1996 Buick Century Owner's Manual

Driving on Snow or IceMost of the time, those places where your tires meet theroad probably have good traction.However, if there is snow or ice between your tires and theroad, you can have a very slippery situation. You’ll have alot less traction or “grip” and will need to be very careful.What’s the worst time for this? “Wet ice.” Very coldsnow or ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But wetice can be even more trouble because it may offer theleast traction of all. You can get wet ice when it’s aboutfreezing (32°F; 0°C) and freezing rain begins to fall.Try to avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand crewscan get there.Whatever the condition -- smooth ice, packed, blowingor loose snow -- drive with caution. Accelerate gently.Try not to break the fragile traction. If you acceleratetoo fast, the drive wheels will spin and polish the surfaceunder the tires even more.Your anti-lock brakes improve your vehicle’s stabilitywhen you make a hard stop on a slippery road. Eventhough you have the anti-lock braking system, you’llwant to begin stopping sooner than you would on drypavement. See “Anti-Lock” in the Index.Allow greater following distance on any slippery road.Watch for slippery spots. The road might be fineuntil you hit a spot that’s covered with ice. On anotherwise clear road, ice patches may appear inshaded areas where the sun can’t reach: aroundclumps of trees, behind buildings or under bridges.Sometimes the surface of a curve or an overpass mayremain icy when the surrounding roads are clear. Ifyou see a patch of ice ahead of you, brake before youare on it. Try not to brake while you’re actually onthe ice, and avoid sudden steering maneuvers.4-25