Winter Driving Safety for Company Vehicles
At least 70% of U.S. roads are located in regions that receive at least 5 inches of snow annually, leading to half a million automotive crashes every winter.
Commercial fleet safety is not complete unless you’re accounting for winter driving safety. Below, we’ll discuss ways to prepare for company vehicle safety during the most dangerous season of the year, as well as winter driving tips that should be passed along to your fleet drivers.
Preparing Your Company Vehicle for Winter
Winter driving puts unique strains on both vehicles and drivers. As a result, you need to prepare your fleet before the snow and ice hit.
Conduct Pre-Season Maintenance Checks
Part of winter driving safety is minimizing the likelihood that your fleet will break down on the road and strand your workers to the mercy of inclement weather.
Before the first winter weather of the year is likely to hit, schedule a fleet-wide mechanic’s inspection of vehicles. This will put potential problems on the radar, allow for proactive maintenance and repairs, and give you an opportunity to winter-proof your vehicles.
Institute Daily Vehicle Inspections
Unfortunately, winter maintenance isn’t one-and-done. Before each winter shift, drivers should be trained to go through an inspection checklist. This should include:
- Checking tire pressure and looking for any obvious damage
- Cleaning all headlights, brake lights, tail lights, and signal lights of ice or dirt and checking that they function properly.
- Top off levels for engine oil, antifreeze, and wiper fluid
- Clear wiper blades of any snow, ice, or debris, and test for good working order
- Clear the exhaust pipe of any snow
A few inspection items can be pared down to once a week, making the checklist for one day a little longer. These items include:
- Checking tread depth
- Checking the spare tire for good working condition
- Checking that the vehicle is stocked with all necessary winter driving supplies
Should the driver find a problem, you need to institute clear guidelines on when a vehicle should be taken out of service.
Install Quality Winter Tires
Part of your start-of-winter maintenance routine should be installing good-quality winter tires to maximize traction during snowy and icy conditions.
Use the NHTSA’s Tire Safety Ratings Lookup to help you select tires that will perform as needed.
Stock Supplies for Winter Driving
Prevention is step one for commercial fleet safety in the winter, but preparation is equally important. You can’t guarantee that nothing will go wrong on the road, but you can be ready for likely scenarios by stocking the right supplies in your commercial vehicles.
There are winter supplies that are helpful in the day-to-day like:
- Extra winter coat
- Extra gloves
- Ice scraper
- Snow brush
- Snow shovel
- Tire chains or other traction devices
- Diesel fuel treatment and engine oil rated for winter temperatures (if needed)
Then there are supplies to be helpful in case of a winter emergency or breakdown, including:
- Flashlight
- Jumper cables
- Bags of salt, sand, or kitty litter
- Blankets
- Battery-powered phone charger
- Flares and/or emergency markers
- A supply of bottled water and non-perishable food
Safe Driving Practices in Winter Conditions
Winter driving tips are important for your average driver, but for fleet owners, they’re an investment to protect your company’s assets. Below, we’ll review the best practices for winter driving safety that should be codified into your company’s driving policy.
You can’t just give these safe driving practices lip service – you need to set the expectation that they’ll be followed and bake them into performance expectations on days when there is inclement weather.
Be Alert, Focused, and Sober
Driver focus is critical any day of the week, but given the increased number of things that can go wrong in winter weather, it’s especially important for drivers to minimize distractions and stay alert.
Encourage drivers to make sure they’re well-rested, avoid driving fatigued, and take necessary breaks.
Winter may also be a good time to step up random DOT drug testing.
Stay Informed
Information is one of the most valuable resources your drivers can manage to improve their winter driving safety. Encourage drivers to check weather and traffic information at regular intervals and arm them with recommendations of reliable sources.
Understand Winter Conditions
Drivers need to be armed with knowledge of when slick conditions are likely to form because it isn’t just when snow and sleet are falling. They need to know to take special precautions when:
- It’s raining, snowing, or sleeting – particularly in the first 30 minutes of the event
- The air temperature is just below freezing, regardless of known precipitation
- Taking bridges and overpasses, even if the temperature is above freezing
A pre-winter toolbox talk or training can help refresh drivers’ memories of winter conditions and best practices.
Know Their Brakes
Drivers need to understand, at any given time, whether the vehicle they’re driving has Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS) or not. The braking recommendations are completely different in winter weather between the two. Drivers of ABS vehicles should never “pump the brakes.”
Drive Slow and Steady
Most of winter driving safety revolves around slowing down – this is why a winter driving policy won’t be effective unless performance goals change in response to snow or ice.
In conditions where slick roads are possible, drivers should:
- Disengage cruise control and leave it off. Drivers need to retain minute-to-minute control over their speed to safely navigate inclines, curves, slick patches, and the behavior of other drivers.
- Accelerate and decelerate more gradually. Take your foot off the gas if you’re approaching a potentially slippery area or if traffic is in flux. Avoid gunning the gas.
- Increase following distances from other vehicles. Winter following distances should be at least 4 seconds, but heavy vehicles may need a much larger cushion. This gives you time for slower deceleration if needed.
- Decelerate before they reach any curve in the road. Hitting the brakes while turning the wheel is a recipe for skidding.
Know How to Deal with Inclines
Regardless of the terrain, most areas have slopes of some kind – even if there aren’t natural features like hills, there are onramps, offramps, bridges, and overpasses. Slopes are particularly tricky in slippery conditions, and if the slope is elevated off the ground, it’s more likely to freeze.
To go up an incline that may be slick, drivers should:
- Avoid goosing the gas on a slippery hill. This will get the wheels spinning, reducing the already-low traction against the snow or ice.
- Build inertia before they enter the slope so the vehicle has the energy necessary to reach the top.
- Avoid stopping on an uphill slope, if at all possible. In traffic, this may mean leaving a more generous following distance and creeping forward rather than stopping and going.
- If the top of the hill will (or may) lead to a downward slope, slow down as you crest the hill.
To go down an incline that may be slick, drivers should:
- Downgrade to a low gear. This will limit your speed while allowing your tires to maintain traction with the road.
- Try to avoid breaking if possible. If you must brake, brake carefully and follow the recommendations for your braking system (ABS versus non-ABS vehicles).
- Leave a greater following distance than normal.
Employee Education and Training
The best investment you can make for commercial fleet safety in winter is educating your drivers. They need to be trained in the importance of driver awareness, the best practices for winter driving safety, and what to do in an emergency.
Although OSHA doesn’t have any specific standards addressing the topic, it is your responsibility under the General Duty Clause to train your workforce in recognized hazards – and winter driving tips definitely fall under this umbrella.
The best place to start for company vehicle safety is furnishing all commercial fleet drivers with a defensive driving course from an OSHA-authorized provider like us. We’ve been providing OSHA training for over 20 years, and our courses are online, self-paced, and available for your employees wherever and whenever it’s most convenient.
