POLICE on patrol across the North West over the past number of days say they were “surprised” by the number of motorists who asked for advice on how to drive safely in the snow or ice.
Snow fell on Thursday closing the mountain road between Limavady and Coleraine.
And over the weekend police warned of black ice on roads across Derry and Strabane.
Last night a heavy blanket of ice covered Derry and Strabane making for tricky driving conditions for motorists this morning.
Here are a few police tips about how to drive safely in the snow and ice:
- Give yourself extra time for your journey and have an alternate route planned.
- It’s important to accelerate gently, use low revs and change up to a higher gear as quickly as possible.
- You may need to move off in second gear as this will help reduce wheel slip.
- You may need to leave as much as 10 times the normal recommended gap between you and the car in front
- If you do encounter a skid, steer gently into it – for example, if the rear of the car is sliding to the right, steer to the right.
- Do not take your hands off the steering wheel or stamp your foot on the brakes.
- If the road has not been gritted, be wary of driving in the wheel tracks or other vehicles as compressed snow is likely to be more icy than fresh snow.
- Controls such as the brakes, as well as the steering, accelerator and even gear changing should be operated smoothly and slowly.
- Sunglasses can help to reduce the glare of low winter sun on the snow.
- Keep your speed down and allow more time to stop and steer.
