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The Winter season has arrived once again in Pennsylvania and each year it delivers us with a beautiful winter wonderland that gifts us with much needed snow days. Sitting at home in our jammies while drinking hot chocolate is enjoyable, but the world doesn’t always stop for a few flurries and cold temperatures. Being prepared for the winter road conditions is crucial for those who have daily commutes to work and school. It’s important to have your vehicle properly equipped with winter weather tools that make your daily commute easier against the elements and to potentially save your life in the event of an accident.
Here are a few of the necessary items you need in your car to weather the winter season:
1. Ice Scraper
Having an ice scraper in Pennsylvania is imperative during the winter months. It’s there for you when your car is lightly frosted over or when it’s coated in snow. Having this on hand is essential for a safer commute.
2. Windshield Wiper Fluid
You never want to get into a position where the salt is kicking up from the road and you start to lose visibility on your windshield and you realize you don’t have enough windshield wiper fluid to clear the mess. Not being able to see while driving is obviously dangerous. This is not only putting you in danger but also the other drivers as well. Checking your windshield wiper fluid levels frequently over the winter months is important for your safety.
3. Salt, Sand, or Cat Litter
Keeping a bag of road salt, sand or Cat litter in your vehicle is a useful tool when your tires don’t have enough traction in the snow or ice. Sprinkling sand or salt under, in front and behind your tires will help your tires gain traction to move through the elements easier!
4. Warm Winter Clothing
Gloves, hats and blankets are items you should keep on hand in your car during the winter months. Even if it’s not snowing, the cold temperatures can be harsh! Having these items can be useful for as little as pumping gas or in case of an emergency and your stranded along side the road and your car won’t start.
5. Snow Shovel
Imagine this, you finish up working an 8 hour shift at work and you walk to the parking lot to find that it has snowed and no one has plowed the lot yet. The roads are clear but driving out of the untreated parking lot is the most challenging part of your commute. In this scenario, having a snow shovel could reduce the struggle getting out of the parking lot. Just by shoveling around your car, you have given yourself enough traction to make it out of the parking lot and onto the road home!
6. Flashlight
Winter is not the only time that having a flashlight in your car is helpful, this is a tool that you should keep on hand all year! In case of a night time emergency where your stuck along the side of the road, having a flashlight can help make your difficult situation a little bit easier!