I think that we all know there's dangers when we drive in the winter with our snow tires - but we don't know how dangerous it really is. If you didn't know, an approximate 1/4 of all car accidents here in the United States are caused by bad weather. I think here in California everyone blames the rain and far east, people blame the snow. All of these weather conditions happen "unexpectedly"; this means that people weren't prepared for the rain or people didn't think it was going to be that hard to drive in the snow.

Here are the top driving dangers that can happen in the winter!.. and how to handle them with your new or used tires:

1. Stay away from Black Ice; period.
Black Ice is actually clear water that has froze over dark roadways, and you can't usually go over it with your regular steel wheels.. even if you have great winter tires on them. Black Ice is usually common on bridges and in areas that are surrounded by a lot of trees. You can typically run into Black Ice when the outside temperature is close to freezing or below freezing - so don't drive when it's that cold.

Most people don't know that Black Ice can even form when it's not raining or snowing! In the freezing parts of the United States, the condensation from the dew on the roadways will eventually freeze. This forms a thin a really thin layer of ice that ends up creating one of the slickest road conditions there can possibly be - so you can have

2. Make sure you can see where you need to at all times.
The main reason why people get into car accidents is because they can't see where they're going. To avoid an accident:
-take your precious time to wipe all of the ice from your windows, mirrors, and even headlights.
-make sure that your windshield wipers are working all year.
-keep the washer fluid filled.
-your defrosters need to be working!

3. Specific caution during blizzards.
Don't drive during one - even if you think you have the best winter rims on your car; don't do it. How simple can it get.

4. Your battery cannot go out by any means.
As your battery gets older and older, it tends to lose the ability to provide current in temperatures that are lower than normal. Let me explain: battery failure is one of the most common things that can happen in cold weather - this and not having the right chains on your used tires. Make sure your battery is in great condition, clean the lead conditions and make sure they're tightened, and if your battery is old, save money for a new one!

5. Be ready if you get stranded.
Here are the things that you need in case you get stranded:
-lots of blankets.
-first aid kit.
-a flashlight and some extra batteries for it.
-reflective triangles so that way you can put them out and people can recognize you're in trouble.
-some extra food that you can store in your car.

6. Get out from stick mud or snow.
If your used tires or new snow rims are stuck; these are the things that you can do:
-keep a shovel in your trunk so you can shovel out the snow. Then sprinkle some salt to gain traction.
-ease out of the spot slowly.
-if the wheels & winter tires start to spin, stop right away and let your winter tires cool down before you think about driving.
-if you've tried everything that you can possibly think of & all else fails, just call a tow truck and relax.

I hope this helps you! Because it definitely helped me.