Snow safety: Windshield wipers, tires

GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - Every vehicle damaged by a weather related crash in East Beltline Towing's Grand Rapids-area salvage yard tells a story.

"This Expedition here, last weekend ran into the back of a Kent County Sheriff's Unit," said yard owner Jay Vanderwoude.

He said the driver errors that lead to winter weather crashes can be summed up in four words: Too fast, too close.

But sometimes the condition of a vehicle can contribute to a crash. VanderWoude said everything from tires to windshield wipers play a role.

Often, VanderWoude said, people put off getting new wipers too long.

"If they get within a year old, in the summer they get baked. In the sun they get brittle," said VanderWoude. "With this type of snow we have falling right now, the snow does freeze and bunch up on there and they don't wipe properly."

And a clear windshield is important, and n t just the outside.

"Clean the inside of the windows, too. A lot of people, if they smoke in their cars, it gets an inside film on it. And then with that moisture you just can't see. There's a big glare on it. Put bad wipers in there as well, the vision goes down from there," said VanderWoude.

That chunky build up in wheel wells can also cause problems.

"If the ice buildup, the snow buildup turns to ice. We get slushing conditions, and it gets parked outside and we get below zero temperatures or down to zero, that can cause a problems there with turning and such," he explained.

He also warned drivers to watch out for thin treads and low air pressure in tires.