iMatt :: The Blog of Matt Clare

It’s cold, the thermometer I keep in my kitchen said it was -15 C^o outside last night and 15C^o inside. The water line to my toilet is frozen because I think it might actually cover every inch of my house’s outside wall. So with all this winter weather out there I thought I’d share my tips for winter driving.

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1. All season tires = no season tires. With the cheap foreign labour now available to North America, winter tires and black steal rims are cheaper and easier than you’d think.
2. Keep at least half a tank of gas in you’re tank, no matter what the size. The condensation in the empty tank can freeze and plug-up the fuel line. If this does happen to you either get the car into a warm place or get someone to fill up an emergency can of gas for you and bring it back to you inside the warm car (with a window cracked, and the lid secured, and the safest driving they’ve ever done). This happened to my sister last week and she had to get a tow to Canadian Tire and wait for three hours to have them simply start the car and give it back to her. [[Three years later it looks like this might have more to do with a bad starter than fuel - or my sister]]
3. Ice scrapers, a shovel, washer fluid, oil, a blanket, food etc. are all important to keep in your car.
4. Make sure those windshield wipers are OK. I like to up-size my wipers, as long as they don’t touch when down they’ll be fine. That way you’re not peering around a frame of salt to see traffic lights.