Consider the following scenario: it’s snowed overnight, your car is stuck, and you’ve got somewhere to be. What do you do? Sit there and spin your wheels angrily while wishing you’d bought a car with all-wheel drive? Go find your strongest neighbor to help give you a push? Well, that second one’s not a bad idea, but even if there’s no one around to help, don’t panic. It’s going to be okay. Now that we’re finally in the depths of a real winter, let’s talk about how to get your car unstuck from snow by yourself. Here’s our best tips.
How to Get Your Car Out of the Snow
First off, don’t spin your tires! That’s just going to dig you in deeper. Instead, try to get a gentle rocking motion going. Back up slowly, then try to drive forward slowly, then keep repeating this move as much as you can without starting to spin the tires. Less is more! Stay in a low gear, and keep the wheels pointed straight ahead to get the best grip. Lean into it with your weight if your car is especially small and light. In the best case scenario, this will be enough to get your car out, and you’ll only be running a few minutes late.
Sometimes, one wheel might have less traction than the other side, making them spin unevenly. If this is happening, try riding the brakes just a tiny bit while you rock the car to even out the power between the two. Use this trick sparingly so the brakes don’t overheat! But it’s definitely worth trying if the snow is deeper on one side.
More winter driving tips: Don’t let the cold weather wreck your fuel economy!
What if That Doesn’t Work?
If rocking the car isn’t enough to get it out of the snow, put it in park and clear away as much snow as you can from around the tires. We recommend keeping a small shovel and some rock salt in your car for this situation, but if you don’t have a shovel, use whatever you’ve got at hand. If you don’t have salt to help melt the snow, see if there’s anything else you can put down in front of your tires to get a bit more traction. Rocks, sand, sticks, old cardboard…anything less slippery than the snow will help. In a pinch, you can even use floor mats from your car — we don’t recommend this unless it’s an emergency, because it’ll ruin the floor mats, but if there’s no help handy and you don’t have anything else, floor mats will do. If none of this works, then yes, it’s probably time to look for help.
