Five tips to avoid winter driving dangers

Weather is a contributing factor to many car accidents. Over 1 million accidents are attributed to weather conditions, and these car crashes are often highest in the winter months. A recent piece by AAA digs into these statistics and finds that weather related accidents translate to 425,000 injuries and 5,100 fatalities annually.

Can I reduce the risk of involvement in a winter car crash? Fortunately, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety also has some recommendations to avoid becoming a number in this statistic.

Five of the more helpful tips to avoid these dangers include:

• Get your car serviced. Make sure your brakes are in good working order and your tires have decent traction. Make adjustments if needed to better ensure that your vehicle is better equipped to handle snow and ice.
• Reduce your speed. Keep in mind that the posted speed limit is listed for favorable conditions. If the conditions are less than ideal, a slower speed is warranted.
• Adjust speed with caution. If you need to speed up or slow down, do so slowly. Rapid changes in speed can result in a loss of traction.
• Leave space. Although you likely leave a good chunk of space between you and the car in front of you, it is wise to expand this gap in harsh conditions. The experts with AAA recommend a gap of about eight to ten seconds when the conditions include ice and snow.
• Stay home. Of course, if you don’t have to go anywhere it is best to stay home. Groceries or other errands that can wait are not worth the risk.

The piece also ends with the comment that “even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can.” Unfortunately, this is very true. Even with precautions, another driver may fail to drive safely and cause an accident.

In these cases, it is wise to seek legal counsel to hold the driver accountable for his or her mistakes. This can result in monetary awards to help better ensure the costs associated with the accident are covered.