Winter Driving Tips

  • Front line OPP units forward weather patterns observed to our local media sources and even to Environment Canada to be broadcasted for everyone to see. Environment Canada has several websites that show these weather updates and even show radar images that allow you to view weather patterns that are approaching.


  • Keep an emergency winter driving survival kit in your car:
    • Bag of sand or salt (or kitty litter)
    • Traction mats
    • Snow shovel
    • Snow brush
    • Ice scraper
    • Booster cables
    • Warning devices such as flares or emergency lights
    • Extra windshield wiper fluid appropriate for sub-freezing temperatures
    • Roll of paper towels
    • Flashlight and a portable flashing light (and extra batteries)
    • Blanket
    • Extra clothing, including hat and wind-proof pants, and warm footwear
    • First aid kit
    • Snack bars or other "emergency" food and water
    • Matches and emergency candles - only use with a window opened to prevent build-up of carbon monoxide.
    • "Call Police" or other help signs or brightly coloured banners.


  • To give yourself a two-second space, follow these steps:
    1. Pick a marker on the road ahead, such as a road sign or telephone pole.
    2. When the rear of the vehicle ahead passes the marker, count “one thousand and one, one thousand and two”.


  • Passing a plow is a risky job as most people don’t realize that ahead of the plow is a roadway that is untreated and often slippery.


  • If you pass a snowplow or a salt spreader, pass with extreme caution


  • Keep your vehicles parked off the streets when you know the plows will be out.


  • Stay off the roads if you don’t have to travel. The less traffic means the snowplow can do their job faster.


  • Don’t assume the snowplow operator can see you. Every truck has a blind spot which reduces side and rear visibility. Stay at least four car lengths back behind emergency snow removal equipment. This also keeps material from the road from hitting your vehicle.


  • When snow blowing, or shoveling snow, do not put the snow out on the road. It’s added work for the plow operator and it’s against the law.


  • To avoid shoveling your driveway twice, if you can, wait for the plow to finish your street before you shovel the entrance way to your driveway. The plow operator has no control where to put the snow. It has to go off to the side of the roadway which may include your driveway entrance.


  • Sometimes mailboxes get damaged when plowing occurs. When they are knocked down, most times it’s not the plow but the force of the snow the plow is pushing aside.


  • Plowing all area roads are completed by a systematic route that has been carefully figured out over years of experience. Let the experts do their job.


  • You have to use extra caution if you see sand on the roadways because sand does not melt snow or ice.


  • When temperatures fall below -12C, it becomes too cold for salt to work effectively.


  • Always be watching for the flashing blue and amber lights of snow and ice control vehicles. When approaching them from behind, slow down, stay back and be patient. If you have to pass around them, use extra caution.


  • There is no way to protect yourself from freezing rain. The best thing to do is stay off the roads, until road crews have a chance to clean them up.


  • Environment Canada issues Winter Storm Watches and Warnings when a quarter inch or more of freezing rain is forecast. So make sure you’re up to date with weather reports by listening to this radio station.


From the Wilder side of winter, remember: expect the unexpected so nothing will be a surprise. It’s all about being prepared.

Brought to you by Constable Drew Wilder, OPP.


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