Protect Yourself and Keep Your Car Out of the Repair Shop in the Winter.

Drivers in many states are not accustomed to the snow and ice that has suddenly taken our country by storm. Drivers who are not used to these conditions may be placing their lives and vehicles at risk. There are a few things drivers need to know to be safe and keep their cars out of the repair shop.

Photo by Mel@nieB: http://www.flickr.com/photos/melbo/

1. Get used to the feel of the road. Drivers who aren’t used to driving on ice are likely to skid or spin their tires. When they accelerate, brake or change gears too they can cause a number of problems for their vehicle. These mishaps are inevitable even for experienced drivers, but they can overload your transmission if you do them repetitively. Get accustomed to the feeling of driving on an icy surface to minimize the chance of this occurring.
2. Don’t Be Too Eager to Get Out of a Parking Space. Many people get into accidents as they try to leave their parking spots. As you start up your car and try to drive out onto ice, you may be tempted to give your car more power than it needs. You will have a hard time getting traction and lose control of your vehicle. Piles of snow and ice often lie out of sight and can be dangerous to your vehicle, so be sure to look for them.
3. Don’t Expect Other Drivers to be Careful. It goes against logic that people would drive more recklessly in bad weather. When snow starts falling, drivers often panic or try to rush home to beat it. Always practice defensive driving, but you should be even more careful during a storm.
4. Watch Out for Cars that Still Have Snow on Them. In most states that are accustomed to heavy snowfall, drivers are required to clear their cars off. One of the biggest dangers a driver can face is having a load of snow fly off of the car in front of them. Many drivers fail to clear their vehicles off, so be sure to maintain a safe distance from those that do.
5. Park Your Vehicle Safely. Never park your vehicle on an icy hill. Also, keep it away from areas that are likely to be plowed. Don’t park around large snow banks, because the view of your vehicle may be obstructed by other vehicles.
6. Give Yourself Time. The last thing you want to do is rush to your destination. If you have a commitment, make sure you give yourself plenty of time. No appointment is worth getting in an accident over.
7. Don’t Drive At All in Really Bad Weather. Use your common sense. Sometimes the roads are so bad that you don’t want to chance it.

Many drivers have a hard time getting accustomed to the fact that they need to drive differently in the winter. Following these steps should reduce your chances of injuring yourself, another driver or causing damage to your vehicle. Deaths and auto repair bills are at an all-time high and you don’t want to be another statistic.

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My Economic Stimulus Check.

Regular readers of this blog will remember my plans for the Economic Stimulus Check I was to receive from the government.

Ah, it was a grand plan worthy of being recorded in an epic poem and passed down through the generations for eons to come. Well, maybe not. But I thought it was a fiscally sound idea nonetheless.

My wife and I were going to treat ourselves to something a little less than 15% of the check total, and bank the remainder to reach our emergency savings goal a couple of months early.

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men being what they are, my old nemesis had to make a reappearance. I am, of course, talking about car repair.

I hate cars.

Don’t get me wrong, I like them just fine when they get me from point A to point B. I like them even better when they do so in style and comfort, but I absolutely curse their very existence when they pilfer my hard earned money and squander the unexpected windfall I was about to receive.

Apparently, wheel bearings are damned expensive to replace, even more so when the hub needs to be replaced as well.

Factor into that the need to replace an exhaust pipe and new brakes (and rotors) on my other car and we are effectively kissing our little windfall good-bye.

Still, we did do our part to stimulate the auto repair sector of the economy and that should count for something I suppose.

On the up side, we didn’t have to dip into any of our savings to cover the cost, so we are still on target for our savings goal despite the unexpected expense. Also, we owe nothing on the cars and the one that just got new brakes is a 1999 Honda with little less than 140,000 miles on it so that should go for at least another 3 years or so with my commute being what it is.

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• Protect Yourself and Keep Your Car Out of the Repair Shop in the Winter.