W all know that driving during the winter is a challenge at the best of times. I’ve been watching the news and weather lately (Nov 7) and the carnage I’m seeing on the roads in the western provinces is quite disturbing. Many of my friends have decided to pull over and wait out the storms, and that got me thinking about safety and how to park safely.
Parking in the winter, especially during inclement weather is far different that parking in the summer for a number of reason. One of the biggest parking dangers during the winter is, believe it or not… heat. “How can heat be a problem in the winter?” you ask? Well, as you drive, your tires heat up, even during the coldest weather. When you park, they will cool down. If you park in fresh snow, or even packed snow, as the tires cool, they will melt the snow under them, and your truck can “sink” a few centimetres into the snow. As the tires cool down, the melted snow under them turns to ice, and you’re stuck. So when you park in the winter, before setting the brakes, spend a few minutes rolling the truck back and forth about 10 ft to allow the tires time to cool off, thereby avoiding the tire divets. This will also clear a bit of a path in front of the tires so you can build some momentum if you happen to park in freshly fallen snow.
