Driving on snowy or even icy roads can quickly become dangerous. In addition to adapting driving behavior, you should also adapt other habits in the car – this includes the radio, for example.
When the roads are full of snow, mud or even black ice, driving not only becomes exhausting but also downright dangerous. You are probably familiar with the most common safety rules:
However, very few people are aware of one method of getting from A to B more safely in winter – although it can have a major impact.
Many people listen to music on their usual routes, for example on the way to work or home. But according to a study, attention and reaction speed already suffer from 70 decibels. This can have worse consequences, especially in winter, as slippery roads result in longer braking distances.
In addition, with loud music, you can no longer hear the driving noises of the car. But these are a good indicator of the road conditions, especially in the dark:
The same applies to the engine speed. Since you’re supposed to be driving at low revs in the winter, it’s good to be able to hear it instead of always looking at the gauges and taking your eyes off the road. This is how you hear if the tires are spinning when you accelerate.
So the solution to safe winter driving is to turn the music down or turn it off altogether.
In some situations you may even do this automatically: many people intuitively turn down the music when they are driving to an unknown destination or when they want to park.
This allows the brain to better focus on that one task. So in the winter it should become a habit.
Incidentally, the type of music also plays a role: If you listen to particularly fast or aggressive songs, you probably drive a little faster. So it’s better to switch to something relaxed, because excessive speed can quickly lead to slipping in snow and ice.
When you think of sunglasses, you immediately have summer in mind. But even in winter it can make sense to always have sunglasses in the car. The sun is very low, especially during rush hour in the afternoon – in combination with the snow, this can be extremely dazzling.
You should also always make sure that the tank is sufficiently filled in winter. Otherwise, if you get stuck in a long-term traffic jam on the freeway, you may not be able to use the air conditioning to warm up. On particularly cold days, this can lead to hypothermia.
If you have cruise control, it is better not to use it on slippery roads. As soon as it is deactivated by braking, the transmission of power to the wheels changes. This leads to a higher risk of slipping.
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