Is your vehicle ready for winter?

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Justin Weaver
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Motorists are encouraged to begin preparing their vehicles for the upcoming winter months to help offset the aggravations and minimize the risks associated with driving in the winter.

"The fall and winter months bring many extra driving hazards, especially on narrow, curvy, slick Italian roads," said Cledis Scandola, 31st Fighter Wing safety specialist. "For sure the biggest challenge in this area during wintertime is black ice."

People should be particularly careful on the mountain highway, she continued, where the shade prevents ice from melting and the sharp curves are especially dangerous.

She provided the following tips to help drivers avoid losing control on black ice:
· Slow down and try to anticipate stops.
· Remembering that intersections might be extra slick because of the polishing effect of so much traffic.
· Slow down gradually. Hard, sudden braking can lock up brakes and cause skidding.
· Avoid jerking the steering wheel.
· It is important to have a plan in place. The following are some items to consider putting in your vehicles: a charged cellular phone should always be available, extra batteries, water, snack food, matches, warm clothing, first aid kit with pocket knife, necessary medications, blanket(s), tow chain or rope, booster cables, emergency flares, and a fluorescent distress flag.

The Friuli-Venezia Giulia area also experiences a lot of rain and fog this time of year, which can be as much of a danger as icy roads.

"Seventy percent of vehicle accidents are influenced by weather conditions," Scandola said, with 266 accidents occurring during the winter months in 2011. "People need to take weather into account when driving, leave earlier for work, drive slower and maintain a safe distance."

Prepare your vehicle
Motorists should have their vehicle fully serviced before winter begins and have the antifreeze tested. If motorists can't have their vehicle serviced, then they can perform their own checks. In particular, check:
· Lights are clean and working
· Battery is fully charged
· Windscreen, wiper blades and other windows are clean and the washer bottle filled with washer fluid
· Tire condition, tread depth and pressure (including the spare)
· Brakes are working well
· Fluids are topped up, especially anti-freeze and oil.

Scandola also reminds motorists it is necessary to invest in snow tires or a set of snow chains if snow tires are monetarily unfeasible. Snow tires alone shorten a vehicles braking distance by 13 percent. Snow tires reinforced with snow chains shorten the distance by 37 percent.

In Italy, motorists are required to have snow tires or snow chains on board all vehicles effective Nov. 15 through March 31, 2013 when driving on the following autostradas: A4 Venezia Trieste, A23 Palmanova Udine, A28 Portogruaro Conegliano and Raccordo Villesse Gorizia and on many other provincial roads. Snow tires or chains are also required on all mountain roads, including the road from Aviano to Piancavallo. This does not include via Pedemontana Occidentale, commonly referred to as the Mountain Highway. Members should check their current tires for M+S, M/S or M-S. If tires have these markings, they are authorized as snow tires under Italian law. For more information, contact the 31st Fighter Wing Safety Office at 632-8240 or visit www.autovie.it/Home.aspx or www.autovie.it/cms/data/browse/news/000062.aspx.

Personnel planning on taking trips to Austria, Slovenia, Croatia or any other European country, from now through April 15, 2013, are required to have M+S/M-S/M/S (as a minimum) tires on their vehicles. Snow chains ARE NOT legal in any other European country other than Italy, Greece or Spain.

It is also important to remember that if an individual is required to rent a vehicle for temporary duty, it is the responsibility of the driver and not the rental company to ensure the vehicle is equipped with winter tires. The Joint Travel Federal Regulation provides for reimbursement of the extra cost.

Winter tires can be bought on base at The Exchange or auto hobby shop or snow chains can be found off base at most local gas stations.

The auto hobby shop also provides winterization services by draining and refilling antifreeze and doing a fluid check. They can also check tire tread upon request. For more information or to schedule an appointment call 632-CARS.

The base offers a number of ways to stay alert on important winter advisories. Base personnel can tune into the American Forces Network radio or television stations, the Aviano Facebook page, the public website at www.aviano.af.mil or call the Straight Talk Line at DSN 632-3172 to get the most up-to-date information on road conditions and local weather advisories.