Several of the staff at the pizza restaurant were discussing the treacherous driving conditions the other day. Outside, the wind was howling and snow was swirling like a dervish unleashed. “I hit some black ice today,” the waitress said. “It was really scary.” “What is black ice?” someone asked.A delivery driver suggested that black ice is ice on the pavement that you can’t see. Another

An accident, once it happens, is something you can’t take back. You can’t say to yourself, “I should have stopped at the stop sign I missed,” and then roll time backwards until the accident didn’t happen. Once it happens, the damage is done, whether to the vehicles, to passengers or both. There are no Mulligans or Do-Overs.During the holiday season, our normally stressful lives are all the

You know that curve on Route 12 east of Richmond? Does it seem as though the car is leaning more as you hold your car between the white and yellow lines? That’s one indication that your shocks or struts are suffering. And, with the winter that hit Richmond this year, there’s a good chance your shocks and struts are not quite in as good of shape as they were last fall before the snow flew. Some

It’s beginning to feel as though this winter is here to stay forever? The cold just keeps on coming, wave after wave of arctic blasts that make the simplest outdoor tasks monumentally challenging: snow that follows the waves of cold and keeps folks almost perpetually with shovel in hand or lining up behind their snow blowers. As bad as this winter has been so far, and though there’s no guarantee

There are aspects of winter that can be fun – snowmobiling, skiing, skating, snowball fights, building snowmen. Other aspects are less so.  So far, this is a tough winter in Northern Illinois.  Temperatures have dropped lower than is customary. Though the area hasn’t experienced one big blizzard yet, the accumulation of snow is still significant. And winter is still less than halfway

That last-minute shopping for the holidays can run a bit hectic. The malls are packed, the roads are busy and, to add to the mix, the roads are often slick and dangerous this time of year, too. For shoppers, with their focus on making their final purchases before December 25th, keeping their attention on driving is a challenge. Since other drivers are facing the same dilemma, the potential for fender

Ice cakes on the wiper blades leaving wide swipes of slush in the center of their reciprocal path. The headlights reflect back off the large and heavy flakes of snow falling in your path further reducing visibility to a matter of yards and the safe speed of travel proportionately. A drive that normally takes a little more than an hour has already taken three – and home is still several communities

There are several parts on cars that are made of rubber including the tires, windshield wipers and the seals around doors and windows. These rubber items play a vital role in the summer keeping the car on the road, the windshield clear and water from running inside the car’s body. In the winter, their roles are even more essential. Windshield Wipers Windshield wipers only have to wipe the rain

You see that car sitting on the side of the road on a cold winter night. There’s a good chance, whatever caused that car to pull over it wasn’t something the driver planned for. No one plans for their car to breakdown, especially not in the middle of winter. But, if it happens, the trick is to have a plan. If you have a plan for such an occasion, you’ll know what to do. You’ll be prepared.

Have you ever seen someone trying to drive while looking through a small patch of window they’ve scraped clean of snow and frost? You watch them cautiously trying to drive by touch and you shake your head at the insanity. You want to shake them and tell them to just take the time and clear their windows properly. Not only can they receive a ticket driving that way, they also are at risk of having