Is Your Car Stuck In Snow? Try These 5 Tricks Before You Get Out To Push

With heavier snow storms anticipated this year, it is critical to be prepared for the worst while hoping for the best. Getting stuck in snow and ice is one problem that many of us are frequently faced with especially in regions with an abundance of snow and infrequent shoveling. Even the most experienced drivers may find themselves stuck in thick snow. But before you step outside your car and start shoveling snow or laying down kitty litter, try these steps to hopefully unstuck your car and save yourself from facing the harsh winter weather. 

Driving skills play a big role in determining how well you can tackle snow but sometimes the most common reason for getting stuck in the snow is being unprepared or not planning your route. It is easy to stay prepared by packing the right equipment in your car like an emergency kit, salt, shovel, etc., and a little planning before you set off is essential. However, developing driving skills can take some time. Your snow-driving skills will develop as you gain more experience with the tricky terrain. Here are some tips for winter driving to help you get started.

If you find yourself stuck in the snow, do not panic and jam the accelerator into the floor. This will make it worse by sinking the tires deeper into the snow. Start by trying out the following tricks to give the vehicle enough advantage to get back on grippier tarmac.

With the front wheels pointing straight, you have a better chance of leveraging the car out than with the wheels pointed in either direction. The snow usually builds up around the tires as we move forward. If you try to move with the wheels pointing towards the snow build-up, the car will have a much harder time trying to get over the pile than just going straight ahead. Once you have the tires lined up, put the vehicle in the lowest gear. Engage the low-range gearing If you’ve got a pickup or four-wheel drive SUV. Move forward just a bit. Now slowly back up without revving the engine too high. Stop, then put it in forward and apply a little gas. This should help you get out by tamping out loose snow around the tires. Depending on how badly you are stuck, this simple trick can help you get unstuck. 

If the previous maneuver does not do the trick you can try to “rock” the car enough to clear a path large enough for the vehicle to climb the snow build-up and get out of the ditch. To do this, cycle between the forward and reverse gears repeatedly and move the vehicle back and forth. Make sure you do not rev the engine very high or let the wheels spin. One of the issues with this procedure is that the transmission can get severely damaged if you shift too rapidly between the gears. The transmission could easily give in if this persists for a long time. The key is to ensure that the wheels have stopped before changing gears. This minimizes damage to the transmission.

If you are driving a four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicle, you most likely have the option to engage the differential lock. This may be labeled differently on different cars. The diff lock locks all the wheels on the axle so that all wheels move at the same speed. This prevents them from spinning and provides traction to the wheel with the least available traction. Engage the differential lock and then try moving the vehicle in one of the fashions mentioned above. This may be enough to help you get unstuck.

For cars that do not have a differential lock, a more rudimentary approach is to use the brake while applying some gas. If your vehicle does not move at all or if a tire is spinning, you can try braking while you’re giving a little gas. This can decrease the spinning and transfer some of the power to the wheel with grip. The idea is that the wheel with enough traction will stay under the brake while the wheel with no traction will most likely continue to spin at least enough to find some grip. Do not try this method for more than a few seconds as It can cause your brakes to overheat and compromises braking.

Traction control regulates the brakes on the wheel and prevents it from spinning faster than the adjacent wheel. This helps you turn the vehicle with more traction and better stability and control. But when you are stuck, the wheel spin is restricted. Turning the traction control when stuck in snow may sound counterintuitive but it can help the wheels to spin freely which can help the wheel to clear out the snow trapping it and that may be enough to get you out of the hole. 

Only use this technique if the vehicle does not free itself with the previous attempts and make sure to turn the traction control back on when you are moving freely again since traction control is crucial when driving in normal situations.