As the winter season approaches, a new survey conducted by insurer belairdirect has found that most Canadians are not fully prepared for winter driving conditions.
The survey found that only 45% of respondents say they feel prepared for driving over icy or snowy roads. Some 44% of respondents also admitted that they feel nervous or anxious about winter driving.
A good number of Canadians also feel less confident about other drivers, the survey found. When asked to evaluate the skills of other drivers, 34% of respondents rated other motorists in their province as “less than average.” When broken down per province, Alberta appears to be the least-trusting province, with 37% of respondents in the province rating the driving ability as “poor” or “very poor.” By comparison, 32% of drivers in Ontario rated their ability as “poor,” and in Quebec 24% of drivers answered similarly.
Belairdirect also found that only 38% of respondents said that they have all the essential tools in their winter driving kit, and while 92% said they keep an ice scraper in their vehicle, just two in three reported keeping extra windshield washer fluid. Additionally, 58% have blankets and warm clothes on standby in their vehicles.
Basic vehicle prep was also surveyed. Less than half of Canadian drivers report regularly checking their headlights or brakes before driving, belairdirect found. The survey also noted that only four in five drivers say they use snow tires.
Even knowledge of what to do during a risky winter driving situation appears to be limited among drivers, the survey revealed. When asked what should be done if their vehicle begins to skid, only three in five drivers knew to continue steering in their intended direction. When broken down per province, 67% of Quebec drivers knew the correct step, followed by 63% of Albertans and 59% of Ontarians.
Fortunately, 94% of all Canadians know to gently decrease speed if their car begins to skid, and 82% know to use their brakes once their vehicle begins to slow down.
"The first snowfall tends to wreak havoc on Canadian roads each year, due to drivers often being ill-prepared for the winter season," said belairdirect vice president of sales & operations Jeremy Green.
Green added that “with a little preparation, including the very important step of switching to snow tires, Canadians will feel more confident and potentially avoid some of these common slip-ups."
