Listen Live

STATEWIDE — Winter weather is here, and with it comes snow and ice making driving condition much more dangerous. The best way to avoid an accident is to make sure you’re prepared before you go on the road.

Just like for the rest of the year, keeping an eye on your vehicle with proper, regular maintenance will help to make sure you’re always driving safe.

“The first thing you definitely want to think about is inspecting your tires to insure safety on winter roads,” says Lisa Wall with AAA Hoosier Motor Club, “Another thing to consider, replacing worn windshield wiper blades. Making sure that you can keep windshield clear to increase your visibility is going to be incredibly important.”

With that, Wall recommends washing your car regularly to prevent salt from the roads building and damaging your car with rust. Keeping an eye on your vehicle’s battery is important too, to make sure your battery doesn’t die while you’re out in severe weather.

But if the worse comes to pass and you do get stranded on the side of the road, keeping an emergency kit with you can make a huge difference in staying safe. “We definitely recommend an emergency kit for people to keep in their car. Whether it’s blankets, warm clothing, a glass scrapper to keep your windows clean, extra food and water, a flashlight, all these things are important to have with you,” said Wall.

If possible, keep your car’s gas tank at least half-full to make sure you can run your car heater long enough until help arrives.

Prevention is key, but if you’re on the roads and hit a patch of ice don’t slam on the brakes. “If your car begins to skid you want to continue to steer in the direction you want your car to go,” said Wall.

She also adds that tailgating can be especially dangerous. Leaving more room between you and the car in front of you will allow more time for you to react in poor driving conditions.