Winter driving skills:
- Get real snow tires installed. They work. They're a PITA each fall and spring, but when you are in the snowstorm...
- Do not spin wheels. Otherwise you just make ice. If you're in the snow-bank, you just get lower. And lower. Some people forget the concept that when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging!
- Do not brake. Well, very lightly. Because once the wheels lose traction, your momentum will keep whatever direction you had before you applied the brakes. ABS helps but does not replace intelligence. Winter teaches more people about momentum than all the physics classes combined.
- When turning with front-wheel drive, turn with power. If you do it any other way, you'll understand why.
- Do not assume that drift is "only" a foot high. It might be. It might also be 1" of snow on top of 11" of ice. Or it might actually be 2 feet deep. Your muffler will let you know if you've guessed wrong.
- 4-wheel drive does not replace intelligence. 'Nuff said.
- Given that you're not going to brake and you have minimal ability to turn, drive at half the normal speed. It's also a good speed to observe other people losing control and spinning out.
- If visibility is less than 100 meters (300 feet), use your headlights and flashers. They'll see your lights before they see you. Will it be enough? Depends on whether they suffering from weather-induced idiocy or not.
- Winter wiper blades work a lot better than the other kind, unless you think that wiping your windshield with blocks of ice is exciting.
I'm sure those of you who drive in winter conditions know all this stuff. For the rest of you, it's a learned skill that gets relearned every winter with the first snowfall.