Driving in a winter wonderland - Top 5 golden rules to remember this season

As the clocks fall back, signalling winter is well on its way, European drivers may find themselves in a rush and hitting the road before fully clearing their windscreen or realising it's been months since they last checked the state of their tyres. From road warriors to cautious cruisers, take the quiz below to find out how safe of a winter driver you really are. Even the most experienced motorists can use a refresh on top safety tips – read on to learn the top five golden rules for safe winter driving and the advanced technology onboard the all-new Qashqai that is designed to reduce stress and fatigue.  

Top 5 Golden Rules for Safe Winter Driving

1. Take care before setting off – Fully demisting the windscreen or scrapping off ice before starting a journey and keeping up with regular tyre checks are simple steps drivers can take to avoid putting themselves and others at risk. Findings of a new survey commissioned by Nissan¹ show more than half of European drivers (52%) do not wait until the windscreen is fully demisted before getting on the road. The integrated heating element within the windscreen of the all-new Qashqai makes clearing any snow or ice within seconds easy giving a full, clear view ahead, minimising the inconvenience and delay before starting the journey so drivers don’t have to stand outside shivering for ages waiting for their window to thaw.
2. Consider your fellow motorists – To avoid blinding oncoming traffic outside of daylight hours, adjust headlamps according to the conditions – for example, turning on the side lights for dusk, full beams when dark and turning off the high beams when no longer needed. Take the guess work out of this task with adaptive matrix headlamps featured on the all-new Qashqai, which automatically change the shape of the beam according to the road conditions.
3. Maintain a safe distance – The recommended stopping distance when driving in icy conditions is ten times further than in normal weather conditions. Exercise caution when travelling on wet and snowy roads this year by allowing for plenty of space between vehicles in case of sudden stops or traffic. With Intelligent Forward Collision Warning technology on the all-new Qashqai, drivers can benefit from a predictive function, which can see beyond the vehicle in front and apply automatic breaking to avoid a collision.
4. Minimise distractions – Maintain focus on the road ahead to be able to adapt your speed to rapidly changing weather conditions and react to fellow motorists to keep precious cargo safe. Thanks to the new head-up display on the all-new Qashqai, details including navigation directions, driver assistance and road information are projected onto the windscreen within the driver's line of vision.
5. Prepare for the unexpected – Even the most sure-footed drivers can be caught off guard by winding highways and slowing down for bends in the road is advised, especially in icy or wet weather conditions. The driver support technology of the all-new Qashqai now including ProPILOT with Navi-link can adapt the car's speed according to a lower speed limit zone, approaching curves or exit ramps with a tighter radius.

^{1 OnePoll surveyed 6000 car drivers who drive weekly or more often from the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy from 10th September 2021 to 20th September 2021. The survey was conducted online using panel members who are credited to participate in surveys. Respondents were targeted using screening questions and profile data in order to ensure the correct demographic was achieved.}