Michigan State Police reminds drivers to practice winter safe driving skills before December

Southfield, MI (FOX 2) – It’s almost December, and before Michigan drivers know it, snow will cover the roads. And to ensure road safety, police remind those that now is a good time to test your winter driving skills.

Whether it’s snow or sleet, rain or ice, driving gets a little more difficult as winter approaches. Michigan State Police (MSP) First Lt. Mike Shaw reminds drivers to slow down as he says excessive speed, following too closely and distracted driving are causes of traffic accidents.

“It’s not the weather that causes accidents, it’s the drivers,” Shaw said. “I can’t stress enough the slowing down part, you know, that’s what you really want to do so you can react to it in time.”

He talks about excessive steering on slippery roads.

Michigan State Police Sgt. John Looney from Precision Driving Training was on hand at the skid pad offering winter driving tips as he recovered from the skid.

“Here we’ll be dealing with what’s called an oversteer skid and how to properly regain control of the car or avoid skidding altogether,” Looney said. “The minute you start to feel the sensation of a car sliding behind you, you want to look and turn in the right direction. Once the car catches the skid, you need to be patient and let the rear end start to move. naturally stabilize as the car slows down, and then you can begin to spin the steering wheel at the same speed. The last thing you want to do when you get into a skid is increase your acceleration or brake. We need these tires to get traction. back on this road so we can stop sliding.”

He knows people tend to panic and slam on the brakes when they start to skid or turn in the wrong direction, but he says no.

“We need to put our foot on the gas, take our brakes off, look and head in the direction you want to go,” he said.

Drivers should also remember to slow down and leave plenty of space between cars as snow begins to fall.

“We hope everyone has safe driving during the holidays, but you know winter doesn’t last long here in Michigan,” Shaw said. “We’ll have to drive like this in April or May, so we just want to remind people to be careful.”