view out car window at snow covered road

Winter Driving Guide 2022 – Make Sure Your Teen is Prepared With These Tips

Almost all drivers struggle with snow, ice, slippery roads, unclear surroundings, and other adverse weather or road conditions that make it challenging to handle a vehicle.

However, driving in winter can be particularly dangerous and frightening for teen drivers. 

But that shouldn’t make your teen feel like they must avoid getting behind the wheel altogether. With proper preparation, most teens can drive safely in wintry conditions. 

car driving through snow covered roads

If you’re a parent to a teen driver, these 2022 winter driving tips can help you prepare them for winter driving. 

Know What to Do If You Get Involved in an Auto Crash

No matter how careful you are on the road, you cannot completely rule out the chances of getting into an accident. After all, it is impossible to control other drivers’ actions. 

Therefore, you and your teen driver need to know what steps to take if you are injured in a car collision, regardless of the weather or road condition. 

Ideally, the first thing to do after an accident should be to seek medical attention. You will also want to gather evidence, report the accident to the local authorities, and contact a car accident lawyer to discuss your legal options and how they can help. 

Staying in Control

The key to driving safely during winter is remaining in control. So, remind your teen driver to take things slow and drive at a constant speed to ensure the car stays on a level path and does not slide all over the place. 

Additionally, they must always maintain a safe following distance of about 8 seconds to reduce the risk of rear-ending other drivers. It will also help if they avoid the temptation of changing lanes or overtaking other drivers. 

Handling Skidding

No matter how cautious your teenage driver is on the road during winter, they may still get in a situation where the vehicle starts to skid. The best advice you can share with them if this happens is that they must quickly stop accelerating, as doing this will only cause them to lose control of the vehicle or even land in a ditch. 

Instead, they should softly pump the brakes to activate anti-lock brakes. While doing this, remind them to steer the vehicle in the same direction its backend is sliding. 

Driving by a Snowplow

It can be tricky to drive by a snowplow, as it can push up the salt and create some really hazardous areas for cars.

Therefore, remind your teen driver to always stay at least 200 feet behind the front vehicle when approaching a snow plow to allow themselves some time to react should the road surface change abruptly.

Moreover, they should never try to pass snow plows when they are plowing or when the snow banks on the side of the road obstruct their view of oncoming traffic. Instead, remind them to wait until the plows pull over to let traffic pass. 

If You Get Stuck in the Snow

Getting stuck in a snowy parking lot or even on a busy highway is not uncommon. So let your teen driver know that if this happens to them, they must keep the wheels straight and apply a slight touch on the gas pedal.

After that, they can try rocking the car back and forth to get back on the road and slowly accelerate once they regain traction. If the car remains stuck in the snow even after trying everything above, their only option may be using a shovel to dig their way out. 

Driving Up a Snowy Hill

It can be challenging to drive uphill in wintry conditions. Therefore, advise your teen drivers to gradually accelerate as they approach a slippery hill to gather enough momentum to go up.

However, it would help if you cautioned them against putting too much pressure on the gas pedal, as this can cause the wheels to spin.

Ideally, they should maintain a constant speed while climbing a slippery hill and avoid stopping to prevent the vehicle from sliding backward or getting stuck.