Winter Driving Safety Guide: Stay Safe On and Off the Job Site

Picture this: Your truck is idling in the driveway, windshield frosted over. You’re huffing and puffing while scraping off the ice and snow on your driveway before hitting the slick roads. Before you’ve even set foot on a job site, you’re already facing a new seasonal hazard: winter driving.

Nationwide, driving remains one of the leading causes of death at work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded 5,283 fatal work injuries in 2023, and the National Safety Council’s Injury Facts show that transportation incidents are the top cause of work-related deaths, accounting for about 37% of the total. Winter weather stacks even more risk on top. The FHWA estimates that crashes on snowy, slushy, or icy pavement lead to over 1,300 deaths and more than 116,800 injuries every year in the United States.

Construction crews feel that exposure more than most. They drive before sunrise, haul tools and materials, navigate unfinished access roads, and work in and around active work zones where one mistake can affect both workers and the public. When a company truck slides through an intersection or a foreman loses control on black ice, it’s not just a vehicle claim—it can be a fatality, a life-changing injury, or a disruption that ripples across multiple projects.

Winter will always bring surprises on the road, but they don’t have to catch your crews off guard. With the right prep, clear expectations, and a bit of discipline behind the wheel, most winter driving scares never turn into crashes. Let’s dive into why vigilance on the road matters, how to prepare your vehicle, and how to respond to common situations while on the road.

Winter Vehicle Maintenance for Company Trucks and Crew Vehicles

Winter driving habits don’t matter much if the truck itself isn’t ready. Cold weather hits batteries, tires, fluids, and visibility all at once, so a simple seasonal tune-up plus quick in-season checks can remove a lot of risk before crews ever leave the yard.

Seasonal winterization

Treat winterization as a reset before the first real cold snap, then keep an eye on the basics through the season:

• Battery and electrical: Cold weather reduces battery power and makes engines harder to start. A quick winter check on the battery, charging system, and belts before winter gives you a better chance of avoiding a dead truck on a remote road.
• Cooling system: Most winter maintenance guides recommend a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water at the proper level to protect engines in cold conditions.  A quick pressure test and hose inspection can prevent breakdowns that strand workers at the roadside.
• Tires and traction: Good tread and correct pressure are non-negotiable. Winter safety campaigns regularly remind drivers to check tire tread and condition and to make sure tires are appropriate for local conditions.
• Brakes: Brakes should feel even and responsive, with fluid at the proper level and no pulling, grinding, or soft pedal. Any weird behavior on dry pavement will be worse on ice, especially for loaded pickups and small flatbeds.
• Visibility: Replace worn wiper blades and keep washer fluid topped off with a winter blend that won’t freeze.  Make sure all lights work and lenses are clean so trucks can both see and be seen in snow, fog, and dark winter mornings.

For construction fleets, it helps to turn this list into a short, standard winterization checklist and apply it to every vehicle—from superintendent SUVs to gang box haulers—before the first sustained freeze. Keeping your vehicle in working order will help you get on the road safely and minimize the potential for a mechanical failure to cause an accident.

Emergency gear for every work vehicle

Even a well-maintained truck can end up stuck, stalled, or waiting out a closure during the winter. Putting together winter survival kits can help workers get by while they wait for rescue. At a minimum, each vehicle should carry:

• Scraper and brush
• Snow shovel
• Jumper cables
• Traction material (sand or kitty litter)
• Warning triangles or flares
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• Blankets, gloves, and hats
• Basic first-aid kit, snacks, and water

For construction, it’s smart to expand that list with high-vis vests, extra gloves, a few cones, and any site-specific needs. Standardizing this kit across pool vehicles and company trucks makes it much easier to inspect and restock than relying on whatever each driver throws behind the seat.

As a bonus, encourage workers to pack a small bag with personal essentials, like gloves, spare socks, water, snacks or medication (like an inhaler).

Who owns winter maintenance?

Winter prep works best when responsibilities for maintenance and inspections are clear. Many fleets use a simple split: the shop or vendor handles full winter inspections, supervisors confirm that assigned vehicles are winterized, and drivers complete quick walk-arounds and report issues. A short, written checklist that names who checks what—and when—can keep those tasks from turning into guesswork.

Safe Winter Driving To, From, and Around the Jobsite

For most crews, the riskiest winter moments are simple: pulling out of the driveway, merging into traffic, turning onto the access road, and weaving through a busy site. A few consistent habits go a long way toward keeping those moments uneventful.

Slow down and make space

On snowy or icy roads, stopping distance can jump quickly. A road that feels fine in July can become hazardous fast when the truck slides instead of gripping the surface. Coach drivers to back off the vehicle ahead and give themselves more room to react and brake without any risk.

Inside the jobsite, speeds should be even lower. Less than ten miles per hour on rutted, frozen ground is plenty when you’re sharing space with equipment, pedestrians, and snow piles that hide corners and obstacles.

Keep inputs smooth

Winter driving rewards calm hands and feet. Hard braking, quick lane changes, and snapping the wheel into a turn are moves that can turn a small slide into a full spin. Drivers are safer when they slow down earlier, brake gently, and usesmooth control on the wheel and pedals so the tires can hold traction instead of constantly breaking loose.

On jobsite roads, that same smooth approach keeps trucks from sliding those extra few feet into trench plates, parked lifts, or workers on foot.

Turn off cruise control

Cruise control belongs on a dry highway, not on patchy ice or slush. When the system keeps trying to hold speed on a slick surface, a small loss of traction can turn into a bigger skid. In winter, drivers should manage speed themselves and avoid cruise any time the road might be slippery.

Treat site roads like real roads

Access roads and internal loops may be private, but physics doesn’t care. Crews are safer when the lanes they actually use stay plowed and treated, especially on hills, curves, and approaches to gates and parking areas.

Where it makes sense, set up one-way routes to cut down on tight passes and awkward backing on ice.

Protect people on foot

When visibility is low and the ground is slick, pedestrians are much harder to see and much easier to hit. It helps to keep clear paths shoveled and treated for people on foot and to mark them so there’s a clear separation between walking routes and vehicle lanes.

High-vis outerwear should also be the default any time someone is near moving vehicles, especially in parking areas and along access roads.

Make parking and backing deliberate

“Park wherever you can fit” turns into a real problem in winter. Trucks and trailers jammed near the gate create blind corners, blocked sightlines, and tight squeezes on ice. Assign spots, keep them set back from main travel lanes, and use safe parking layouts with enough room to pull through instead of backing whenever possible.

When backing is unavoidable—especially near pedestrians, snow piles, or stacked materials—a spotter in high-vis gear and simple, consistent hand signals should be standard practice, not a nice-to-have.

What to Do When Things Go Wrong on Winter Roads

Even with good prep and solid driving, winter roads still surprise people. A hidden patch of ice, a stalled engine in subzero temps, or a crash on the way to a site can turn an ordinary day into an emergency. The goal is to give your crews a simple playbook for those moments when things go sideways.

If you start to skid

The first move in any skid is to fight the urge to panic. Stomping the brakes or snapping the wheel usually makes it harder to maintain control.

• Stay calm and look where you want to go. Keep your eyes on the path you’re trying to follow, not the thing you’re afraid of hitting.
• Ease off the accelerator. Don’t slam the brakes; just come off the gas and let the vehicle settle.
• Steer gently. Small, smooth inputs give the tires a chance to grab again instead of breaking loose completely.

For a rear-wheel skid (“fishtail”):

• Turn the wheel in the same direction the rear is sliding. If the back swings right, steer right.
• As the truck straightens out, gradually bring the wheel back to center so you don’t trigger a skid the other way. Steer into the skid, then straighten.

For a front-wheel skid (you turn, but the truck keeps going straight):

• Ease off the gas and release some brake pressure.
• Point the front wheels where you want to go, not cranked all the way to the right or left.
• As the tires bite again, gently guide the truck back into its lane.

Brakes are a last resort in a skid. If you can ride it out with steering and throttle alone, recovery can usually be smoother and safer.

If you get stuck or break down

A stalled truck in winter is both a vehicle problem and an exposure problem. Cold, wind, and poor visibility can be just as dangerous as traffic.

• Stay with the vehicle. It’s shelter, and it’s easier to find than a person walking along the road.
• Make yourself visible. Switch on hazards, put out cones or triangles if you have them, and hang something bright from a mirror or antenna.
• Check the exhaust. Before you idle for heat, clear snow away from the tailpipe so exhaust can escape.
• Run the engine in short intervals. Ten minutes every hour is usually enough to stay warm while saving fuel and reducing carbon monoxide buildup.
• Crack a window slightly. A small opening on the side away from the wind helps vent exhaust and moisture.

This is where your emergency kit matters. Blankets, extra gloves, hats, snacks, and water give workers a margin of safety if they’re stuck for longer than expected.

If conditions are truly bad (think whiteout conditions in the dark), encourage workers to call for help as soon as possible instead of waiting until their fuel, battery, and phone charge are all too low.

If you’re involved in a crash

When a crash happens on the way to or from the job, you suddenly have three problems at once: potential injuries, live traffic, and company reporting requirements. Workers don’t need a long policy to follow at that moment. They need a short sequence they can remember.

1. Check people first.
   • Check yourself, passengers, and anyone in the other vehicle.
   • Call 911 right away, especially if anyone is hurt or if there’s serious damage.
2. Make the scene as safe as you can.
   • If the vehicles are drivable and it’s safer to move, pull to the shoulder or a nearby lot instead of staying in a live lane.
   • Turn on hazard lights.
   • Set out cones or triangles if it’s safe to do so, especially in low visibility or near a curve.
3. Protect workers from traffic.
   • If the weather allows it, have people stand well away from the road, preferably behind a barrier or far off the shoulder.
   • Keep high-vis vests on.
   • Avoid standing between vehicles or in front of a truck that could be hit again.
4. Notify the company.
   • Once 911 is called and the scene is stable, contact the supervisor or on-call safety contact.
   • Share the basics: location, who’s involved, obvious injuries, and whether the vehicle is drivable.
5. Document what happened.
   • If it’s safe, take photos of damage, road conditions, skid marks, and nearby signs or landmarks.
   • Note time of day, weather, and what the worker was doing (commuting, material run, crew transport, etc.).

Once you’ve received documentation and everyone involved in the accident is ok, your internal safety process can take over: accounting for medical care, post-incident testing when required, incident reports, and root-cause analysis.

Building Winter Driving into Your Safety Program

Good winter driving isn’t just about individual drivers doing “the right thing.” It’s about how the company sets expectations, trains people, and follows through when conditions are bad. If you treat winter driving as a core part of your safety program (and not a personal issue), you’ll see fewer surprises on the road.

Start with clear responsibilities

Someone needs to own winterization, education and management, or it falls through the cracks. At a minimum, clarify who is responsible for:

• Seasonal vehicle winterization
• Daily and pre-trip vehicle checks
• Route decisions when conditions are poor
• Incident reporting when something goes wrong

Pro tip: Safety managers should work with their employers to make sure vehicles are safe and in working order and reporting incidents when they happen. Drivers and workers should be responsible for daily vehicle checks and using their best judgement to operate a vehicle safely. That said, employers should make sure workers are properly trained and educated to handle winter conditions.

Put winter rules in writing

If your expectations only live in toolbox talks and text threads, they won’t hold up under pressure. A formal written policy goes a long way in educating workers and minimizing negligence. It doesn’t need to be fancy, but it should cover:

• When company vehicles must be winterized and how that’s documented
• Minimum pre-trip checks drivers are expected to complete
• Rules for speed, following distance, and seat belt use
• What happens when road conditions are severe (delays, cancellations, remote work where possible)

Written rules should be communicated early and often, so drivers know the company will back them up when they slow down or turn around for safety.

Train before the first storm

Most crews have stories about winter driving scares. Training is a chance to turn those stories into lessons before the next season hits. Good winter driving toolbox talks are short, practical, and focused on a few key behaviors:

• How to adjust speed and space on snow and ice
• How to recover from a skid without overreacting
• What to do if they get stuck, break down, or crash
• How and when to call in unsafe conditions

A few targeted sessions each fall, backed up by quick toolbox talks in the first storms, are often more effective than a single long class. Many employers also use short quizzes or sign-offs to confirm that drivers actually saw and understood the content.

Make it easy to report problems

You can’t fix what you never hear about. Encourage workers to speak up when they see:

• Repeat trouble spots on routes or access roads
• Vehicles that aren’t winterized or are missing basic gear
• Schedules that don’t allow for safe travel time in bad weather
• Near misses that almost became crashes

Near misses are early warning signs for possible hazards. Treat them like free data instead of excuses and take steps to control the hazard. When workers see you respond quickly—adding sand to a bad corner, adjusting a start time, retiring a worn-out truck—they’re more likely to keep talking.

Track both leading and lagging indicators

Winter driving is the kind of risk that rewards companies that watch the right numbers. That doesn’t have to be complicated. For most contractors, a basic set of leading and lagging indicators looks like this:

• Leading indicators
  • Percentage of vehicles winterized by a target date
  • Completion rates for pre-trip winter checklists
  • Number of winter driving training completions
  • Count of reported near misses involving winter conditions
• Lagging indicators
  • Weather-related vehicle incidents (on and off site)
  • Crash rates per million miles driven or per project
  • Injury cases tied to vehicle movement in winter months

Reviewing this data mid-season also lets you make adjustments while they still matter. Changing a route, adding lighting, shifting a start time, or escalating maintenance on a problem vehicle can all help reduce potential accidents on and off the job site.

Back safety over schedule, every time

At some point every winter, you’ll face a critical decision: push ahead in questionable conditions or slow down and take the hit on production. Drivers pay close attention to what happens when they make the safe choice. If they get punished for trying to stay safe, they might stop following policies meant to protect them.

Make it clear that:

• Supervisors are expected to support reasonable decisions about winter driving.
• Nobody is criticized for turning around when conditions are worse than expected.
• Leaders would rather lose an hour than lose a worker.

That message has to show up in real decisions, not just slogans. When workers see you cancel an early pour because of black ice or let a crew start late after a storm, they understand what the company really values.

If you already have pieces of this in place (vehicle checks, some training, a basic policy), the next step is pulling them together into a simple, repeatable winter playbook your teams can actually follow.

If you’re looking for help organizing training, standardizing your checklists, and keeping safety managers from getting buried in paperwork, it might be time to request a demo and see how Safety Mojo can support a stronger, year-round safety program.

Winter Driving FAQ for Construction Crews and Supervisors

1. What should I check before a winter drive?

Focus on tires, lights, glass, fluids, and load. Make sure tires have good tread and proper pressure, all lights work, windows and mirrors are fully cleared, and there’s enough fuel, washer fluid, and antifreeze. Do a quick walk-around to spot leaks or damage and confirm tools, materials, and trailers are secured before you roll.

2. What should be in a winter emergency kit?

Every crew truck should carry a scraper and brush, small shovel, jumper cables, traction material, warning triangles or flares, flashlight, blankets, extra gloves and hats, basic first aid, snacks, and water. Car kits from federal emergency planners and car supplies from NSC line up closely with that list.

3. What should I do if my truck skids on ice?

Stay calm, ease off the accelerator, and look where you want the truck to go. Use small, smooth steering inputs. In a rear-wheel “fishtail,” steer into the skid and straighten as the vehicle comes back in line; in a front-wheel skid, reduce brake and throttle until the tires grip again. If you have ABS, press the brake firmly and let the system work instead of pumping it.

4. When should we delay or cancel travel?

If crews can’t reasonably maintain control, see hazards in time, and stop within a safe distance, the schedule needs to move. Rules for commercial drivers require extreme caution in hazardous weather, including reduced speed or stopping operations when traction or visibility is seriously affected. Use the same mindset for pickups and crew trucks.

5. What’s the most important message to give crews about winter driving?

Slow down, make space, and speak up. If workers reduce speed, leave extra room, and feel safe flagging bad routes or unsafe schedules, you’ve already taken a big bite out of the risk. Everything else—maintenance, checklists, and training—exists to make those choices easier and better supported by the company.