Yobeat’s Winter Driving Tips

Ahh, the drive to the mountain. Everyone has their rituals, obligatory food stops and rules for who controls the music. Though those things vary from car to car, one thing that brings us all together on the road is the hatred for idiots who can’t seem to drive just because there’s a dusting of snow on the ground. Now I’m not pointing fingers, but SOME OF YOU are just plain stupid when you get behind the wheel, and in an effort of get us all to the mountain quickly and safely, here are a few winter driving tips from your friends at Yobeat.

- Just because you have all wheel drive, doesn’t mean you can still go the speed you would on dry roads. You know when you see an SUV in the snow right after a curve that really should never cause an accident? Well, that’s why. So slow down.

- You do not need to put chains on your Subaru. But if you do feel like you need to chain up, please do so prior to getting stuck in the middle of the road, preferably in a spot that has enough room for not only you, your car, but also other people on the road to get by without having to slow down or swerve.

- Get off people’s asses. The biggest difference between winter driving and normal driving is how long it takes you to stop. Not to sound like your driver’s ed teacher here, but give the car in front of you plenty of room to fuck up so that when they do, you don’t run into them.

HOORAY YOU MADE IT TO THE MOUNTAIN.

Now a couple tips for the parking lot.

-Just because you see everyone else in the parking lot putting their windshield wipers up, doesn’t mean you should to. Oh wait, yes it does. This is how you avoid the ice chunks that will form when it’s snowing from making it impossible to see while driving home. That said, if it’s sunny out, you DON’T have to do that.

- If you get stuck in the snow, second gear is your friend. If I see another person trying to get out of a parking spot by spinning their tires as fast as possible, basically just digging themselves deeper into the snow, I might lose it. Instead:

• Use reverse and second to rock the car back and forth until you’re in a place where your tires actually have something to grip.
• Then, have your buddy give you a little push while you apply GENTLE PRESSURE on the gas to slowly get the car in motion.
• If you need your buddy to get back in the car, just make sure you don’t stop until you’re on solid ground or at least pointing downhill.

Voila! You’re free.

So that’s it. Now, have fun snowboarding, it’s the place to go as fast as you damn well want and idiocy is somewhat encouraged. Let’s freak out those skier squares!