Chattanooga Personal Injury Attorneys

Staying Safe Driving in Winter Weather

Staying Safe Driving in Winter Weather

Every year, Chattanooga gets an average of 2”-4” of snow. That may not sound like a lot, but consider the treacherous mountain passes coming down into the city. That snow could turn into ice.

In 2016, there were around 70 crashes in the same day due to icy conditions according to the Times Free Press. Winter will be coming sooner than you think. This is a good time to start thinking about winterizing your vehicle and remembering the following safety tips to stay safe on the roads while driving in winter weather.

1- Maintain Your Vehicle

Maintain Your Brakes and Tires

The first thing to do is to keep your vehicle maintained, especially your brakes and tires. Bald tires will make your car harder to stop in wet or icy conditions. Bad brakes make it hard to stop quickly. Both of these can cause an accident that could easily be fatal. If you’ve been neglecting this all summer because of the dry and clear conditions, now is the time to get those repairs done.

Maintain Your Windshield Wipers

Check your windshield wipers and replace them if they are getting worn out. In snowy or rainy conditions, your wipers help you see clearly in front of you. You might also want to put no-freeze fluid in your windshield washer reservoir to help melt snow and ice buildup.

Clear Your Windows

Finally, don’t go out on the road if your windows aren’t clear of snow and ice. Keep an ice scraper in the front of your vehicle.

2- Practice Driving in Winter Weather

Southerners get a lot of hassle from our northern neighbors for their inexperience driving in severe winter weather, but we get enough snow and ice here that knowing how to handle these situations is important.

If you feel your car start to skid, turn your wheel in the direction of the skid. This will force the vehicle’s front tires to drag against the direction you’re going and bring you out of it.

Understand Your Brakes in Winter Weather

Know what kind of brakes you have. Anti-lock brakes are standard on most vehicles these days. With this kind of braking system, it’s okay to stomp on the brakes to come to a stop. But in older vehicles or ones with a broken ABS sensor, the brakes must be pumped to avoid a lock-out. This is a very dangerous situation where the brakes are applied but won’t slow the car down.

Stopping distances are much further on ice and snow, especially in the passes where the road grade makes stopping distances longer. Don’t be afraid to put a lot of distance between yourself and the car in front of you in dangerous conditions.

Take Breaks and Never Drink & Drive

Winter weather also means that you should double down on your usual safety procedures. Never drink and drive. Keep a sharp eye out for pedestrians, especially in snowy conditions. And if you plan to go on a long car trip, stop every three hours for a break.

Dennis & King encourages you to practice safe driving during the upcoming winter season. It is one of the most dangerous times of year to be out on the roads. Follow these safety tips and you’ll go a long way to staying safe while driving in winter weather and preventing a car crash.

By |2022-03-14T20:02:09-07:00October 6th, 2017|General Info|0 Comments
Personal injury attorneys - Cover of the the "know your rights after a serious car accident" PDF

FREE GUIDE

Your Rights After A Serious Car Accident

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Looking for more free resources to help you with your personal injury claim?

10 best attorney of 2021 in client satisfaction

$1,150,000

Auto Accident Settlement

$1,000,000

ATV Accident
Settlement

$650,000

Auto Accident Settlement

$600,000

Tractor Trailer Accident

$400,000

Tractor Trailer Accident

$300,000

Auto Accident Settlement

$300,000

Tractor Trailer Accident

$300,000

Auto Accident Settlement

$245,000

Motorcycle Accident Settlement

OUR SERVICES & REVIEWS

A personal approach to personal injury

Personal Injury

Car Accidents

Truck Accidents

Motorcycle Accidents

ATV Accidents

BICYCLE ACCIDENTS

BOATING ACCIDENTS

NURSING HOME ABUSE

PREMISE LIABILITY

“I would highly recommend Ms Dennis, she is very kind, and she listens to your concerns. And the staff is great also. My family and I can not thank her enough for her help during the lost of our love one. Thank you!”

TERESA BUCHANAN

“My experience with Dennis & king law was absolutely amazing she got me the money I need for my pain in suffering she was honest the entire way until time for me to settle. She checked on me to make sure I was doing fine… great outcome!!”

RAVEN DOLBERRY

“My experience with Dennis & King was overwhelmingly positive. I chose them when I was hurt in a car accident… I ended up getting a nice settlement in a matter of weeks…”

ZACHARY RUSSELL

OUR TEAM IS STANDING BY

Free Strategy Session

During your initial strategy session, we will assist you in creating a strategy in how to best pursue your claim, whether it be the result of a car accident claim, 18 wheeler injury, or, other kind of personal injury claim.

There are 5 points to your free claim strategy session:

  • First, we will listen to your story. You will have a chance to tell everything to someone who wants to hear what happened to you.
  • Based on the information you provide, we will give you our best advice on both what claims you have and the next steps you should consider to go forward with your claim.
  • If you claim is something that we think we can help you with, we will explain the services that we can provide for you, and what the next steps are that we should take. We will start working immediately.
  • If your matter is something that we do not think we can help you with, then we will attempt to put you in contact with another lawyer that might be able to help you.
  • Either way, what should happen is we will put to rest some of the unknowns that you may be experiencing. We will start to shed light on what you can expect and how to best pursue the benefits you deserve.