Do You Really Need Four Wheel Drive In WY?

The Short Answer

Yes. What, do you want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere during a death-dealing blizzard? If you can afford four wheel drive, get it. If you can’t, you can do alright; but you have got to undertand what you’re dealing with. What’s black ice? If you’re unfamiliar, you need to learn. How about a controlled spin—can you control your vehicle when it hits unexpected ice? 

How about getting stuck. Sometimes you’re in traffic, and the person in front of you either dynamites the brakes, or doesn’t move forward fast enough. Then, when they get moving, you realize your tires are on ice, and no matter how hard you press that gas pedal, your vehicle won’t move. What’s happening is, your tire is melting the ice, or compressing snow. 

Getting Into The Physics Of Slick Roads

Compressed snow becomes ice, and so things get more and more slick. If you’ve got four wheel drive (4WD is how it’s expressed at dealerships), then your rear tires—the ones which aren’t on ice—can be used to grab some traction and help you get ouf of the “slick”. If you don’t, you may have to “rock” the vehicle back and forth.

You put it in drive, then quickly shift to reverse, then keep doing this until you get out of the slick. Sometimes even that won’t work, and you’ve got to put a piece of cardboard under stuck tires, or maybe one of your floor mats. Sometimes you’ve got to get out and push.
Sometimes there’s nothing you can do and you’re either flat stuck, or have to get a ride.

With 4WD, you don’t have to worry about being stuck like that. Certainly, you can get any vehicle stuck if you try hard enough—just look what these Russians managed to do with a tank. However, with 4WD, you are more able to get out of rough situations. You can even do a little off-roading, if you’re adventurous. 

4WD Keeps You More Safe On The Ice

In normal circumstances, you’ll almost never get so stuck in the snow so you can’t get out; not with 4WD. But if you’re driving, say, a little front-wheel drive Honda that has only two doors, you have got to be careful around winter in Wyoming. It’s not just an issue of inconvenience. Come up over the wrong hill going too fast in a storm, you’ll hit ice and spin off into a ditch. 

So at the end of the day, when you’re shopping for vehicles in Wyoming, unless you can’t afford it, try to go with a vehicle that incorporates 4WD. Even if you know what you’re doing on the ice, you’re going to get into a few situations where, without the 4WD option, the only way you get out of a sticky situation is to be towed. 

Understanding The Wyoming Situation

Also, don’t be afraid of testing your ability on the ice by spinning a few “donuts” or “cookies” in an iced-over, empty parking lot. Doing so helps you understand what it’s like when your vehicle is out of control. While this isn’t strictly recommended by licensing agencies, it’s always good to know what you can do, and what being out of control feels like. 

When you know you’re in a slide because you’ve been there before, it keeps you from panicking, and allows you to think critically in a tough situation. So the short answer is: yes, if you can get 4WD in Wyoming, do so. For more tips on what to buy and how to drive in Wyoming, be sure to explore our blog at Anybody’s Autos!