Ten Tips for Brighton, Michigan Winter Driving

BRIGHTON, Mich., Jan. 23, 2012 – We all know how hectic winter driving can be around Brighton, MI. Now that winter has arrived, here are ten tips for winter driving.

10.  Get your vehicle winter ready – Equip your vehicle with snow tires and sandbags (for rear-wheel drive vehicles). FWD vehicles are better for the road than RWD, and AWD is better than both.

9.  Check your tire pressure – Proper tire inflation is important for driving in all seasons and with the temperature fluctuations tire pressures can change as well. For information on tire pressure and inflation check out this how-to article at Edmunds.com

Seems silly right?

8.  Get new wiper blades – Keeping washer fluid levels up is important but won’t do any good with worn out wipers. Come visit us at Brighton Ford and get your car equipped today.

7.  Scrape ice off your windows before departing – Defrost and scrape ice off of your windows and windshield.  “Peep-hole” driving is both dangerous and awkward looking.

The essentials for a winter driving survival kit

6.  Pack an emergency survival kit – Some emergency food like trail mix or granola bars, a flashlight, some hand and feet warmers, a blanket, and small shovel are essentials for your winter roadside emergency kit. All of these things can be found at Meijer. If you find yourself stranded be careful about letting the car run to stay warm, carbon monoxide poisoning is a real danger in those situations.

5.  Allow a few minutes for your engine to warm up – This is important for engine health and your car will be warmer for your trip to work or school.

4.  Give your ride a thorough inspection and perform any necessary maintenance  - The winter is the worst time to have a roadside break down. Give your vehicle and good once over or bring it into the Brighton Ford Service Center and get it winter road ready. Check out the coupon page on our website at www.brightonford.com to get a coupon for a FREE winter check up

3.  Check the antifreeze – The correct quantity and dilution of antifreeze is important for your engines long-term health.

2.  Keep gloves on hand – Frostbite is a concern but just having cold hands is uncomfortable and avoidable.

Practice! Take it slow and get a good feel for how to handle the slick conditions

1.  Practice! – After a light snow take your car to an empty parking lot and get a feel for accelerating, breaking, turning, and Carefully practice sliding so you can get a better feel for how to handle the winter road conditions and make the proper steering corrections. Its not a bad idea (if there is no cars behind you) to give the breaks a good tap as you leave your house to get a feel for how slick the roads are and to give yourself a better idea of how much distance you will need to safely stop. 

Brighton ford is located at 8240 Grand River Ave. just north of I-96 in Brighton. We are a family owned and operated business that strives on customer satisfaction. For more information on Brighton Ford, visit www.BrightonFord.com.

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