Snow Moments: Winter Driving Dont's!
Discussion
Really, this is just a quick rant thread, somewhere to vent the bile of seeing people driving like absolute tools in the coming months and the "Snowpocalypse".
Both of mine have been on my parents road, which is ungritted and has become a heavily cambered ice rink. It's a dead straight residential road, and is often used as a cut through between two more major roads.
First incident:
I was driving with 4 passengers along this road. Doing about 7mph in 2nd, just to get to the end of the street and the camber demands that I stay on the crown of the road. There are parked cars, and the end of the road is clear thanks to Grit carried off of the main road. As I approach that junction, a Volvo XC90 turns off th major road and tuckis in nicely behind one of the parked cars to let me past. However, he then clocks on that I'm going very slowly, and decides he can make it to the next car along before I get there. He obviously just nails the throttle, as the front wheels spin, lock, scrabble for traction and generally behave like they're on stepper motors instead of driveshafts. He lurches up and over the crown of the road, then the rear of the car begins to swing as gravity begins to win. I'm still about 50 yars away, and have transferred onto light braking in case of disaster. Finally, the traction control on his car seems to win a battle with the driver inputs, and his dinner plate eyes indicate that he has NO idea what is going on. The car lurches back across my path, coming to a halt when it hits the offside curb. The driver appears to be panting. I sail on by now that he is stationary.
Second incident was this morning. I just popped out to get shoes from the parked car, when I spot a Toureg doing an easy 30 on the same icy road I've not exceeded 10mph on all weekend. I don't know if seeing me provoked realisation or it was that the road had more parked cars further along, but he hit the brakes and suddenly it became apparent why speed is the enemy in these conditions: A 4 wheel ABS beating lock-up, with the car just sailing along, yaw increasing oh so slowly. The car slid about 200 feet, ending up 60deg to direction of travel straddling the camber. It even went straight through a crossroads like this. It was all I could do to shake my head and walk away.
I don't know if it's just co-incidence that both of these involved "posh 4x4's"....
Both of mine have been on my parents road, which is ungritted and has become a heavily cambered ice rink. It's a dead straight residential road, and is often used as a cut through between two more major roads.
First incident:
I was driving with 4 passengers along this road. Doing about 7mph in 2nd, just to get to the end of the street and the camber demands that I stay on the crown of the road. There are parked cars, and the end of the road is clear thanks to Grit carried off of the main road. As I approach that junction, a Volvo XC90 turns off th major road and tuckis in nicely behind one of the parked cars to let me past. However, he then clocks on that I'm going very slowly, and decides he can make it to the next car along before I get there. He obviously just nails the throttle, as the front wheels spin, lock, scrabble for traction and generally behave like they're on stepper motors instead of driveshafts. He lurches up and over the crown of the road, then the rear of the car begins to swing as gravity begins to win. I'm still about 50 yars away, and have transferred onto light braking in case of disaster. Finally, the traction control on his car seems to win a battle with the driver inputs, and his dinner plate eyes indicate that he has NO idea what is going on. The car lurches back across my path, coming to a halt when it hits the offside curb. The driver appears to be panting. I sail on by now that he is stationary.
Second incident was this morning. I just popped out to get shoes from the parked car, when I spot a Toureg doing an easy 30 on the same icy road I've not exceeded 10mph on all weekend. I don't know if seeing me provoked realisation or it was that the road had more parked cars further along, but he hit the brakes and suddenly it became apparent why speed is the enemy in these conditions: A 4 wheel ABS beating lock-up, with the car just sailing along, yaw increasing oh so slowly. The car slid about 200 feet, ending up 60deg to direction of travel straddling the camber. It even went straight through a crossroads like this. It was all I could do to shake my head and walk away.
I don't know if it's just co-incidence that both of these involved "posh 4x4's"....
See that Jock they interviewed on the BBC new on Thursday, (I think, might have been Friday though!)
His Red Mitsubishi, (standing out in the snow covered background), lying on its side and he says words to the effect of, 'I dont know what happened, I was only doing 45-50 mph and then suddenly I hit a tree.'
Prick!
His Red Mitsubishi, (standing out in the snow covered background), lying on its side and he says words to the effect of, 'I dont know what happened, I was only doing 45-50 mph and then suddenly I hit a tree.'
Prick!
Indeed, it's seldom the conditions that bother me so much as the other people on the roads.
I do wish I could fit winter tyres though. My Vauxhall is a lease car paid for by my employer and the lease company won't let me fit winter tyres, even if I pay for them. (Just had a thought: perhaps I should tell them I'm taking it to a part of Europe where winter tyres are a legal requirment!) On my wife's Freelander we have Goodrich All Terrain tyres fitted and it's really good in the snow - both accelerating and braking.
Of course, very, very few people in the UK know anything at all about winter tyres and believe there is absolutely nothing they can do about snow and ice. Perhaps we need a major industry initiative to promote their use.
I do wish I could fit winter tyres though. My Vauxhall is a lease car paid for by my employer and the lease company won't let me fit winter tyres, even if I pay for them. (Just had a thought: perhaps I should tell them I'm taking it to a part of Europe where winter tyres are a legal requirment!) On my wife's Freelander we have Goodrich All Terrain tyres fitted and it's really good in the snow - both accelerating and braking.
Of course, very, very few people in the UK know anything at all about winter tyres and believe there is absolutely nothing they can do about snow and ice. Perhaps we need a major industry initiative to promote their use.
Having previously lived in Sweden I'm used to driving on snow and ice, but that's of course with winter tyres. My Clio 182 was generally ok last year until i had to break carefully staying in a lower gear as possible as the T junction at the bottom of the hill got closer and closer. I was approx 5 meters away and all going well then it just slid... into the main road. I somehow managed to correct the slide sideways but was really bricking it as oncoming traffic came into play just at that moment. This year I'm putting on AutoSocks and would recommend the same to anyone else with wanting good control on snow and ice. They arrive tomorrow; just in time!!
Edited by mazzb on Sunday 28th November 22:08
gdaybruce said:
Perhaps we need a major industry initiative to promote their use.
What we will end up with then is complaints to the manufacturers along the lines of "my tyres only lasted 3 thousand miles once the winter had passed. I want my money back!!" You know this will happen for "they" know nothing anout how tyres work which is the reaon they don't buy winter tyres in the first place. And therein lies the problem.
Edumacation FTMFW
It is sad to see idiot drivers making no attempt to drive according to the conditions. This morning, sub-zero and no signs of grit, people were still running red lights on the roundabouts on my route into work. Actually, there was the 4x4 driver who came almost to a standstill as the light turned red before then hitting the gas to enter the roundabout!? Maybe that was his/her idea of adding a safety margin....
BertBert said:
LandingSpot said:
"my tyres only lasted 3 thousand miles once the winter had passed. I want my money back!!"
Winter tyres don't seem to have accelerated wear.Bert
I made an assumption (having never run a set) that they would wear much quicker. Oops!WeirdNeville said:
blugnu said:
gdaybruce said:
My Vauxhall is a lease car paid for by my employer and the lease company won't let me fit winter tyres, even if I pay for them.
What on earth is their reasoning for this?agree with op. Last winter either driving RR or Cherokee Jeep, i was always taking it very easy but everyone around me (x5 and volvo XC90 drivers were among the worst) were acting like this was no problem and driving normally down roads which were just sheets of ice then being amazed that standing on the brake pedal didnt stop them.
I got hit by 3 different drivers on one 8 mile journey. all astonished that they didnt stop in time, on each occasion I was stationary.
I got hit by 3 different drivers on one 8 mile journey. all astonished that they didnt stop in time, on each occasion I was stationary.
The only time I got stuck last winter (Sportka, worn but legal 195/45 summer tyres) was when I had to stop my controlled climb of a local hill because a lady in a Touran didn't give priority to traffic going up. So I had to stop, and couldn't get going again.
I've seen cars in hedges this morning, and it's only day 3 of the snow here. I'm sure I'll see many more. Fortunately I've never actually seen anyone crash, as I'd feel duty bound to help out whilst internally hating them for driving like an idiot and wasting my time and body heat!
I've seen cars in hedges this morning, and it's only day 3 of the snow here. I'm sure I'll see many more. Fortunately I've never actually seen anyone crash, as I'd feel duty bound to help out whilst internally hating them for driving like an idiot and wasting my time and body heat!
blugnu said:
gdaybruce said:
My Vauxhall is a lease car paid for by my employer and the lease company won't let me fit winter tyres, even if I pay for them.
What on earth is their reasoning for this?mazzb said:
This year I'm putting on AutoSocks and would recommend the same to anyone else with wanting good control on snow and ice. They arrive tomorrow; just in time!!
These are great as a last ditch 'get you home' solution- which is just what they advertise they will do. I commute over the N York Moors and the roads get very bad- wouldn't have made it home without fitting the Autosocks on Wednesday night- but kept them on on Thursday. My reasoning was that it would be safer over a mixture of snow, slush, ice and tarmac, but after driving 40 miles, not exceeding 30mph, they were very worn around the edges. They really are just for the especially bad sections where you would otherwise get stuck.Edited by mazzb on Sunday 28th November 22:08
Snow tyres are another solution, but same problem; as they are pimpled, so when driving on a mixture of snow and clear roads, they will wear out very quickly.
Best solution is just to drive slowly and carefully.
gdaybruce said:
Indeed, it's seldom the conditions that bother me so much as the other people on the roads.
I do wish I could fit winter tyres though. My Vauxhall is a lease car paid for by my employer and the lease company won't let me fit winter tyres, even if I pay for them. (Just had a thought: perhaps I should tell them I'm taking it to a part of Europe where winter tyres are a legal requirment!) On my wife's Freelander we have Goodrich All Terrain tyres fitted and it's really good in the snow - both accelerating and braking.
Of course, very, very few people in the UK know anything at all about winter tyres and believe there is absolutely nothing they can do about snow and ice. Perhaps we need a major industry initiative to promote their use.
I do wish I could fit winter tyres though. My Vauxhall is a lease car paid for by my employer and the lease company won't let me fit winter tyres, even if I pay for them. (Just had a thought: perhaps I should tell them I'm taking it to a part of Europe where winter tyres are a legal requirment!) On my wife's Freelander we have Goodrich All Terrain tyres fitted and it's really good in the snow - both accelerating and braking.
Of course, very, very few people in the UK know anything at all about winter tyres and believe there is absolutely nothing they can do about snow and ice. Perhaps we need a major industry initiative to promote their use.
ETA: ^^ because of:
Seriously for a moment, though, I find it quite remarkable that fleet managers and lease companies are not fitting at least all-season tyres to their vehicles.
Edited by CommanderJameson on Tuesday 30th November 13:13
according to kwik fit (mmm, maybe not an absolute authority, but they are in the tyre business)...
Bert
kwik fit said:
Winter tyres last as long as summer tyres and perform better in winter conditions. Depending on your mileage, they may last for 2 or 3 winters and so save on the wear on your summer tyres – postponing their replacement.
On another topic, when I was having roller-blading lessons in Central Park (when I was a much younger man at the age of 37), my roller-blade teacher had a number of trite sayings like we have for driving. One of them was never to blade when you're smug. I know we see numpties out there, but let's not get too superior about it!Bert
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