Chapter 4 — Your Driving 71 Driving in Flood Conditions Windshield Wipers/Headlights Fog If you must drive during fog: If you have extreme trouble seeing, you need to: Snow and Ice When you are starting or stopping on snowy or icy roads: •  Maintain extra distance between yourself and the vehicle in front of you. • (When you stop) keep your foot off the brake and let the engine slow the  vehicle; and •  Allow at least three times the normal stopping distance to slow down; •  Start to move in second gear or higher and release the clutch slowly (for manual shifts); •  Get the “feel of the road” by testing your steering control and the braking friction; • Increase your speed slowly; Snow and ice make roads very slippery. Hard-packed snow increases the danger of  skidding. As you drive, watch for shady spots, bridges and overpasses since these  places are often the first to freeze as the temperature drops. If you must drive  during a snowstorm, reduce speed, use windshield wipers and turn on the low- beam headlights. It is recommended that you reduce speed by more than half for  packed snow and slow to a crawl on ice. Use chains if necessary for better traction,  • Pull far off the roadway; • Stop, secure the vehicle and turn on its emergency flashers; and • Leave the vehicle from the passenger side and stay away from the road. •  Watch for the vehicles behind you. •  Reduce your driving speed and be alert for tail lights of the vehicle in front of you; and •  Turn on the low beam headlights; All North Carolina motorists are required to use headlights whenever they are  using windshield wipers due to inclement weather.  Never drive through standing water on a roadway. The water level may be much  higher than it appears and it is possible that part of the roadway may be washed  away. Take precautions whenever you see water moving across a roadway during  or after heavy rains or during flooding conditions. Your vehicle may stall and be  swept off the roadway into deeper waters. There have been reports that six inches  of fast moving water can sweep a car off the highway and 12 inches of fast moving  water can float a car or cause it to turn over. Since 1970, inland flooding has been responsible for 85 percent of deaths  associated with tropical weather in North Carolina. Half of these deaths were  caused by people driving into known flooded roads.