In case you hadn't noticed, it's time for winter driving

In case you hadn't heard, it's winter.

And, as much as I'd love to have the snow fall everywhere but my driveway and the roads, I don't think Mother Nature is going to cooperate.

That means flipping that little switch in my brain to "winter driving" from the one that says "summer cruisin'." I used to be a lot less cautious in the wintertime when I first moved to Idaho from balmy Eastern Washington and didn't understand such concepts as black ice, snowpacked roads or winter conditions. A 360-spin in the dead of night heading back to Bonners Ferry from a night with friends in Sandpoint brought reality crashing home.

Fortunately, there was nobody else on the road and, after my car stopped its mad imitation of a carnival ride, I was able to continue on my way — a bit shaken and a whole a lot slower than I had been going before. It was, I had so rudely discovered, winter out there.

Which brings me to my first suggestion for Winter Driving 101, thanks to the courtesy of Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood.

? Slow down. Most wintertime problems and accidents are avoidable if drivers just slow down. "Almost everything is a result of too much speed," said Lockwood. Many drivers forget that wintertime does require a different mind set than summer driving, where you can get away with driving a little faster.

? Clear off your car — not just the little spot that your windshield wipers shove aside when you turn them on. The bottom line is, that unless you brush it off, the snow is going to end up on your bumper or your windshield when your car warms up enough to send it sliding from the room.

If it ends up on your bumper, you lose because other drivers can't see your tail lights. If it ends up on your windshield, you lose because you can't see the road or where you are going.

If you clear off your car, it will handle better since you don't have to compensate for the weight of the snow.

"There is a lot to gain by clearing off your car completely," Lockwood said.

? If the roads are bad and you don't need to go anywhere (once-in-a-lifetime sales at Nordstrom's and Macy's included or THE big game included), don't. Stay home. If you do have to go, take your time. Build in extra time to make up for getting stuck, bad roads and other assorted wintertime driving woes.

? Be prepared. That means wearing a coat, gloves, boots and, as my mom would say, a hat. Have chains in your chair and charge your cell phone.

? Tell someone where you are going and what route you are going to take — and then take that route. "If something happens, that's where we're going to go first," Lockwood said.

After all, when you need the cavalry, you want them to be able to find you.

Caroline Lobsinger is the managing editor of the Daily Bee.