The winter season has recently arrived and it's just a few degrees below the freezing point. Strong wind along with the snow that has arrived overnight and has started piling up. It´s time to go to work and start your scheduled route throughout the city.
These first days with ice, snow and slippery conditions are always interesting. Everyone seems surprised about the rough conditions but you have to be prepared and drive more intelligent. Watch out for the extra slippery intersections and roundabouts where a thin layer of ice is polished by other vehicles to an even more slippery surface. Be sure to have enough space in front of you to be able to stop before hitting someone or something.
Be prepared
To get the traction and have the margin you need to be prepared, equip your vehicle with the right stuff. Solutions can include regular snow chains, a bucket of sand or something else to put between your wheels and the ground. Installing good quality tires for winter use is something you have already prepared for several weeks prior.
A lot of trucks and busses are equipped with automatic tire chains. Fortunately, in those vehicles you only need to flip a switch inside the warm cabin. Then you have the traction similar to regular snow chains, instantly, without leaving the safety of the cab. Gone is the hassle of getting out in the cold and putting things on your tires. You get the traction required to climb hills and to step at red lights. Automatic tire chains allow you to start immediately when the traffic lights turn green and to be able to have a good control of the truck the last few feet when backing up to an unloading ramp.
During the day you recognize the other professionals who also are prepared. The delivery van with the young driver, who always is in a hurry, zooming by the competitors van that got stuck on the ice in the customer's lot. The garbage truck going up and down the narrow, unplowed streets. The fire truck on call to save people and property.
When you arrive home in the afternoon, as scheduled, you can tell your family that you have had yet another great day at work. Everything was delivered on time with no accidents, just as it is supposed to be, each and every day of the year regardless of weather.
Here you can see and listen to what some drivers say about automatic tire chains:
