We have seen people wonder about a power outage and all the things that we ought to do in winter, but how to get a car unstuck from snow seems to pass out of their heads. No preparation for this at all, till the time comes! Getting inventories such as food, water, batteries do not escape the head, what does is what to do when the vehicle gets stuck in the snow.
Much worse when it is far from home. This can be a familiar scene in the cold winter days when every place is covered in snow. Thankfully, we have brought together two methods to help you get your stuck car out of the snow.
How To Get A Car Unstuck From Snow?
There is no singular best way to dig your car out of snow; it all depends on your weapon. By weapon, we don’t mean ammo, but snow shovel, cat litter, and such as you will see shortly. We have discussed two methods here, one with and the other without shovels.
Let’s start digging car out of snow!
How To Get Car Out Of Snow and Ice with A Snow Shovel?
Everything is better and more comfortable here if you have a shovel. So, for readers attempting this in the future, we suggest that you always keep a snow shovel ready at hand.
- Using your weapon of glory, which is the shovel itself, try clearing out the snow and ice from around the tires first. Instead of just moving them from beside the tire, shift snow from forward and behind the tires so that it becomes easier to rock the tires later.
- Go from drive to reverse and loosen the grip of snow around the wheels.
- Give the vehicle a little gas and then let off, repeating the action.
- If your car is as stuck as before, try to improve traction. Here’s where our pre-claimed kitten litter comes to play; even sand, salt, dirt, anything goes. You can dump or throw them around the car for better traction and then gas it out.
Read: What do you do if your car starts sliding on ice?
How To Dig Car Out Of Snow Without Shovel?
- There are plenty of ways how you can dig the car out of the snow without a shovel, the first being human resources. You have a chance to take the help of your friends/passengers or friendly onlookers if they are willing to help. Press the gas while they give it a hefty push, and you should do with the added momentum.
- Say, you are alone, and a snow shovel is out of the question, what to do now? You could use any flat surface. Other than that, you can use a wrench, ice prick, ice scraper, etc. to break the ice. Breaking it is necessary because if it is not done, your car could get more stuck with time. And you could use anything such as cardboard, floormat or plywood to create the traction.
After both the methods, you will need to drive your car out. For that, you will need to keep in mind three things.
Firstly, the all-wheel-drive needs to be turned on.
Secondly, to let the wheels spin much slower than regular, you need to shift to the lowest gear there.
Lastly, you have to keep your wheels straight-facing, in the forward direction. Free the area of snow to be able to do it properly.
Now there are three techniques you could use to break free, quite literally:
- Apply the brakes, give some gas for a few seconds, and stop. Turn your wheels both ways to find traction if this doesn’t work. It should work within a few minutes if it doesn’t stop and don’t overheat the brakes.
- Straighten wheel, slightly apply gas at your lowest gear and reverse. Stop if the tire spins. Keep rocking the car forward and backward and create some space around the tires before you ultimately drive it out.
- It is risky and not worth it if you don’t have a car mechanic nearby. Deflate the tires to get the traction you couldn’t get from anything else and bear the risk of driving with deflated tire(s).
Read: How to drive on black ice?
What Not to Do When Your Car is Stuck in Snow?
- Remember to get out the momentum, not the power when rocking the car that will help you bring it out. Continuous gas-flooring may do you more harm than good. So go on and off.
- Traction control should be turned off to prevent wheelspin. If you suddenly hit ice or the road gets icy without notice, turning it off will help you get better control of the vehicle and later get out of the mess.
- Don’t use your blanket or anything that could keep you warm to add traction. You could need it later if you are stranded in the middle of the snow, far from home.
- If the ground is too slippery, prevent your friends or family from pushing the car.
- Don’t slam the breaks and lose your cool.
- It’s not possible to keep your kitten’s litter ready in your car for hygiene issues. Impossible if you don’t own cats. But don’t give it up altogether, not keeping anything. Sand/gravel would do too, and you can follow this, safer than that.
Read: How to drive safely on icy roads?
Frequently Asked Questions
Who do I call when I am stuck in snow?
Of course, a friend. If you have no passengers in your car, you will need to call friends if nothing else works to get your car out. If that doesn’t work as well, you could take the help of locals.
How do I get my car out of the snow without any shovel with me?
Easy. Just re-read method two we mentioned here.
What can I use if I don’t have a snow shovel?
Anything flat that can pick up snow. If you can’t pick it up, at least find something that can break the ice.
Read: How to prepare for an ice storm?
Final Word…
Try to remain calm at all circumstances if you want to dig your car out of snow. Getting all heated up, continually applying brakes can be dangerous. If possible, look around and try to find assistance that could at least tow the car out. Since this is a very common thing to witness in winters, don’t forget to help if you notice someone in distress. And be safe while driving in icy roads!
Read More
Leave a Reply