Browse the information below for seasonal driving tips from our million-mile drivers. Click on a season listed below and find valuable information you won't get from any training or driving books!

Spring
Summer
Fall and Winter

Spring is a time of weather transitions from cold to hot and back to cold again. This weather presents drivers with some unique  driving challenges.
 

• Be sure to check all hoses and belts closely, including air on your equipment pretrips. If you have installed any liquid deicer to your air system, some of these deicers will deteriorate your o-rings in your valves and brake diaphragms. As the temperature increases, these weakened components could fail.
• Remember rubber is manufactured with heat. As the temperature to which rubber is exposed rises closer to the temperature used during manufacturing, components will weaken and could fail.
• Check your tires closely. That curb you ran over last month when it was cold may have resulted in a broken cord that might fail at highway speeds when the weather heats up.
• Check all light wires that may have been pulled down out of position by ice build-up in the winter. These wires may now be rubbing on a frame rail or bolt, which can wear the insulation.

• When driving on two lane, watch for the extra slow driver in oncoming traffic. A good indication that a restless driver is getting ready to pull out and pass a slow-moving vehicle is their location in the lane. Drivers getting ready to pass will most often be close to the center line, and they will pull out in front of you. Be prepared to react to their action long in advance.
• Always check your tire pressure cold. When air heats up, it expands, increasing the tire pressure. Checking tires when they are hot will give you a false reading.
• When bumping your tires, always bump the edge or the sides. The tread will give you a false feel, depending on tread depth and whether the tire is a recap.
• When traveling through high crime areas, tie plastic tie wraps around your glad hand to improve security and deter shutdown attempts.
• Try rubbing a little bar soap on your tractor door seals to improve sealing. When it's hot, the soap makes the seals slide easier and does not collect dust.

After over forty years of experience of driving in inclement weather and speaking with other career drivers, we have these tips to offer:

• As we all know, when the temperature drops to 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the problems start.  One driver suggests placing a little digital temperature gauge to the bottom of your driver’s side mirror to give you the outside temperature.
• In mountainous regions, watch the elevation. Seven thousand feet always marks the start of inclement weather.
• Never introduce alcohol into your air system. The O rings in today’s air valves will detonate in alcohol based products; just about every truck stop has air dry products for air system antifreeze that are not alcohol based. To install: pour about a cup into each glad hand and pump the brakes and set the emergency brakes a few times.
• When driving in rain and ice, each time you stop, press and release the brakes a few times to clear the water from your quick release valves to eliminate the noise you hear when you release your brakes from a full stop.
• When driving on snow and ice, always add ten seconds to your following distance; think of putting yourself in delayed slow motion.
• Try to never lock up your wheels on slippery roads.  A rolling tire has traction; a locked wheel does not, therefore, a locked wheel will out run a rolling one.
• To keep you door handles and running boards free of ice, spray them with a non-stick cooking spray (I got this tip from a guy in Minnesota).
• Put together a survival kit in a small ditty bag with an  m.r.e.s. space blanket, candles, matches, snack bars, road flares, cotton gloves, transistor radio, and extra batteries (I have used mine a few times in snow storms). If you run out of fuel in a storm, this kit is very handy.
• Always check locally before heading up a mountain pass. The people who live there have the real insight, whereas following another driver up the pass who says he has all the answers is a recipe for disaster.
• Never use the trailer trolley brake to a trailer in a skid.  This is an old driver’s tail. In actuality, it’s all the brakes on a tractor trailer working together at the same time that prevents a jackknife.
• When installing chains on your rig, a bungie strap works great for holding them in place while you back up or drive forward.
• Keep a copy of the ATA chain placement guide in a plastic cover in your briefcase for reference.
• You should always know what the weather projection is for your destination twenty-four hours in advance.
• Always check your lug nuts closely when the weather makes extreme changes.
• When using coiled air lines in cold weather, secure your glad hands to your trailer with plastic ties or electric tape. They have a tendency to pull loose in tight corners.
• Never use your hand brake, sometimes called a trolly brake, to brake your trailer in ice and snow. It will cause you to lock up your trailer brakes and could cause you to jack knife.  The trolly brake was only designed and placed on tractors to test trailer brakes and to aid in mountain grade braking.