What are your preparations for winter driving?

I live in Texas. We usually just stock up on beer and BBQ and stay indoors for both days of winter.

My winter snow vehicle is a 2000 Chevy Tahoe with 4WD, crash bumper, tow hooks frint and back and a tow bar in te rear.
I make sure my car has everything needed to handle emergencies that others might have. Tools, fire extinguishers (Yep, 2), metal tow chain and 6 ton fiber tow strap, jumper cables, water (usually frozen), 1 gallon container of gasoline (unsafe), 3 liters of butanol, ice scrapers, snow brushes, a snow shovel and a go-kit duffle bag of plastic grocery bags, clothes and an expired MRE pack.
(There’s more but I won’t go into it.)
I am as ready as I can be.

^^^ Dang, no wonder you need a Tahoe! All that stuff you are carrying around.

I’ll bet you are one of these people who stops to help others out of the snowdrift or fix a flat on the side of the road.

Thank you

We just tell the chauffeur to bundle up.

That’s another aspect of Midwestern Winters I don’t miss one bit. Slapping on snow tires and sliding around on icy roads are now only vivid memories from my youth.

@rojo Yes I am. I can come at the vehicle from either direction. It takes me seconds and saves the other driver hours and $$$s.
I figure anyone out in a snowstorm is going someplace they need to be: a job, a doctor’s appointment, an interview, etc. I have the flexibility to be late so I’m willing to make the attempt. It usually works.

Just now having non-metallic studded tires put on my AWD sedan.
Fresh windshield wiper blades.
Top off the windshield washer container with straight washer fluid.
Put a couple blankets in the trunk.
I live in the southeastern part of the US. But when it snows, the state gets shutdown for three days.

I put an ice scraper, work gloves and a warm hat in my car. The roads are well-plowed here so that’s sufficient.

If we get a really huge snowstorm (typically every couple of years) the residential streets are not plowed right away, but trucks start plowing and salting major streets while the snow is falling.

So even after big storms, the buses and trains run normally and I leave my car at home for a few days.

One of my primary methods of being ready for winter driving is something I learned a long time ago: “Dress for the road, not the destination.”

In other words, dress (or at least “have available”) the clothing you will need if you are outside of the vehicle for any length of time, and not just to suit the requirements of the place that you’re going. If you get stuck alongside the road somewhere or run out of fuel or get into an accident and have to leave the vehicle, then you’ll know why that’s good advice. “Dress as if you need to walk to where you’re going.”

Aside from that tidbit, most of my advice is similar to others’:
– ice scrapers (multiple, because they break from time to time) and brushes,
– a flat-bladed shovel with a short handle, suitable for all kinds of digging, snow and ice clearing and breaking, salt and sand spreading, etc.,
– a small container of sand and salt,
– some additional heavy winter and rain clothing,
– a few sets of ZipGripGo strips which I haven’t had occasion to use yet,
– my ‘normal’ emergency pack, including basic first aid supplies, emergency road kit with jumper cables, flares, etc., normal basic tool kit, and some reflective clothing (a vest) that I also use from time to time at work.

Make sure your windshield washer reservoir has a non freezing cleaner in it. Always have a minimum of half a tank of gas.

I always have an old shell jacket and shell pants to put on in case I need to lie down in the snow to work on the car or to put on chains. The slushy road grime ruins clothes,

And a couple of blankets for any passengers to wrap themselves in.

A full gas tank.

@LuckyGuy – sure, you’re prepared, but look at where you live. When I lived in Massachusetts, I had a snow kit ready as well.

For those of us in the deep South (Atlanta) my preparation is (a) make sure the laptop battery is topped up (b) make sure the cell battery is full and so are the chargers, (c) find the fur slippers, and (d) firewood nearby.

Georgia DOT is not a paragon of speed and coverage, so if it’s bad, we stay inside.

Nuttin, Honey.

each of my cars has a small back-pack containing a blanket, water, some snacks, flashlight, first aid kit, and other basic sundries necessary for up to a 48 hour stay with the car. Or two days supplies to get home. It is a reverse version of what I’ve seen referred to as a “bug out bag” that I call a “get home bag”. The best thing is to stay with the car if possible, but if you have to, the bag has enough to get to somewhere warm and get help.

Since most of our winter driving is local there is not a lot to be prepared long term for. That said each vehicle has jumper cables, collapsible shovel, first aid kit, winter blanket, extra hat and gloves, 2 (frozen now) bottles of water, 4 energy bars, flashlight and flares.

4 days after Xmas my son headed back to college in Green Bay and I handed him this car care package along with a small cooler of fruit and sodas and he rolled his eyes at me. Since it was still winter break when he got there he found the University car lots were not plowed and there was a foot of snow. He floored it and went for over a mile in his Mercury Monarch made it to within 2 blocks to his dorm and his car finally got stuck. He had to trudge through the snow the rest of the way to the dorm. Since he could not drive to get food…those 4 energy bars and cooler of fruit and soda was all he had to sustain him until the University road crew helped him get his car dug out.

My younger son’s SUV additionally has the 3 ton tow strap since it has 4WD and could pull other cars stuck in the snow.

We just moved up north and I want my husband to put snow tires on the car, but so far he refused. The good thing is we’re so north they treat the roads well.

My advice is snow tires if you live in an extremely snowy, very cold place.

Remember, you have to drive like you have no brakes when driving on icy and snow covered roads. The stopping is where a lot of the danger is. That’s when you are most like to skid. You need to be able to lift off the brake if you start to lose control, which means don’t be close to the car in front of you. Keep a charger in your car so you can keep your cell phone charged, or try to not leave the house with the battery low. Keep a blanket in the car. Snow/ice scraper. Flashlight. Let people know when to expect you if possible so they know if you are late and possible stuck.

This is my current view. https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/v/t1.0-9/12573898_10153966644157845_4133522067351871294_n.jpg?oh=0f13724c75b01775086ce931a57a55f4&oe=57495827 I just top up my bus card.

I’m about middle of the country, so getting around is usually doable.

This year I put off new brakes for my car until mid December because there had been no snow.
When I bought new tires early summer, buying 4 was considerably cheaper than 2 (at Sam’s Club). I had 2 put on when I bought the tires, the other 2 put on in December, about the same time as the brakes.
I have a front wheel drive Camry and it’s getting around really well!

One thing is give the big trucks even more room .

I carry chains, coat and gloves. That saved my butt one day coming home from work on the freeway going up a big hill in a sudden very heavy snow storm. All cars on the freeway were stopped. I pulled over, put on my chains and drove slowly on while weaving through all the stalled out cars and trucks and people leaving their cars on foot. When I got to the top of the hill I was the lone vehicle on the freeway. It was so quiet and surreal.