SPOKANE, Wash. — Most of the Inland Northwest saw more than a foot of snow over the weekend and with snow comes the chance of your car getting stuck.
Luke Devore of Spokane Towing Services rode shotgun with KREM as he went through ways to get the news car out of snow.
"What happened is with it being in two wheel drive it got what's called an open differential, one starts spinning and as soon as it loses traction and the one that has traction stops spinning,” Devore said.
Devore started his towing business while he was high school. In the years since, he has seen a lot when helping people get out of tough spots.
He suggests people storing cheap extra mats in the back their vehicles. In the unfortunate event they lose the battle to a massive snow berm, they can place the mats under the tire or tires that are spinning. This will give them a bit more traction to get out and it will clear the snow from the tires. It helps if you brush away the snow under the tire before placing the mat down.
"Just back up over the mat and what it will do is the tire will finally grab traction," Devore said.
No mats? No problem. Devore said you can trying wiping away the snow from under the tires, but it works best to focus on the snow blocking the path of your tires.
He also recommends putting down sand or kitty litter for traction if you have it handy.
And if all else fails it never hurts to have some help. You might want to give your neighborhood tow truck driver a call.