Winter Road Trip Safety

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We recently had the opportunity to head up to the Mountains for a pre-Holiday getaway. I love going away right before Christmas time because it’s a chance to reconnect as a family and get down to relaxing before a busy few days around the Holidays.

Unfortunately, this time of year I get really nervous about highway travel because of snow, ice and dipping temperatures. I grew up in Manitoba, so you would think I’d be more relaxed about being a passenger in snowy road conditions, but I can’t. I’m extremely anxious in winter driving.

I took this opportunity before we took this four-hour trek up through the mountains, to review winter road safety and prepare.

Maintain Your Vehicle

Take your car in to have it checked over, top up all fluids and have an oil change if necessary. Tire pressure is an important part of safe highway driving. Book time to be able to do all of this in the weeks leading up to your road trip.

Have an Emergency Kit

Keep a first aid and emergency kit in your vehicle throughout Winter. A kit should include booster cables, bottled water, energy or granola bars, blankets, small shovel, snow and ice brush, extra clothing and boots and for automotive lock picks in case of emergency lockouts.

Drive In Line with Conditions

Abide by all speed limits, watch the weather forecast and visit government websites that provide traffic and weather cams to plan your drive. DriveBC.ca is a fantastic website to watch for Mountain road conditions and events.

Have the Proper Tires

On most British Columbia mountain highways you are required to have Winter or M+S (mud and snow) rated tires on your vehicle from October 1st to March 31st and can be turned away or fined for not abiding by these laws. Plus, it’s only smart to use the best tires possible when winter driving.

Plan for Delays

Bring distractions for the little ones, extra snacks, and expect the unexpected. On our way home from our mountain getaway at Sun Peaks Resort this past weekend, we arrived in Merritt (about half way home) only to learn the highway was closed further down on our route. We sat down at McDonald’s and took our time having lunch there while watching the DriveBC website for updates. Luckily the highway reopened shortly after we finished our lunch and we hit the road.

When the roads are good, we hit the drive-thru and keep on driving!

Our favourites on a road-trip are fries, milk shakes and chicken McNuggets!

Drive safe on your Holiday road trips!

Connie-Signature

*Posted in partnership with McDonald’s Canada. All opinions are my own. 

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