t see the other car. Luckily this is an easy mistake with an easy fix!

Use your exterior lights –– your headlights, signal lights, brake lights, running lights. Make sure all these lights are in good working order and use each and every one of them when you should, each and every time.

Also avoid blindspots, both your own and those of other drivers. Consistently check your blindspots to make sure nobody’s lurking somewhere you can’t easily see. Stay out of other peoples’ blindspots by knowing where your own blindspots are located and using these as a reference for avoiding other drivers’ blindspots.

6. Keep your cool

It can be really hard to swallow your frustration and anger when another driver does something illegal, offensive, and/or just plain dumb. But allowing your emotions to influence your driving habits is a guaranteed recipe for disaster.

Letting your emotions take the wheel removes your reasoning and objectivity, opening the door for impulsive behaviour and knee-jerk reactions. From there it’s only a matter of time before you’ve driven yourself into a situation you might not be able to get out of very easily (if at all).

It may sound cheesy, but take a couple of big breaths and get your emotions in-check. Taking deep breaths doesn’t just help you relax your muscles; it also makes you more alert and clear-headed by bringing more oxygen into your brain.

7. Take our Defensive Driving Course!

We offer one of Calgary’s best defensive driving courses, designed to fit into your schedule. We even cover defensive driving in the winter. It’s easy, incredibly informative, one-on-one, and actual students have even said it’s fun! Get in touch to learn more.
These tips are relevant throughout the year, but especially when driving in winter conditions. Practice them every time you drive and soon enough they’ll become a habit that could save you, your loved ones, and your fellow drivers from a heap of liability claims and heartache.

The post Defensive Driving for Winter Weather appeared first on Derek Brown's Academy of Driving.

As Canadians, we like to think that we have winter driving mastered. But one look at the accident statistics after a fresh snowfall tells us otherwise. Even for those of us who have attended (or even operate) a driving school, Calgary roads can be treacherous after a fresh snowfall.

For example, this past Christmas Eve saw approx. 4cms (1.5 inches) of snow fall within a 12 hour period of time.[1] The result? Over 300 vehicular accidents throughout Southern Alberta.[2]

With this in mind, we at Derek Brown’s Academy of Driving thought it might be a good idea to write a blog post about driving safely in the winter.

What follows are 6 critical winter driving tips for driving more safely on winter roads.

1. Slow. Down.

While this may seem obvious, many drivers feel that if they have winter tires and all-wheel drive or 4-wheel drive then they don’t have to observe the speed limits… But this is absolutely not the case.

If anything, having your vehicle properly prepared for winter driving makes you even more responsible for driving safely. You are more able to move and stop suddenly than drivers who don’t have these things, and your actions on the road (as with almost anywhere else) have a direct impact on those around you. If you drive like a yahoo because you’ve got good tires and 4×4 capabilities, then those who don’t have those abilities will probably end up colliding with you.

In other words, just because you can stop & turn on an icy dime doesn’t mean the guy behind/beside you can too.

2. Don’t use cruise control.

This actually applies to icy cold winter roads and slick wet summer roads.

As you probably know, cruise control keeps a vehicle going at a constant speed. While this may be great during long road trips, it’s truly horrifying if you’re spinning out of control on a slippery highway road.

But doesn’t it disengage when I hit my brakes?

Ideally, yes. But depending on the road conditions and vehicle you’re driving, the moment you hit your brakes might be the moment where things take a wrong turn.

When driving on slick roads, sometimes the only thing that keeps your car going straight is sheer momentum, not its tires on the road. The moment that momentum is interrupted is when your car starts spinning. Be aware of your car’s traction by regularly monitoring its response to gentle deceleration, which you can only do you’re not using cruise control.

3. Carry an emergency road kit.

Again, this may be stating the obvious. Yet it amazes us how many drivers do not have a simple emergency kit – either store bought or homemade – in their vehicles.

Your kit doesn’t need to be anything fancy, but should include:

A candle, matches, deep canister (like an empty coffee can) to hold the candle, energy bars, a blanket, water, 1^st aid supplies, a flashlight, a snow shovel and brush, jumper cables

4. Use good snow tires.

When it comes to snow tires, not all are created equal. Look for tires that have the “alpine” symbol on them.[3] This symbol looks like a three-peaked mountain with a snowflake in it. This symbol means the tire has been specifically designed for use in snowy conditions and uses a rubber that remains soft and sticky in cold and on ice.

5. Be aware of road and weather conditions.

It’s as simple as checking the road reports before heading out. There are a few very good resources for this, including the AMA website[4] and [5]The Weather Network.

Also trust your gut – if you get the feeling that conditions might not be the best then be prepared by planning an alternate route or, if you can, just not going until conditions improve.

6. Take a brush up winter driving course from our driving school (Calgary) and learn winter driving skills from an experienced instructor.  You’ll be able to handle slippery roads like a pro.

In conclusion…

Using all 6 of these tips will absolutely help you to be a safer winter weather driver, but stay tuned for part 2 of this post with another 5 tips on how to make your winter wonderland driving experiences as safe as possible.

[1] http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climateData/dailydata_e.html?StationID=50430&timeframe=2&Year=2015&Month=12&cmdB1=Go#

[2] http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/over-50-christmas-eve-car-crashes-as-snow-falls-on-calgary

[3] http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/motorvehiclesafety/safevehicles-safetyfeatures-wintertires-index-468.htm?WT.mc_id=e9ofj

[4] https://www.amaroadreports.ca/

[5] http://www.theweathernetwork.com/roads-and-travel/highway-condition/list

The post Six Winter Driving Tips appeared first on Derek Brown's Academy of Driving.