Cruise control is a driver's best friend for the barren stretches of highway where nothing much changes for hours — set a speed, relax the right calf, and let today's electronics handle the monotony.

Cruise control won't make a journey any more exciting, but it can be a godsend during long highway jaunts where you'd otherwise have to keep your foot on the gas to maintain your speed the whole time.

While cruise control can be a handy driving feature, avoiding it is your safest bet this winter, especially after Winter Storm Blair dumped more than 12 inches of snow on some Ohio cities. A standard ...