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Toolbox talk · 10 min · Driving & Vehicles

Winter Driving

Hazards: Loss of traction on ice, packed snow or a slushy shoulder · Reduced visibility from frost, fogged glass, spray or blowing snow · Stranded vehicle and cold exposure or carbon monoxide while waiting · Struck-by on foot around a vehicle whose driver cannot see out

Why it matters

On frozen road surface alone, this country averages about 156,164 crashes and 521 deaths a year on icy pavement, and 186,076 crashes and 496 deaths on snowy or slushy pavement — FHWA Road Weather Management, five-year averages for 2019 to 2023. It does not take a highway. On December 13, 2024, a worker walking near a loading dock was struck and killed by a coworker's box truck; OSHA's record notes the driver's view was obstructed by ice and frost on the windshield (Accident Summary Nr 172752.015). Two minutes with a scraper.

Key points

  • Clear all the glass, not a porthole. Windshield, side windows, mirrors, lights, and the roof so a sheet of snow does not come off onto the car behind you.
  • The rule lets you slow down and stop. 49 CFR 392.14: speed shall be reduced in snow, ice, sleet, fog or mist, and if conditions become sufficiently dangerous, operation shall be discontinued until the vehicle can be operated safely.
  • Everything takes longer. Braking, turning, accelerating. Double the following distance and do one thing at a time — brake, then turn, never both.
  • Know your brakes before you need them. OSHA: stomp on antilock, pump on non-antilock. Stopping distance is longest on water-covered ice.
  • Bridges, ramps and shaded gates freeze first. So does the haul road nobody salted. The pavement can be dry a hundred feet earlier.
  • Carry the kit. Flashlight, jumper cables, sand or kitty litter, shovel, brush and scraper, flares, blankets. Long trip: food, water, medication, phone.
  • Stuck means stay put. Stay in the cab, mark the vehicle, run the engine only in short bursts — and clear the exhaust pipe first, or you are running CO into the cab.

Do / Don't

Do

  • Leave early and check the forecast before you roll.
  • Let the defroster do its job before you put it in gear.
  • Tell someone your route and your expected arrival.
  • Say it out loud when the road is too bad, and park it.

Don't

  • Pull out with frost on the mirrors or a scraped porthole.
  • Use cruise control on a wet, snowy or icy road.
  • Follow the plow truck closely, or pass one.
  • Slam the brakes mid-corner.

Quick site check

  • Walk the vehicles: glass, mirrors, lights and plates clear; wipers, washer fluid and defroster working.
  • Open one truck and confirm the winter kit is actually in it.
  • Name the first spots on this site to ice over, and who is salting or sanding them this morning.
Discussion — ask the crew
  1. Who on this crew has scraped only a porthole in the windshield this winter — be honest?
  2. What is in your truck right now if you get stuck for four hours tonight?
  3. At what point on today's route do you decide it is too bad to keep going, and who do you call?
  4. Which gate, ramp or haul road here ices over first, and what do we do about it before the shift?
  5. How much extra following distance are you actually leaving on a slick morning?
Refs: FHWA Road Weather Management — annual averages 2019-2023: 156,164 crashes and 521 deaths on icy pavement, 186,076 and 496 on snow or slush · OSHA — Safe Winter Driving: the three Ps, vehicle maintenance, the kit, and what to do if stopped or stalled · 49 CFR 392.14 — Extreme caution: reduce speed in snow, ice, sleet or fog, and discontinue operation if conditions become sufficiently dangerous · 29 CFR 1926.601(b)(5) — Windshields, powered wipers, glass replaced, and operable defogging or defrosting devices · 29 CFR 1926.601(b)(14) — Start-of-shift check, including lights, wipers and defrosters where necessary · OSHA Accident Search — Summary Nr 172752.015, 12/13/2024 (worker run over by a box truck with an iced windshield)Sign-in sheet included in the printed version

Frequently asked questions

Using FHWA's five-year annual averages for 2019-2023: icy pavement accounts for about 156,164 crashes and 521 deaths a year, and snowy or slushy pavement for about 186,076 crashes and 496 deaths. Together that is roughly 342,000 crashes and over 1,000 people killed every year in this country on frozen road surface alone.

For commercial motor vehicles, 49 CFR 392.14 is explicit. Extreme caution shall be exercised when hazardous conditions such as snow, ice, sleet, fog, mist, rain, dust or smoke adversely affect visibility or traction; speed shall be reduced; and if conditions become sufficiently dangerous, the operation of the vehicle shall be discontinued and shall not be resumed until it can be safely operated. Stopping is not a judgment call you have to defend — it is written into the rule.

OSHA's Safe Winter Driving sheet: PREPARE for the trip, PROTECT yourself, and PREVENT crashes on the road. Prepare covers the vehicle, the kit and the route; protect is buckling up; prevent is slowing down, leaving distance, avoiding fatigue and never mixing drugs or alcohol with driving.

OSHA's list: flashlight, jumper cables, abrasive material such as sand, kitty litter or even floor mats, a shovel, a snow brush and ice scraper, warning devices like flares, and blankets. For long trips add food and water, medication and a cell phone.

OSHA's guidance is to stay in the car, do not overexert yourself, put bright markers on the antenna or windows and shine the dome light, and if you run the engine, clear the exhaust pipe first and run it just enough to stay warm. A blocked tailpipe fills the cab with carbon monoxide.

Yes, and not only for your own sake. On December 13, 2024, a worker walking near a loading dock was struck and killed by a coworker's box truck; OSHA recorded that the driver's view was obstructed because cold weather had left ice and frost on the windshield (Accident Summary Nr 172752.015). Under 29 CFR 1926.601(b)(5), site vehicles with cabs must have windshields, powered wipers and operable defogging or defrosting devices.

They change what your foot does. OSHA's sheet puts it plainly: stomp on antilock brakes, pump on non-antilock brakes, and know that stopping distances are longer on ice and longer still on water-covered ice. Know which system your vehicle has before you need it.

Steer into it — that is, point the front wheels where you want the vehicle to go — and stay off sudden inputs. OSHA also recommends rehearsing the maneuver slowly on ice or snow in an empty lot during daylight, before the morning you need it.

Sources & references

Content checked against these sources — last reviewed August 28, 2026.

Results are estimates for planning purposes and do not replace a competent person's evaluation or an engineer's design. Follow the OSHA standards that apply to your work and your employer's written program.

By — Editorial team of SteelToeTools.com (published by LSEA SAS) Updated