Winter Driving Tips - Have Any?

Winter driving tips - we all hear them and sometimes we even follow them! Here are a few I find useful, living in Michigan as I do.

*Carry the basics - When driving on the back roads of Michigan, I find it helpful to have a shovel, a wool blanket, and a bucket of SSA (Sand, Salt, and Ash) in the event I find myself stuck in the snow. It doesn't happen often, but now and again the dirt roads around here freeze and are more like ice rinks than roads and the SSA helps with the traction. The blanket I keep just in case I have to wait a while before help arrives. I use wool because it is inexpensive (army-surplus blankets can be had for under $20 off the web), fire-resistant (occasionally useful when on a campout), and will keep you warm even if wet. They are also handy as a ground cloth when changing a tire or for a picnic (come summer). The shovel is for snow - or something else if someone is handing me a load of bull....

*Light up! - Carry a good, reliable flashlight or rechargable light. Come December, it gets mighty dark here might fast. A good light makes all the difference in the world when checking out homes at night, especially when it is a distressed home in which the electricity was turned off.

*Carry an emergency kit - I also have a collection of items in the car. These include a couple of hot packs, a candle, some wool socks, mittens, a couple of energy bars, and a wool knit hat. I also carry a water bottle with me, but that doesn't stay in the car (for obvious reasons!). Finally, a reasonably well-stocked first aid kit (being somewhat accident-prone) is a necessity.

*Carry a basic Car Kit - I can't tell you how often I have to use my jumper cables every winter for someone who doesn't have them in their car. Cables, tire-changing equipment, a couple of flares (handy for starting a campfire if you are really out there...), some work gloves, a snow brush and ice scrapper, and a small compressor for reinflating tires, and a can of tire foam fill out my car kit - all packed in a nice package purchase at the local box store for a reasonable sum. Oh, don't forget a jug of window-washing liquid!

*Dress well! - Thick warm socks, a long coat, scarf, hat, and gloves will make it much easier to show those empty homes. Likewise, a pair of silk long underwear makes life, and winter, so much more bearable!

Anyone else have a recommendation? Please, pass them on!