Climate > 1st episode: Winter driving...eh?

Slush, snow, snow squalls, freezing rain, drizzles, ice pellets, wind-chill, extreme wind-chill, ice, black ice, blizzards, flash freeze, and whiteout.

You probably never heard these words before, except for snow and ice. Well these buzz words represent true weather patterns that makes up the Great Canadian Winder. If you treat them with respect you can live through winter without headaches, otherwise you will die.

For an explanation of each word, check out this glossary at The Weather Network

Driving on Canadian roads in Canadian winter is one hell of an experience, not only it’s dangerous but it’s rewarding especially if you manage to get around it pretty well.

First, your Car

• The car needs to be ‘winterized’ around November, meaning you have to upgrade your engine oil (no matter what oil you had before) it needs to withstand temperature below zero, well far below zero, like -30 or below.
• You need winter tires, 4 winter tires that is, not traction tires, and preferably good winter tires coz your life would pretty much depend on them.
• Then you need to put a winter anti-freeze, that is the liquid that keeps your heater and radiator working, it need to withstand -30 at least.
• Then comes the all-mighty battery, it needs to be charged to 100% to first allow ignition then later move the engine parts that are in quasi frozen state.
• Optionally, you may want to take off those 500$ dollar a piece alloy rims before they rust or get damaged by salt.
• Last but not the least; you need to put an anti-freeze windshield washer, coz the regular one will freeze right from the nozzle when you ask for it from inside of your car. Wipers need to be replaced by heavy teflon wipers that can handle snow, coz during winter, it’s snow or ice that falls from the sky not rain

Second, your driving habits

• Speeding is no go, I mean REALLY NO GO !!! Normally, on a 100km highway, you would do 120? 140 if you push it (I’m not crazy driver and I’d leave the 500$ tickets and license suspension for those doing 160 and 180). In winter conditions however, if the limit is 100, then it means 80km or less. And if you’re hit with a sudden whiteout, your changes of dying near the 90% mark.
• Stopping distance become SO LOOOONG and you CAN NOT DO A DAMN THING ABOUT IT. Even if you have ESP, ABS, AWD, and all those gizmos, it will take as twice as much to stop.
• Normal braking won’t work either, especially on black ice (ice that you can not see). The only way to stop is using soft gear downgrade. if you drive an automatic, then you may pray :-)
• Visiblity is hampered most of the times. First your external visors are either frozen, or extrememly dirty that you wont see anything from near or far. Your vision is constantly interrupted with wipers working hard to clean the windshield. if it's a sunny outside (means cold day usually), then chances are the sun beams reflected against perfect white sheets of snow will turn you blind when you need yours eyes the most.

Third, the toad conditions

No matter how the city treats the roads, be it salting or sanding, you will be driving on a sheet of ice and snow most of the time, especially in and off highway ramps, and no matter how much control or how skilled you are, you’ll ultimately end up in minor or major accident one way or the other. Needless to say, that an accident in north america will cost your insurance premium to go up 2 to 10 folds (thousands of dollars we’re taking per year) besides the cost of repairing your car. (85-100$ / hour of labor including diagnostics)

So for those who complain about driving when Tunis is flooded once in a blue moon, please chill out, your chances of survival are much higher there...