The Benefits of Winter Driving Technology

Winter driving technology has come a long way beyond heated seats and power steering wheels. While those improvements are welcome, there are other features that make driving in winter weather safer and less of a hardship. Read on for information regarding six different types of winter driving technology from Sheehy Nissan of Glen Burnie

Accident preventive anti-lock brakes

Having anti-lock brakes on your car makes sense during any season, but especially for winter driving. An anti-lock brake system keeps your car under control when applying your brakes. This feature stops your car wheels from locking and helps to prevent skidding by shortening stopping distances. Even if you find yourself in a dangerous situation, your anti-lock brakes will allow you to continue steering your car while bringing it to a halt.

Heated side mirrors for safety

When you drive during extreme winter weather conditions, you need to be able to see not only the road in front of you but also the road behind you. Heated side mirrors are a common safety option on many new vehicles. The heating element clears snow, ice, fog and prevents any more build-up as you continue to drive. Certain models connect the heated side mirror function to the rear window defroster, while many others have a dedicated button for this purpose.

Improved windshield technology

Although heated windshields are rare, more common are heated wipers (also called "de-icers") and washers. No matter what this feature is called, the point is that the heating element dislodges frozen wipers to allow them to clear the full arc of your vision through the windshield. Most new cars offer this technology as an added option with its own control button, while others connect the feature to work automatically with standard feature defrosters. Windshield washer fluid is always accessible during freezing temperatures when you have heated nozzles/hoses connected to the washer reservoir.

Remote start feature

This feature is especially attractive for people who hate to get into a cold standing car. When your car has the remote start feature, you can turn the car on automatically without getting inside. The best system will also turn on the heat and activate defrosters and heated seat warming. While this feature isn't environmentally friendly because it wastes fuel, it is a luxury feature that people choose if they drive in extreme winter weather conditions.

Special winter transmissions

Winter transmissions help to prevent your tires from slipping during acceleration whether you have traction control or not. Transmissions with this feature begin to accelerate in second gear (not first) while shifting automatically and promptly through higher gears. Why so quickly? Because when a car uses higher gears, thrust is reduced at the drive wheels.

Vision enhancing adaptive headlights

While standard headlights shine directly ahead in a straightforward way, adoptive headlights react to steering speed and car elevation and adjust automatically to illuminate your road vision ahead. Steer your car left and adaptive headlights will angle to the left as well. These headlights are designed to help not only the driver, but to also other cars driving towards you on the same road. Who hasn't been blinded by on-coming car headlights? Because adaptive headlights are directed downwards toward the road, headlight glare is reduced.