Four Ways to Improve Comfort, Safety for the Holidays
No season ramps up the pressure on a driver like winter. Icy roads, reduced visibility and constant storms complicate the journey. Fortunately, modern vehicles enjoy an array of technology resulting in a safer and more comfortable ride.
Knowing what these features are and how they work makes all the difference when faced with a downpour, frost or whiteout conditions.
Remote start
There are alternatives to watching your steaming breath as you wait in a frosty driveway for the engine to warm up. Remote starters lend convenience and comfort for motorists who want their car to be ready and waiting.
“You can add lots of conveniences such as opening windows for venting or automatically setting the temperature,” said Ken Gammage, head of communications for Directed Electronics, a leading manufacturer of remote start and vehicle security systems. “Remote start is becoming a necessity for people who live in snow.”
Anti-lock Brakes System and Electronic Stability Control
What happens if a downed tree limb litters the road and there’s no veering away from it?
ABS was literally invented for such a scenario. Newer vehicles complement the braking system with ESC, an innovation helping correct a vehicle during a spinout or hydroplane.
Stability control is part of all passenger vehicles sold in the United States since 2012. ABS engages during one of those heart-pounding stops where you’re basically standing on the brake pedal. Constant force applied by your foot tells the computer to pump the brakes, enabling the driver to reclaim control.
Technological marvels that they are, ABS and ESC still benefit from a defensive driver who adapts to road conditions.
“The smoother you can be, the less chance you have of losing traction.” said Mark Cox, director of the Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Heated wiper blades
No season hampers visibility more than winter. The good news: There’s are some basic, inexpensive ways to improve your view of the road.
A standard wiper brushes snow aside, while a heated blade actually melts the flakes and ice away. While it swipes away a night’s worth of snowfall on the windshield with one pass, heated blades prevent fresh snowfall from accumulating on a clear windshield.
They don’t come standard on automobiles, but can be installed relatively easily. Such wiper blades generally offer a heating element powered by an electrical current. Heated wipers, along with de-icing fluid and a defroster, provide tremendous returns on visibility this time of year.
“You don’t want to be the guy who has his arm out the window trying to shake ice off his wiper blade,” said John Giummara, marketing director for Thermablade, a Pennsylvania-based company that produces a patented heated wiper blade.
Winter tires
Fishtailing belongs on racetracks and in action movies, not on a family vehicle. Tires are the only safety feature on your vehicle that make contact with the pavement, and they become vitally important in winter.
Balding or under inflated tires create safety hazards. Drivers in especially cold areas, like Newfoundland or the Midwest, often slap winter tires on this time of year.
Specially formulated rubber enables winter tires to remain pliable in frigid conditions. In contrast, materials found in all-season and high-performance tires tend to harden when the mercury dips.
Some winter tires have patterns suited for cutting through snow and others are designed for traction on ice.
“They are made to grip and have more traction on cold roads than all-season or summer tires,” said Dan Zielinski of the Rubber Manufacturer’s Association.