With the first snow fall hitting Minnesota, all drivers are reminded of the need to drive safety. According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and Minnesota Department of Transportation the storm resulted in 400 collisions in Minnesota.
Winter road tips from DPS and MnDOT include:
- Always use seat belts.
- Accelerate and decelerate slowly on icy/snow-covered roads to retain traction and avoid skids.
- Do not use cruise control.
- Do not “power up” hills, which may cause wheels to spin. Build momentum before reaching a hill and don’t stop while traveling uphill. Reduce speed before going downhill.
- Know your brakes. Keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of the foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
- Give yourself plenty of travel time. Don’t put your schedule before safety.
- Clear snow and ice from vehicle windows, hood, headlights, brake lights and directional signals.
- Headlights must be turned on when it is snowing or sleeting.
Most police officers asked say the key is usually to Just Slow Down.
If you are in an accident, make sure to get the names of anyone who indicates they saw what happened. If you witness an accident, check to see if everyone is OK and stay around or at least give the drivers your contact information. If you are injured, seek the advice of an attorney who does that kind of work and who can explain your coverages and rights.
A founding partner with Bradshaw & Bryant, Mike Bryant has always fought to find justice for his clients—knowing that legal troubles, both personal injury and criminal, can be devastating for a family. Voted a Top 40 Personal Injury "Super Lawyer" multiple years, Mr. Bryant has also been voted one of the Top 100 Minnesota "Super Lawyers" four times.
2 Comments
Harvey McFadden
" I did not think I was going too fast". A common remark from people losing control of front wheel drive vehicles. What the average person and some experts are not aware of is that there can be as high as 950 pounds or more weight on the front axle of their vehicle than the back. So a car that feels like a limousine on the front holds like a golf cart on the back
A 3000lb car with a weight ratio of 65% front weight and 35% rear weight will weigh 1950lb on the front and 1050lb on the rear. After you use 10 gallon of fuel from the rear tank one of the front wheels has as much traction as both rear combined.
If you analyze single vehicle accidents you will find most of them had better tires on the front than the back or a very large weight difference. In fact the worst balanced cars have 4 times as many fatalities as cars designed with better balance. How are you going to tell how fast is too fast under these conditions when it is possible for a balanced car to handle fine on a slippery surface at 50 mph and an unbalanced car to lose control at 20 mph and both to feel the same to the drivers.
Society of Automotive Engineers paper 2002-01-0553 shows any decrease of tread depth from new of the rear tires can contribute to an accident.
Mike Bryant
Very interesting comment, thanks for taking the time to stop by and read my blog. Here is a link http://papers.sae.org/2002-01-0553/
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