Lorraine Explains: Let Waze show you the way to snow-free streets this winter

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If you’re already a user of the Waze app, you’re familiar with the many tools it puts at your disposal while driving.

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Generally, it shows you traffic and hazards along your route, like cars pulled over to the side, speed traps, crashes, construction, locations of restaurants, and just about anything else that pertains to getting to your destination. 

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Lorraine Explains: Let Waze show you the way to snow-free streets this winter Back to video

Waze kind of did the impossible: it figured out a way to get drivers to not only get along, but to help each other out.

Information inputted by users keeps all those above things updated in real-time. It’s why it’s my preferred driving assistant.

During COVID-19, it’s even developed a program to help small local businesses literally get on the map; you can fill out a form with your information, and until January 7, 2021, the app will let people know where you are and when you’re open. With 130 million users worldwide, the picture it is able to paint gets sharper every day. 

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The company recently rolled out a new feature just in time for our Canadian winters: Waze can show you un-plowed routes, and allow you to tag them for others. The news will soon be full of images of drivers taken by surprise by storms and ditches full of cars whose drivers lost control, but knowing ahead of time that getting to your destination might be more difficult than anticipated can hopefully cut down the number of people who get stuck or stranded. 

You can read almost anywhere this time of year the best things to have in your car’s emergency kit, starting with the fact you should have one. You can spend a little or a lot, but making your own is pretty easy. Much of the stuff you already know. Emergency blankets, candles, energy bars, a collapsible shovel, flashlight, gloves, a hat, and jumper cables. Some advocate having a bag of sand or cat litter too, to dump under stuck wheels, but smaller cars can get packed up pretty quickly.

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Here are a couple of things often overlooked: a decent pair of snow boots. They don’t have to be a perfect fit, they can be ones somebody outgrew or left behind.  We often drive in “normal” footwear, and you should never drive in those Sasquatch snowboots where you can’t tell if you’re mashing the brake or the accelerator.

But those are just the kind you want in the car in case you end up outside, or even having to walk. Nine times out of 10, you shouldn’t leave your car. But if you have to, leather-soled dress shoes are going to be useless. Stuff a pair of wool socks in the boots. 

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The other thing is a battery charger. I have a NOCO Genius, but there are lots on the market and prices range from about sixty bucks to a few hundred. You charge them at home, and they serve as a portable power pack you can use to boost a car battery, or charge your phone or any devices that use a USB. Many have a flashlight built in. 

Waze did the impossible: it got drivers to help each other out

If you’ve ventured out and ignored an unplowed road warning from Waze, and now you’re stuck in the snow, keep a couple of things in mind. Most passenger vehicles on the road are front-wheel-drive, so those are the wheels that you have to connect to the road.

You’ve probably noticed the traction control button on your dash or to the left of the steering column. It’s always in the ‘ON’ position unless you turn it off. If you’re stuck, turn it off. You want your tires to spin so you can find traction, and traction control prevents that. (If you’re truly stuck and the tires are just spinning, stop.) Traction control also prevents you from gently rocking the car a little (do not slam your transmission around), a tried method that can sometimes work to get you going again. When you’re unstuck, re-engage the traction control setting.

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Still stuck? If you’ve got the kitty litter on board, dump it before or behind (depending on which way you’re trying to go) your drive wheels. If not, you can use floor mats tucked under the wheels, too. If they get you unstuck, they’re going to go flying, so get to sure ground, then go chasing after them.

Being stuck is when having all-wheel- or four-wheel-drive is helpful; when you hit your brakes, you’re braking just like everyone else, though, so slow down. The best winter drivers? If they have to be out on the roads at all, they have winter tires on, a full tank of fuel, extra windshield wiper fluid, recently replaced wiper blades, and they’ve cleared their entire vehicle of snow, including all the lights and that big blob on top.

As unpredictable weather starts up, slow down, stay safe, and let Waze help steer you clear of uncleared roads.