Scouting, Volume 63, Number 5, October-November-December 1975 Page: 58
84, [8] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Remember that even at a speed of only
25 miles per hour, a car with snow tires
needs about 170 feet to stop on an icy
road. Watch underpasses, other shaded
areas and bridges for unexpected
patches of ice. Because sun can't get to
the shaded spots or because of cold air
under bridges, they may remain de-
ceptively icy and dangerous after
roads have been otherwise cleared and
sanded. Watch out for slush. It may
look innocent, but in some situations it
can be as slippery as ice, especially if
you are driving at a high speed. Ice is
twice as slippery at 30°F as it is at 0°
temperatures, and wet ice warmed by
the sun is far more treacherous than
"cold" ice. If you do hit an unexpected
ice patch, ease up on the gas, hold the
wheel steady and roll on through.
• As water builds up on a highway
your chances of hydroplaning increase.
It piles up in front of the front tires,
and your car will literally float. You
easily lose control. If this happens,
hold the steering wheel straight and
reduce speed to 15 or 20 miles per
hour below posted limits.
• Anticipate turns and move into
them on a long, gradual tangent. Be
sure to signal your intentions to traffic
behind. Slow down well ahead of any
curve and take it smoothly, with the
smallest possible steering adjustment.
Good highway techniques are the
key to all safe winter motoring, so be
ready for all dangerous eventualities
with these additional National Safety
Council cold-weather driving tips:
• If you get stuck in snow, you may
be able to get out with a rocking mo-
tion of the car. Get the snow away
from the tires first by turning the
wheels right and left. Use a slight pres-
sure on the gas pedal, and move the
gear selector rhythmically between
"Drive" and "Reverse." Check your
owner's manual for warnings on rock-
ing, and by all means avoid racing the
engine or spinning the wheels. You'll
only dig in deeper and it could cause
overheating and possible transmission
failure.
If your wheels are spinning, sprinkle
sand or rock salt under the drive
wheels, or carry old pieces of carpet-
ing in your car trunk to slip under the
tires. You can also get temporary trac-
tion on ice with a liquid spray-on avail-
able in most auto supply stores.
• To see and be seen is a vital neces-
sity in winter motoring. Before you
start out, clean the windshield and all
car windows of all ice, snow or thrown-
up mud. Keep headlights, turning
58
lights, taillights and brake lights clean.
Dirty lenses can cut illumination by
one fourth or more. Keep speed down
when driving in poor visibility, such as
sleet, fog or swirling snow. Keep head-
lights on low beam. In severe condi-
tions, pull off the road to a safe spot
and wait it out.
Use the windshield washer to keep
the glass clear of road spatter, and
when you stop for gas, also check the
reservoir of fluid in the cleaner con-
&
tainer. Operating wipers on dirt-gritty
or ice-encrusted glass damages the
blades. Replace them when they cause
streaking. Shut off the wipers before
turning off the engine. If the wiper
switch is on, the blades may freeze to
the windshield and cause damage to
the wiper motor when the engine is
started again. Wait until your car
warms up before squirting washer fluid
without an antifreeze agent included
onto the windshield. Extremely cold
windows can turn the fluid into ice on
contact. Keep some old newspapers in
your trunk. Then, if you should have to
park in a freezing rain or snow, spread
the newspaper under the wiper blades
to keep ice from forming on the glass.
• The type and condition of your
tires are always critical to safe winter
driving. Have you heard that reducing
air pressure increases traction on slick
or snowy surfaces? Not so! It doesn't
increase traction significantly, but it
does speed up tire wear, and thread-
bare tires are dangerous in any climate.
Snow tires are an advantage if you
drive a lot on snowy roads. They
should be of the same size and ply as
your front tires. Chains are awkward
but also good. Some states and at least
one Canadian province, however, pro-
hibit the use of studded tires, and most
states limit their use to winter months.
Check the law where you drive.
When you remove snow tires or
studded tires for summer storage, mark
the wheel position and direction each
tire was rotating so the tire can be put
on the same wheel in the same way
next winter. Tire studs wear at an
angle, depending on the direction the
wheel turns, and if that is reversed, the
studs will rotate in an attempt to cor-
rect the angle. They then loosen and
have a good chance of falling out. An-
other warning: Neither studded tires
nor regular snow tires should be used
for high speed travel on dry roads.
They heat rapidly at high speeds and
the treads become distorted and inef-
fective.
• Let your heater and defroster run
for several minutes before driving a
cold car. This will prevent sudden
fogging of your windshield.
• Fog, a prime winter hazard, can be
fatal. When you encounter it, turn on
your low-beam headlights. High-beam
lights reflect on the fog and reduce
forward visibility. Use bright lights
only as a warning to oncoming drivers.
If the fog gets too thick and you pull
over to the side of the road to wait for
it to thin out or lift, be sure you are
well onto the shoulder. Turn on your
four-way emergency flasher im-
mediately and keep it on as a warning
to other motorists.
• If you do get stuck someplace, run
your engine for heat only if the ex-
haust system is jn perfect condition.
Don't let wind blow fumes under the
car, or let snow pile up over the end of
your car's exhaust pipe. Carbon
monoxide could enter your car. The
gas kills scores of stalled motorists
each winter. Beware of drowsiness. It's
usually a warning!
• Snowbanks often hide danger. Be
alert for stalled vehicles, hidden drive-
ways, intersections and pedestrians.
Be sensible! Our hospitals are too
crowded now! ■
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 63, Number 5, October-November-December 1975, periodical, October 1975; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353621/m1/66/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.