Michelin's Winter Driving Safety event teaches life saving skills

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

As drivers, we often have antiquated notions or have picked up bad driving habits which  can be corrected if we go back for specific driver's training. This is what I discovered for myself after spending time at the Michelin Driving Safety event yesterday in downtown Toronto.

Designed for teenagers and parents to drive through simulated weather conditions as well as learn to properly control cars that have hit ice, avoid oncoming obstacles and better value the properties of Winter Tires and their benefits when they are needed the most.

Some Quick Tips

Professional driver Carl Nadeau taught me some things about driving and corrected many mistakes in my driving routine. Nadeau explained that we need to sit near enough to the steering wheel that we can put our wrists on top of the wheel, this gives us more control for suddenly moving vehicles out of possible collisions.

He also explained that we need to be seated close enough that when we slam on the brakes all the power comes from our legs (not our calves, not our feet). This ensures we can really hammer the brakes down and enable the ABS (Anti-Lock Braking) to do its job. Other tips, never pump your brakes as they will lose substantial stopping power and always be a bit loose when holding the steering wheel, never clench it out of stress or nerves.

What happens if you spin out or lose control of your vehicle? Carl says the first thing is look where you want to go and then steer towards that direction, apply gas and correct your position to regain control. These drills were part of the test on the skidpad which Michelin installed for student drivers and media.

Also, on the topic of Winter Tires, they should be up as soon or before we get freezing temperatures because these can drop suddenly (and then everyone wants to put their tires on). We got a chance to test-drive Michelin X-Ice Xi3 winter tires on a state-of-the-art skidpad that simulates icy conditions.

Michelin X-Ice Xi3 winter tires don't freeze as quickly as all weather tires, they also have special design features that better manage water, ice and other slippery surfaces.

The tires have 3rd generation Winter grip technology that stops 7% shorter on ice and 3% shorter on snow when compared to previous generations of this tire.

Uniquely-shaped vertical sipes control shear stress that reinforces tread block robustness.

My biggest take away from this informative session is that it is worth spending time to learn more about safe Winter driving. Novices and experienced drivers can only stand to gain important and possibly life-saving skills by familiarizing themselves with these dangerous and underestimated conditions.