Winter travel

We see a lot of people at the airport renting cars from very warm climates who are totally lost when it comes to winter driving and rarely coming prepared for it.

I have winter tips for the winter traveler coming in from an airplane.

1.Check the weather forecast. If you are reading this from the library computer, you can check weather forecasts anywhere in the world on the internet. And check weather for every stop you make, a snow storm in Colorado won't effect Iowa travel , but you might miss your connecting flight in Colorado to Iowa. Keep in mind that water freezes at 32 degrees so temperatures above that will not have snow or ice to frighten you. And if there is not any ice scraper/snow brush provided in the car, go to the rental counter and demand one.

2. Bring lots of entertainment. You may be trapped in an airport during a winter storm for a couple of days or just be delayed 2 hours. If you think you can drive out to your destination in a winter storm, you may be actually be waiting in a ditch for a day or so waiting for a tow truck.

3.In winter wardrobe remember WTD: Wool, Treads, Down. You want wool clothes, shoes/boots with treads, and a jacket with down (feathers) in it. Yes wool is itchy but I need you to get the feel of how heavy your clothes need to be in winter: sweatshirts, sweaters, and jeans (not the super thin kind) are what we northern people wear in winter. Leave sweatpants and khakis at home because the cold wind goes right through them. Tis better to dress in layers and take a jacket off when hot than to freeze and have nothing to put on. Do I need to explain what treads on shoes look like, you will find treads on the tires of your car. If you are allergic to feathers like me, don't worry about down coats because the feathers are inside the coat and won't hurt you. If down still worries you, buy anything with the word "insulation" in it. Or you can be like my parents and bring warm and cold clothes.

4.FOOD. Winter driving requires food in your car in case you have to wait for help. It is best to raid the gift shop or nearby grocery stores (some stores are open 24 hours) after arriving at your desination rather haul it all over an airport. Prepackaged food is often allowed through security if no threats to the nation have recently occurred. Dried fruit, beef jerky, peanuts, candy bars, or anything high calorie. The point is to survive if you get stuck in the middle of nowhere and nobody can find you. If you are on a diet restricting your calorie intake, hunger might make you change your mind.

4.Follow main routes to lessen the time you must wait for help. Avoid gravel roads if possible. When lost, stop for directions. Interstates are the blue lines on the map, US and State Highways are often red and black. Police cars patrol areas looking for stranded motorists after snowstorms. If your cell phone works, dial 911 immediately before anyone else because they can trace all calls one way or another. If 911 doesn't get a voice on the phone answering them, police are dispatched to check out the call.

5. If you do get stuck in a ditch, turn off the engine so you don't get carbon monoxide poisioning. You may start the car again to keep warm, but turn it back off. Also, flash your lights at any vehicle that passes. Like a kidnap victim, you want attention. Also, don't wear out your cell phone battery, you will need it charged to make that 911 call.

6.The most important part of winter driving is knowing where you are so someone who can not see through the phone line can find you. Note any road signs, mile markers, the last town you passed through, names on farmhouse mailboxes. Remember the sun and moon are always to the south where ever you are in the United States, and both rise in the east and move westward.

7. My last important tip is this: If you are driving in snow, never drive faster than your ability to control the car, even if people are zooming passed you. If the road is covered in snow and you can not see the pavement, 20-30 MPH is a good speed to use. Tis better to arrive late in one piece than not at all.

Part II...Actually Driving Tips.

Problem 1: Your doors are iced shut and they will not open, which is why we do not wash the outside of the cars in freezing temperatures. De-icer objects fly off the store shelves after the first snow of the season and impossible to find in mid-winter. You must use crude methods such as kicking the door where the lock is (the lock is located at the part of the door that you enter when opened) and/or pouring either rubbing alcohol (de-icers are types of alcohols) or steaming water to melt the ice. The steaming water water will freeze so must be repeated, rubbing alcohol will not freeze and unlikely need repeating.

Problem 2: Your windshield wipers and washer fluid won't work. Yes there is ice all over the wipers and it is not coming off until it melts from warmer temperatures or coated with de-icer/rubbing alcohol. The washer fluid squirter is frozen and if you manage to get washer fluid out it will freeze instantly and stick to the window like glue. Yes there is non-freezing washer fluid in existance but when dealing with 900 cars the fluid doesn't get changed every winter and tires are not changed to snow tires. Wipers will be ineffective so get use to driving with a dirty window. They are terrible at clearing snow and ice so please use your provided ice scraper/snow brush instead of waiting for the defogger and wipers to clear it all off. For cleaning windows, use the squeegee at the gas station (they are on the gas pump poles in the buckets with the handle sticking out) and the buckets will hold the non-freezing washer fluid. I use the provided paper towels to wipe the blade off to keep from streaking.

Problem 3: You get stuck but not in a ditch.

In the driveway or parking lot: Rock the car. Switch from drive to reverse to move the car forwards and backwards to pack down the snow enough to move. When move, hit the accelerator.

If the snow plow packed more than a foot of snow behind your car, get a shovel to remove snow. Less than a foot, rev the engine to plow through. I say half the tire height can be ran through, more than half the tire height get a shovel.

Green light. If you had to stop a minute for a red light and suddenly it is green and you are stuck. Release foot off brake completely, wait two seconds, tap the accelerator, and finally push down. Your problem is lack of traction. New cars are built with a traction adjustor and anti-lock brakes so this is less of a problem. The vibrations in your foot when hitting the brake or accelerator hard is these items working. Pumping these parts (repeatedly pushing down and releasing) is longer required. The Low Traction light will come on and if you keep pushing down w/out releasing the car will adjust to give you traction and suddenly jerk forward. Anti-lock brakes keep the wheels turning when you hit the brakes hard to stop you from skidding. Allow twice as much space for stoppping in snow.

Stop signs: Learn to do a rolling stop (don't completely stop but slow down enough to look both ways and then speed up). Or you will get stuck like a green light.

Hills: Rev going up and brake going down to stop from getting stuck or skidding.

Problem 4: People keep driving in 2 lanes or in the center of the roads or park in two spaces. If you can not see the lines dividing the lanes: This is considered normal.

Genie out.