Winter Driving

Adverse winter weather can be dangerous and frightening for travelers, especially early in the winter season, when they’re out of practice—and late in the winter, when they get overconfident! In fact, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, bad weather and sloppy road conditions are a factor in nearly half a million crashes and more than 2,000 road deaths every winter. With this in mind, it’s crucial that anyone who drives in winter understand the safety rules for driving in severe weather, the rules for dealing with winter road emergencies, the crucial winterizing your vehicle requires, and general winter-driving safety.

When you drive in Nebraska winters, AAA recommends basic safety measures like keeping a bundle of cold-weather gear in your car, including extra food and water, warm clothing, a flashlight, a glass scraper, blankets, medications, and more. Further, make certain that your tires are properly inflated and have plenty of tread, keep at least half a tank of fuel in your vehicle at all times, never warm up a vehicle in an enclosed area like a garage, and do NOT use cruise control when you’re driving on any slippery surface, including ice and snow. If you have to go out, drive slowly, accelerate and decelerate slowly, increase your following distance, know your brakes, and don’t stop if you can avoid it.

Of course, you’re required to have insurance on your vehicle, and carrying an adequate amount of coverage is crucial. Then, from a mechanical standpoint, wet, cold, and icy weather serve up the biggest challenges to your vehicle’s efficient operating. There are a host of mechanical things that are crucial to preparing prepare your vehicle for winter, including your battery, ignition system, lights, brakes, tires, windshield wipers, winter driving kit, and exhaust and heating-and-cooling systems. Read on to learn more about preparing for winter driving in Nebraska.

Borne of the Pandemic

When it comes to winter driving, of course, the first requirement is a dependable vehicle, and while growth in the rental-car market might not be the first effect of COVID that comes to your mind, it should be in there somewhere. At the start of the pandemic, the halt to air travel slammed the rental-car industry hard. But with restrictions in place and concerns about other transportation options, the local, family-owned Budget Car and Truck Rental of Nebraska (www.budgetnebraska.com) launched a demand-responsive Long-Term Rental Program that serves as an alternative to leasing or even purchasing a car. It’s the perfect solution for individuals and businesses with extended transportation needs who may not want to make a purchase commitment—and for someone who needs a better vehicle to get them through the sometimes-treacherous Nebraska winters.

Rob Durrett

Rob Durrett Budget Car and Truck Rental of Nebraska

“Some people may think that in the middle of COVID-19 might not be the best time to roll out a new business initiative, but to us it felt like the opposite,” said Budget Nebraska Vice President and General Manager Rob Durrett. “We saw it as a way to fill a need that arose out of the pandemic. People and businesses still require transportation but because we’re in uncertain circumstances, they may not have the funds to purchase a car or they may not want to be committed to a long-term lease. Some individuals who normally take public transportation may no longer feel comfortable doing so, or perhaps a family unexpectedly has a collect student at home and now wants an extra car.”

The Long-Term Rental Program is also a great solution for companies that use vehicles to conduct business or want to provide company cars to employees, many of whom are now choosing to drive instead of flying for business travel. Budget Nebraska offers a wide selection of dependable vehicles for business use, including cars, pickup trucks, and passenger and cargo vans.

“We have provided fleets for several local car companies through our Long-Term Rental program and that has proved to be a real cost savings for them,” Rob said.

What’s perfect for winter is that all of Budget Nebraska’s SUV’s and pickup trucks come with all-wheel or four-wheel drive, which better prepare you to handle Nebraska’s winter weather. So, if you need transportation or your car isn’t dependable for winter driving, you can purchase the peace of mind you need through a long-term rental, which can cover anything from days to years. Budget Nebraska also keeps the newest vehicles available in their fleet, rife with a host of winter-loving features, like remote starts, ice and snow scrapers, and heating steering wheels and seats. They also perform extensive and timely preventive maintenance on all of their vehicles, and the cleaning process they use between renters is comprehensive, so you can relax knowing you are safe from any residual germs from previous use.

“Of course, knowing that collisions are more likely during winter months, when conditions can be treacherous, we do recommend adding our vehicle coverage for short-term rentals in winter,” Rob said. “If you choose a long-term rental, you can use your own insurance, so whether you are in need of a vehicle for a day, a week, months, or years, Budget Nebraska will take great care of you!”


On a Collision Course

The fact that 70% of the roads in the United States located are in snowy areas significantly increases the threat of an accident occurring, especially when you consider that driving on snowy roads can take your vehicle 10 times longer to come to a complete stop. Other causes of increased danger are the result of black ice, that often-transparent coating of ice that is nearly invisible to the human eye, as well as sudden heavy snowstorms that hit in Nebraska and decrease road visibility dramatically, plus damp sleet that turns the roads icy and slippery.

In the unfortunate event of a winter collision, the first concern is the condition and safety of all people involved. The next thing that often comes to mind is the condition of your vehicle. That’s where Cars R Us Auto Body, Inc. (carsrusautobody.com) of Omaha comes in. They always put forth the extra effort to ensure that their customers’ cars are fixed and restored to their pre-accident condition.

Cars R Us Auto Body works with all insurance companies and delivers the finest customer service going—and they offer non-insurance auto-body repair for customers with older vehicles or who are otherwise paying out-of-pocket. They also offer a variety of non-collision services, including rust repair, which is common in the Nebraska climate, as well as headlamp reconditioning to avoid fogging headlights that limit your visibility at night and in storms even further. Just taking a look at their online photo gallery and host of customer testimonials at carsrusautobody.com will demonstrate that they know what they’re doing and make you know you’re choosing a winner!


Protection from the Elements

Winter weather in Omaha may not make you want to run out in the wind and frigid temperatures to wash your vehicle, but it should if you want to extend the life of your car and its resale value. That’s because wintertime road salts, including treatments with liquid calcium chloride and sand, plus the moisture from Nebraska storms can cause your car to rust, which can spread across your entire vehicle over time. We recommend putting IQ Car Wash (iqcarwash.com) in charge of keeping your vehicle shiny and protected throughout the winter months and beyond.

IQ Car Wash employs its “Smarter. Cleaner. Greener.” concept to give your car a true, meaningful clean. It’s Smarter, thanks to 3D mapping technology, Cleaner due to their high-tech equipment and premium bio-degradable soaps, and Greener because it uses less water and energy than many other types of car washes. With soft-touch and touch-free options, IQ’s intelligent profiling technology provides a custom wash for everything from a MINI Cooper to a dually and full-sized pickup trucks. The 3D scan captures each vehicle’s unique shape to produce a more efficient and safer wash to clears away the weapons of winter. Do the smart, clean, and green thing today and visit iqcarwash.com to get your reloadable IQ Card and protect your vehicle all winter long!


Whether you like winter weather or not, it likes your vehicle and will take advantage of it if you give it a chance. Be prepared by keeping a list of these outstanding providers who can help you preserve the life of your vehicle no matter what Nebraska winter serves up!