1) Don't think about "driving into a skid." Especially if there's a lamp post or brick wall in your way... Instead, avoid skidding in the first place.
2) It's a free country, and nobody should be forced to stay at home. But, with self-preservation in mind, should we be on the roads and pavements when there is heavy snow and thick ice? Such conditions last days rather than weeks. Can't employees with desk-based jobs and students with home computers agree - in advance - with their bosses, teachers and lecturers that they will work from home for, say, up to five days of the working year when adverse weather conditions make commuting difficult if not impossible?
3) Secretly, some police driving instructors and winter driving tutors say the best way for most drivers to deal with icy or snowy roads is to stay off them. I know this, because they have personally whispered such (unofficial) advice to me and urged me to pass it on to the motoring public.
4) Sounds daft, but keep reminding yourself that your car isn't in physical contact with wet, snowy, icy or any other road surfaces. Only its tyres are. So they must be in perfect condition and have exactly the right amount of air in them.
Apart from the hugely underestimated safety benefits, drivers will enjoy the added bonus of improved fuel economy when their car's tyres are inflated correctly.
5) Dress appropriately for harsh winter conditions. Cyclists and pedestrians should avoid black and opt for brightly coloured clothing, footwear, gloves, hats and rucksacks. Drivers need strong shoes or boots when walking to and from the car (use those sturdy soles to check for icy surfaces when getting in and out), then bone dry carpet slippers (the preferred footwear of professional Scandinavian test drivers!) or thin-soled trainers when working the pedals.
Use gloves while entering and starting the car or when trying to warm-up. Never wear them when driving because they act as an unhelpful barrier between the driver and the steering wheel. It's easier to "feel" how the car is behaving beneath you when thick gloves (and those thick-soled outdoor shoes) are removed.
Hats are OK for motorists, but only if they don't completely cover the ears, which are valuable "tools" in wintry/foggy conditions, alerting you to hazards you might not be able to see.
On a related point, no loud music on the in-car stereo when road conditions turn nasty. And no ear/headphones for drivers or cyclists at any time. Pedestrians might like to consider attaching an ear/headphone (singular) in one ear, thereby leaving the other free to hear car horns, cycle bells and the roar of large buses and trucks.
6) Forget the archaic advice that a motorist should carry a blanket, bottle of water and bar of chocolate in the car in case he or she gets stranded. Instead, sleeping bags (at least one for each car occupant), inflatable pillows, large Thermos flasks full of boiled water, tea bags, coffee powder, and packets of soup are required.
Also consider an in-car kettle which plugs into the 12V cigarette lighter socket in the dash. No water? So fill it with snow.
Heat-providing tealight candles in safe candle holders, wind-up torches, phone chargers, portable radios (for traffic and weather reports), foldable shovels and wellies in the boot are imperative too, along with reflective safety wear.
7) The ideal in-car temperature when driving is around 21 degrees C. Any warmer and motorists become lethargic and sleepy. Any cooler and they're uncomfortable and irritable. A cheap, dash-mounted room stat inside the car is a good idea.
8) Modern cars are so loaded with power-sapping gadgets and gizmos that their batteries go flat surprisingly quickly, even when they are parked only with their sound systems on. Thus the need for a cheap portable radio (or more expensive wind-up version) for essential traffic and weather reports. Keep it in the glove box, not the boot. But a compact, portable, already charged power pack in the luggage compartment might provide the emergency "juice" needed to jump start that car with a flat battery.
9) Clean the inside of windscreens as often as you clean the outside. Modern, recycled plastic dashboards often cause screens to acquire an annoying "steamed-up" appearance. This means reduced vision and, in turn, increased danger. Eliminate the problem with good quality soft cloths and decent glass cleaning products.
Cleaning - or simply wiping with a dry cloth or paper towel - front and rear exterior lights and indicators is another daily must, if only to remove tiny soot particulates emitted from the exhaust pipes of diesel-engined vehicles.
And how can a driver following you be expected to see your car when your rear lights and reflective number plate are coated in snow? Brush it off.
Never leave a key in the ignition while the stationary car thaws-out in the morning with its heater on full blast. Instead, while it's standing still, remain in the vehicle for five or ten minutes with a cuppa, an eye on weather conditions and an ear on traffic and weather reports on the radio. Don't forget to store the empty cup in a safe place before driving off. If it drops to the floor it can become wedged under the brake pedal.
10) What type of car should you invest in?
If it's a rear-wheel-drive model (BMW, Mercedes-Benz etc) it might struggle on ice or snow covered roads. Front-wheel-drive cars (Audis, VWs etc) are preferable in such conditions.
Four-wheel-drive vehicles are better still thanks to power being sent to all four wheels for increased traction. On snow and ice, a two-wheel-drive car, whether front or rear drive, is not unlike an animal on two legs - wobbly. In the same conditions, a four-wheel-drive vehicle is like a four legged beast - considerably more stable.
Don't touch a new car unless it has a traction control system as part of its standard spec.
Can't afford winter tyres? I'd argue you can't afford not to buy and use them from December through to March. They're yet another way to protect your no claims bonus - and your life.
Final thought. Where would you like our fine, young, strong troops and their four wheel drive vehicles to be this winter? Dodging bombs and bullets on the murderous streets of Afghanistan, or helping to clear ice and snow covered roads, cycle lanes and pavements in Blighty?
* Mike Rutherford has piloted everything from 2mph fold-up bicycles to 200mph Formula One cars.
He has received one-to-one tuition from F1 drivers including Sir Stirling Moss and Martin Brundle, and has also had valuable in-car sessions with leading rally, off-road, Indycar and Le Mans drivers, including former World Rally champions, Colin McRae and Juha Kankkunen, plus Le Mans GT winners, Olivier Beretta and Justin Bell.
As part of his unique, record-breaking drive from London to Miami by car, he has driven across Iceland, Greenland and other countries inside the Arctic Circle.
He has also driven over frozen lakes and on ice racing circuits in Scandinavia and North America, plus snow-covered mountain ranges in in North and South America, Eastern Europe and Asia.
He drove and slept in a 4X4 as he tackled the vast, perma-frosted, snow-covered deserts of Mongolia. And he has driven - slowly - over the "Bridge Of No Return" from South Korea to North Korea. After being denied access by car or bicycle, Rutherford managed to walk across another sensitive border - the one separating Zambia and Zimbabwe, in central southern Africa.
He has also driven thousands of miles in the gruelling, Paris-Beijing Rally which passed through colossal, largely unknown countries such as Kazakhstan.
But most of his winter driving has been in Alaska and northern Canada where he has also completed a driving scholarship.
His greatest winter driving achievement was to spend weeks piloting a Jeep in a northerly direction along the deserted and notoriously hazardous Dawson Highway, prior to driving hundreds of miles of Ice Road (made up of the frozen Mackenzie and Arctic Red rivers) to Tuktoyaktuk, one of the last Inuit villages before the North Pole.
Mike Rutherford owns a four acre four-wheel-drive course in southern England.
