[BEBE999]

Hello Everyone,
I will be in Pontiac, Michigan for the month of February. I am from California and I never drove in snow before. How is the road condition in winter? Any tips on what type of car to rent would be appreciated. Thank you.

[detwahDJ]

Depends on how much snow. Cities keep their streets navigable, but driving elsewhere can be iffy at certain times. They will give special attention (more salt) to hazardous areas like hills and intersections. On outstate highways be prepared for "black ice" under freeway bridges - it is what it says - usually a patch of ice which you won't see ahead of time. Do not attempt to steer until you are beyond it.
Cars should be front-wheel drive at least, but AWD or FWD is better. Tip: stay in the city. With luck, the roads will be relatively dry, which they often are.

[zthatzmanz28]

Let me know when you are here, I would love to watch..
Seriously, a mid sized car wih front wheel drive is a great help. Just remember, no matter how quick a car is from the stop, on snow and ice they all stop the same---the faster you try to stop the better the odds are you will SLIDE. FAST and ICE are not a good combination whether stopping or accelerating.
Obviously when you feel a slide, let up the skinny pedal try to stay off the brake and steer in the direction the read end is going. So if the rear slides around on the driver's side, steer LEFT, and if it is the passenger side steer right.

Have fun and if you have a GO CAM PLEASE try to get some pix of your first encounter with snow. Of course you could get lucky and that month will be rather light snow...but not likely.

[michmoldman]

Grab a taxi. I seen a guy up here last year who had never driven in snow, and it was snowing. He was absolutely terrified!

[leebeemi]

Take it slow, leave space between you & the next car for reaction time, and ALWAYS clean your windows, whether it's snow or frost. If you can't see, you can't drive safely. Do NOT attempt to multitask while driving in snowy or icy conditions--no texting, calling, fiddling with the radio, etc. Take your time, and it will be okay.

[chiroptera]

I just commuted 40 miles home and in a 15-mile stretch there were four multi-car accidents. The roads LOOKED dry and felt dry to drive on but every accident was on an elevated portion of roadway so people were clearly driving too fast especially around curves and any elevated roadway is going to ice over quickly and even locals forget that, apparently.

The other great piece of advice I got decades ago was to drive as if there was a rotten egg between your foot and the pedals. In other words, on slick roads do everything gradually. No panic braking (decelerate instead of applying brakes whenever possible), no fast acceleration, no taking curves or turns or lane changes quickly.

You will do fine. Almost every person who lives in snow country had to learn at some point, often as new teenage drivers, and the vast, vast majority of them survive.

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

I just commuted 40 miles home and in a 15-mile stretch there were four multi-car accidents. The roads LOOKED dry and felt dry to drive on but every accident was on an elevated portion of roadway so people were clearly driving too fast especially around curves and any elevated roadway is going to ice over quickly and even locals forget that, apparently.

The other great piece of advice I got decades ago was to drive as if there was a rotten egg between your foot and the pedals. In other words, on slick roads do everything gradually. No panic braking (decelerate instead of applying brakes whenever possible), no fast acceleration, no taking curves or turns or lane changes quickly.

You will do fine. Almost every person who lives in snow country had to learn at some point, often as new teenage drivers, and the vast, vast majority of them survive.

Not sure that egg had to be rotten lol.

[mostie]

Omg, I feel for you, OP. I'm originally from CA too, lived in Michigan (and another snowy state) for the last eight years, and I'm still not used to it. We have an SUV, so if you're going to be driving, I would suggest something like that with 4wd. I slid down a hill in our vehicle recently, and it scared me pretty badly- I can't help but "hit the brakes", and that's what you're not supposed to do, lol (tap on them.....as if that did me any good)....I slid right out into the intersection, thank God there were no cars there at the same time- a huge salt truck got there a couple of seconds later, after I had spun into the direction the intersection I was sliding into was going!

I'm in agreement with whoever said "taxi". They know how to navigate- I live way up in the U.P., and if I recall correctly, downstate had more ice on the roads than up here.

[YAZ]

Put your vehicle in neutral while going down a slick hill.

Pump the brakes lightly.

Steer in the direction of the skid.

Maintain good collision coverage.

[topher5150]

When i first started driving every wintee i would find an open parking lot and whip some doughnuts. Its a great way to figure out how to react in icy situations