One more article from the Toronto Star, printed January 31, 2004.  Some driving tips for those that like (and don't like) winter driving.  Now, where can I go and practice?

Ten tips from BMW's winter driving school

2. SEATING POSITION: Close enough so you can put your left foot on the firewall and still have a bend in your knee; upright enough so that if you drape your hand over the top of the steering wheel, your wrist rests on it; high enough so there's about a fist-width between the top of your head and the ceiling.

3. CLUTCH IN: An instant cure for understeer in a manual-transmission car.

Dip the clutch and just enough forward weight transfer to get the steering working again.

4. BREATHE: We all have a tendency to tense up when driving in difficult conditions or on a difficult read. Doing so reduces our sensitivity to what the car's telling us.

5. TRACTION ACTION: Electronic safety systems fitted to your car - ABS, traction control, stability control - are there to help you if you lose control by accelerating, braking or turning too hard.

Do things properly, drive smoothly and with in your limits and you'll never activate them.

6. SNOW TIRES: Your tires are the only thing between your car and the road.

No matter how good your vehicle is, if your tires can't get a good grip, you're not going to be in control. Investing in a set of four quality winter tires makes sense.

7. WIDER IS BETTER: On a racetrack, you want an ideal line through a corner. On the road, however, a wider line, with a later turn-in and a narrower exit, is safer because it allows you to see more of a corner before you commit to it.

 
Chief Instructor Pierre Savoy:

"You do need to slow down before you turn, you know."

(These next three are for some challenging fun in a suitable and safe location. Use caution.)

8, FORWARD 180: Give the steering wheel a quarter turn away from the direction you want to go, then turn it a half turn the other way; yank the hand brake; accelerate smoothly in the other direction.

9.REVERSE 180: Pop the car into neutral while travelling backwards.

Quarter-turn away from your intended direction, then halfturn in the intended direction. Go back into gear to pull smoothly away.

You're now going in the same direction you were before, but with your nose pointed forward.

10. SCANDINAVIAN FLICK; Brake and downshift into a turn as normal, perhaps carrying a little extra speed.

Flick the steering a quarter turn (or less) away from the direction of travel; then make a half turn into the corner. Yank the handbrake to rotate the car and floor the gas on the way out to exit the corner in a delightful sideways fashion.

Yell "Yeeeee-hah!"

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