Imagine you are on your way to your holiday destination when out of nowhere your vehicle begins to slide and you find yourself in a snowy ditch in the middle of nowhere. Knowing how to get out of this situation quickly can mean the difference between waiting for hours until help arrives and getting yourself […]
Imagine you are on your way to your holiday destination when out of nowhere your vehicle begins to slide and you find yourself in a snowy ditch in the middle of nowhere. Knowing how to get out of this situation quickly can mean the difference between waiting for hours until help arrives and getting yourself back on the road in a matter of minutes. At Gerry’s OK Tire, we want you to enjoy this holiday season and keep you and your loved ones safe on the road. Here are our best tips for getting you out of the snow and back on the road in a snap.
Make sure you have good winter tires.
As a one-stop auto repair and service centre, we would be remiss not to point out the obvious here; make sure you have good winter weather tires. Winter tires have treads that grip in snow and ice. You should also check the treads on your tires, if they aren’t new, to make sure they are not worn. Bald winter tires are just as bad as summer tires in the snow. If you think you might need new winter tires check out our selection of tires to meet any budget here.
Rock your vehicle out of the snow
Carefully switching from drive to reverse can often give you enough momentum to rock yourself out of the snow. Just try to switch in a smooth manner and be careful not to jam your transmission. The last thing you need is to damage the transmission on top of being stuck.
Add some traction for your tires.
When your tires spin on snow, it creates ice. This makes your tires spin indefinitely making it impossible for your vehicle to move. If you have an emergency kit with some salt or sand, you can use this to give your wheels a little traction. If you really want to be prepared, you could have on hand a traction mat made specifically for this type of incident or you could even use one of the floor mats from your vehicle in a pinch. Just place the traction as close to the tire as possible and then gently deploy the gas pedal to drive out of the snowy bank.
Get a push from others in the vehicle.
If you have another adult or two in the vehicle, you could get them to give a push when your vehicle is in reverse. Depending on how stuck you are, sometimes this can give you enough of a boost to get your vehicle out of the ditch.
Use tire chains to give your tire some traction.
If you live in or travel frequently to the mountains, you might have chains in your vehicle. If so, you could apply the chains to the tire/s that are stuck and this could provide the traction to get you out of the snow.
Call for assistance.
If you are really stuck, you might need to get some help. Hopefully you would be in an area where there is cell service. You could then call a tow truck or roadside assistance to help you get back on the road. Having a BCAA membership can be really helpful in cases like getting stuck or if you find yourself stranded on the side of the road for any other reason.
As you can see, there are a lot of things you can do if you are faced with the unfortunate situation of being stuck in the snow. Just make sure that with any of these options, you and the passengers of the vehicle are in a safe place off the road. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you could be struck by another vehicle. So, always think of safety first and make sure your vehicle is in road-worthy condition before you leave home. This will ensure you enjoy your holiday travels and will keep you safe on the road.
