General snow and ice driving tips!!
Discussion
Driving and Surviving in the Ice and Snow
Seeing as I’m not going to be able to sort out any practical training or classroom lessons for the coming weekend I thought I should at least get the something written up for those who were interested in improving their ability to drive on snow and ice in the UK. It’s all really basic stuff and nobody should struggle with any of the following. Patience, common sense and a gentle right / left foot is all you need. Winter tyres will obviously be a help if you have them but even on summer tyres (with a good amount of tread) you can still drive safely in the conditions we are forecast to get.
Things to check with regards to your tyres:
1. Tread depth. Make sure they are legal and the wear is even. The better the tyre condition the better it will work for you.
2. Tyre pressures. Increasing your tyre pressure by a couple of psi will help keep your tyres contact surface firm and stable and actually makes your tyre slightly narrower. Do not overpressure though as you will bulge the centre portion and damage the tyre (accelerated wear in cold conditions). If the pressure is too low you spread the weight of the car over a larger area but by a reduced amount per square inch. You want as much weight as possible on as narrow a surface as possible. This is why winter tyres are narrower than summer ones.
Firstly, in order for us to make best use of the conditions and our cars we have to define what type of snow and ice we have in the UK. Our winters are mild in comparison to the rest of Northern Europe and North America and as a result, the type of snow and ice is massively different. In temperatures below -15C you will typically see ‘sugar’ snow, a dry powder that does not bind or provide grip. Under this ‘sugar’ snow you will normally see thick ice with little or no grip due to the ‘roller bearing’ effect of the snow granules on top. Often the depth of the ice is more than an inch thick due to vehicles compacting the cold ‘sugar snow’ into the slightly warmer road surface at the beginning of the season. As the season develops the ground temperature reduces and the ice becomes a permanent and very hard fixture. This is why you see cars in Sweden / Norway / Finland etc being driven with studded winter tyres, nothing else will get grip. In the UK we rarely see these conditions on the road.
What we get in the UK is a soft, wet snow with soft, wet ice. The good thing with this type of snow and ice is that it responds well to pressure and is soft enough to be moulded under the foot of your tyre. An example of this is the tread pattern left behind by footwear in the snow. The little tread prints are what gives you grip when walking and the same thing goes for your tyres. As the tyre rolls over the snow the pressure on it forces the soft snow up into the tread. The friction produced in the movement and pressure transfer causes a split second melt of the snow followed by a freeze, creating quite a solid connection between the snow in your tread and the snow / ice on the ground. This connection has its limits though and under excessive acceleration and under braking you can easily break the tread pattern causing another friction induced melt leaving you with a slick, fine layer of water between the tyre and the road surface. This is in effect aquaplaning. There will be more on this in the following sections.
The first thing people struggle with in the snow is getting the car off the driveway. If the driveway is on a flat surface then you should have no dramas really. You can either clear away the snow or leave it where it is. The only downside to clearing away the snow is that it often leaves a thin layer of ice where the cold snow met the warmer ground surface, melted and then froze again as the air temperature dropped. If you have ice under the snow your best bet is to leave the snow where it is. Some of you may have seen this on the BBC this morning but their description of ‘pulling away’ from a standstill was a bit generic. If you have a vehicle with an engine that produces a lot of torque (diesels, V6’s and V8’s) then it’s really very easy and only requires the use of the clutch to get going. Simply stick the car in 1st gear (handbrake on), lift the clutch slowly until you feel it bite. Release the handbrake and continue lifting the clutch. You should now be moving.
If your engine is lacking in torque low down then doing the above will result in a stall. All you need to do is stick it in 1st, lift the clutch until it bites, and apply a slight amount of right foot. Release the handbrake and hey presto. Once you’re moving you can release the clutch completely, but ensure you reduce the power so you don’t bunny-hop forward and risk breaking traction. If you happen to give it too much power before releasing the handbrake you will burn your clutch out or induce wheel spin. You want to be looking at maintaing about 1krpm when releasing the handbrake.
If you have an Auto box then it’s even easier. Simply stick it in Drive, or Reverse, let off the handbrake and the gearbox will do the rest.
Now, I know some of you have driveways where there is a gradient of some description. It’s still possible and remarkably easy to get going in this situation. The dictating factor is what type of car you have. Also, for best results I’d leave the snow on the ground for the same reasons as described above.
Regular FWD, Front mounted: These cars work best being reversed up an incline as you want to keep as much weight on the front wheels as possible. The same principles apply as you would use when pulling away from a standstill, only you need to be more skilful with the clutch and listen / feel for what the engine and tyres are doing. If your car has traction control functions or a diff lock then I’d recommend using this too (press the EDC/DSC/ESP button so that the traction control warning light comes on), just turn it off again when you’re on the road. Auto boxes are really handy for this type of thing as it naturally takes up the clutch bite; all you need to do is gently apply the power until you get moving.
RWD, front and rear mounted: This is the most difficult type of car to get going off an incline and requires a bit of dynamic thinking rather than brute force. As the drive is from the rear you want to keep the rear of the car pointing down the hill, this is because you want the weight transfer to shift to the rear and increase your grip on the snow. Use your diff lock again if you have it. Same as the FWD tips, just add a little more power so you don’t stall it and you should be ok. If you find the back end is too light or you have ice under the tyres try rolling back a little way onto fresh snow. Aim to get enough momentum on your next attempt so you pass over the ice and onto fresh snow without losing any grip. A gentle application of gas is the key with RWD.
4wd: Easy peasy. Most are either diesels or V6’s so there is plenty of torque available. You shouldn’t have to do anything different to a level surface driveway. If it’s a heavy beast then use the diff lock or you might find one wheel slipping.
So, now you’re off the driveway and on the main road. There is snow and ice everywhere and the gritters haven’t been along your route (not that I agree with grit). How do you ensure you get to work safely and easily? So long as you are not sharing the road with dangerous drivers there is no reason why you should worry about your journey to work or trip to the shops. Common sense will get you there every time. Speed is the key, or rather ‘speed reduction’ is the key. Too many drivers seem to think they can drive at regular road speeds in the snow and on ice, expecting that their brakes will work as per normal. The fact is you can’t. As I mentioned in the first part of this script, snow will assist your grip as you drive over it by freezing into ice-like tread patterns. This is the case up to a point but it is affected by speed.
Driving nice and slow will ensure you get the best from your tyres and the relationship it has with the snow. Travelling too quickly doesn’t allow the snow/ice tread to form due to the increased friction. What happens instead is you create a layer of water between the tyre and the snow below. When it comes to cornering or braking you have nothing to lean on and all the result is normally a skid. It’s the same principle behind the use of skis on the snow. If you stand still on ski’s (on snow obviously) and try to slide a foot back and forth you will notice that it takes a little bit of effort before the ski starts to move. This is because the ski has frozen to the snow with a fine layer of water, created when the pressure you placed on the snow caused it to melt and then refreeze. When you break that traction the ice layer melts again creating a nice slippery wet surface ideal for skiing. This is effectively what happens when you break traction between your tyres and the road. Only a reduction in speed and a rotation of the wheels to match the road speed can regain the traction that was lost.
So, you’re driving along and the traffic in front comes to a stop. How do you ensure you stop or slow in plenty of time without losing traction? Firstly, your road speed should be low enough for you to feel confident you can stop in an emergency. If you don’t feel confident you can do this then the chances are you are going too fast, FACT!! That aside, situations do arise when you need to stop quickly or slow down quicker than you would normally be expected to. ABS doesn’t work in the snow or on ice so you can’t rely on that to save you. The brakes simply lock up as the car thinks it’s come to a stop due to the lack of friction under the tyres. The way to avoid this is to do the job of the ABS yourself.
ABS works by preventing the brakes from locking up on a dry or wet surface where there is substantial grip. The brakes are applied up to the point where the tyres are about to lose traction and then release for a split second. This process is repeated numerous times under a hard stop, removing in theory any risk of brake induced skidding. To replicate this in the snow you have to combine the use of your brakes with the use of your gearbox.
Practice this on a safe, straight road before you have to do it for real. Driving in a straight line at 20mph in 3rd gear, pick a point 100m ahead. This will be where you want to stop, or earlier if you’re good. Any more than 20mph is too fast in my opinion and on our busy roads is plain dangerous.
The following needs to be done in quite quick succession if you are to stop within 100m:
1. Take your foot off the accelerator pedal and cover the brake.
2. Quickly depress the clutch and select 2nd gear.
3. Lift the clutch gently until you feel the engine start to slow the car (engine braking). If you lift the clutch too quickly then you’ll lose traction.
4. Gently apply the brake as the car gets down to 10mph but ensure the wheels do not lock up.
5. Select 1st gear, lifting the clutch even more gently than in 2nd. If it comes up to quickly simply press the clutch down a little.
6. You should now be doing about 5mph and you can gently apply the brake.
7. Come to a stop.
RWD cars may have a slightly longer stopping distance than FWD cars due to the different balance characteristics of the vehicles. All you need to do if you find the engine is braking the car too much (locking up) or too little(not enough torque) is vary your application of the clutch and apply the front brakes to match. It’s a bit alien at first but it becomes second nature once you’ve had a bit of practice. Just remember not to stamp on the brakes.
It’s all simple stuff and it all stems from an understanding of how the snow works under your tyres. So long as you don’t break off the little frozen tread patterns by excessive braking and acceleration then there is no reason why you should lose traction.
Cornering in the snow is the next thing to mention. It’s no more complicated than any other part of the journey; you just need to abide by the laws of physics and the lessons learnt so far. You need to remember that on a corner the weight of the vehicle will shift according to which direction you are turning. What you should aim to do is keep the weight transfer down to a minimum. The way to do this is to keep your speed down, keep it constant and keep the steering smooth. Imagine you have a box of water on the dash board. You want to keep that water as still as possible and the only way to do that is to drive gently.
If when cornering in the snow you feel you are being pushed left or right in your seat then you are going too fast. The fact that you are moving in your seat also means that your cars weight distribution is shifting, which will potentially cause your tyres to break traction. 15 to 20mph on a corner is plenty and so long as it’s not a tight corner you shouldn’t feel much in the way of weight shifting. Do not accelerate or brake around a bend as this will also induce a shift in weight. This is even more applicable if you have a RWD car as you will lose the rear end long before you lose the front.
If you do happen to lose traction on a bend you have a couple of options depending on what direction you are turning. If there is traffic coming on the other side of the road and you are turning left then the chances are you’re going to be sliding into the central reservation or at worst into oncoming traffic. You best bet, if you have time is to take your foot off the accelerator, straighten the front wheels up, attempt to regain traction (following the procedure covered above in the ‘stopping’ section), reduce your speed and attempt to turn before you have a collision. Do not slam your foot on the brake hoping for some ‘Divine Intervention’. If you are turning right and you lose traction then you will most likely be met with a horrible crunch as your rims meet the kerb on the left. If you are lucky and you have room, again straighten up your wheels and follow the above.
As I’ve said previously, if you drive at a sensible speed you won’t have any problems or find yourself in these situations.
That pretty much covers the regular commute and the hazards that go along with it but I haven’t covered ice yet. It has its own problems, but to be honest the principles of overcoming it are the same.
Most people get stuck on the ice when they have already managed to get out onto the main road and overcome the snow at home. It amazes me that they see the two obstacles as such different animals. The fact is it works for and against you in almost the same way.
As I said with UK snow, our ice is also a wet and soft type. It’s also quite sticky and to an extent can be moulded under your tyre. The dry ice you see in the north of Europe is quite hard and unforgiving and requires the use of studded tyres to get any purchase on its surface. No such requirement here.
What happens when you drive on ice in the UK is this; with the ice being wet, your tyres will also be wet. The cold, wet tread surface presses onto the cold ice layer and as it freezes it bonds the two surfaces together. It’s not concrete-strong bond but it’s strong enough to allow you to make a hill ascent or bring your car to a stop so long as you don’t break traction.
The proof is in the application of a hill hold. You can park your car on an icy incline quite easily; I don’t think anyone would have an issue with that. So, given you have the friction available to park on an icy hill you should in theory be able to pull away under the same conditions......... providing you stick to the laws of physics? Last time we had snow I saw plenty of people revving and wheel spinning away up an icy hill, wondering why they were only getting halfway up before sliding back down with the wheels still go forward. Because they never had the traction in the first place it was only the momentum that got them as far as they did. Had they attempted the ascent at a sensible speed and without wheel spin then they would have got up the hill without an issue. It’s all about keeping that relationship between your tyres and the road going. So long as the tread freezes to the ice you will have traction. Only excessive acceleration and braking can break the bond. Just apply the same procedure as I mentioned in the section about getting off a ‘driveway with a gradient’ and you’ll be fine. If you find the wheels slip a little more than they do in the snow it’s because you’re using too much power. Just lower the level of gas or press the clutch down a little so your tyres don’t lose grip. Also, remember to use your traction control / diff lock as this will help keep all driven wheels turning.
Auto boxes are also great in these conditions. Simply stick it in Drive or in Reverse (remember FWD cars do better reversing up steep slippery slopes) and away you go. No gas required.
I think I pretty much covered all the basics. I’m not going to teach anyone how to drift or do doughnuts in the snow as that wouldn’t be very sensible of me. The spiel I’ve written above (from my deathbed as me and the wife have terrible flu – possibly swine flu) is designed to help you get off the drive and off to work when you thought it couldn’t be done. I think a lot of people use the snow and ice as an excuse, fuelled by the Health & Safety culture that says we shouldn’t dare venture out into the cold. The fact is we don’t get bad weather here, not when you compare it to the likes of Norway and Sweden. Do you ever hear of them missing work due to snow and ice?
Anyway, I hope it helps and if anyone has any further questions then feel free to ask away. Should this be made a sticky for the winter period? Maybe a mod could read it over and see if it’s worthy or sensible enough.
Eddie
Seeing as I’m not going to be able to sort out any practical training or classroom lessons for the coming weekend I thought I should at least get the something written up for those who were interested in improving their ability to drive on snow and ice in the UK. It’s all really basic stuff and nobody should struggle with any of the following. Patience, common sense and a gentle right / left foot is all you need. Winter tyres will obviously be a help if you have them but even on summer tyres (with a good amount of tread) you can still drive safely in the conditions we are forecast to get.
Things to check with regards to your tyres:
1. Tread depth. Make sure they are legal and the wear is even. The better the tyre condition the better it will work for you.
2. Tyre pressures. Increasing your tyre pressure by a couple of psi will help keep your tyres contact surface firm and stable and actually makes your tyre slightly narrower. Do not overpressure though as you will bulge the centre portion and damage the tyre (accelerated wear in cold conditions). If the pressure is too low you spread the weight of the car over a larger area but by a reduced amount per square inch. You want as much weight as possible on as narrow a surface as possible. This is why winter tyres are narrower than summer ones.
Firstly, in order for us to make best use of the conditions and our cars we have to define what type of snow and ice we have in the UK. Our winters are mild in comparison to the rest of Northern Europe and North America and as a result, the type of snow and ice is massively different. In temperatures below -15C you will typically see ‘sugar’ snow, a dry powder that does not bind or provide grip. Under this ‘sugar’ snow you will normally see thick ice with little or no grip due to the ‘roller bearing’ effect of the snow granules on top. Often the depth of the ice is more than an inch thick due to vehicles compacting the cold ‘sugar snow’ into the slightly warmer road surface at the beginning of the season. As the season develops the ground temperature reduces and the ice becomes a permanent and very hard fixture. This is why you see cars in Sweden / Norway / Finland etc being driven with studded winter tyres, nothing else will get grip. In the UK we rarely see these conditions on the road.
What we get in the UK is a soft, wet snow with soft, wet ice. The good thing with this type of snow and ice is that it responds well to pressure and is soft enough to be moulded under the foot of your tyre. An example of this is the tread pattern left behind by footwear in the snow. The little tread prints are what gives you grip when walking and the same thing goes for your tyres. As the tyre rolls over the snow the pressure on it forces the soft snow up into the tread. The friction produced in the movement and pressure transfer causes a split second melt of the snow followed by a freeze, creating quite a solid connection between the snow in your tread and the snow / ice on the ground. This connection has its limits though and under excessive acceleration and under braking you can easily break the tread pattern causing another friction induced melt leaving you with a slick, fine layer of water between the tyre and the road surface. This is in effect aquaplaning. There will be more on this in the following sections.
The first thing people struggle with in the snow is getting the car off the driveway. If the driveway is on a flat surface then you should have no dramas really. You can either clear away the snow or leave it where it is. The only downside to clearing away the snow is that it often leaves a thin layer of ice where the cold snow met the warmer ground surface, melted and then froze again as the air temperature dropped. If you have ice under the snow your best bet is to leave the snow where it is. Some of you may have seen this on the BBC this morning but their description of ‘pulling away’ from a standstill was a bit generic. If you have a vehicle with an engine that produces a lot of torque (diesels, V6’s and V8’s) then it’s really very easy and only requires the use of the clutch to get going. Simply stick the car in 1st gear (handbrake on), lift the clutch slowly until you feel it bite. Release the handbrake and continue lifting the clutch. You should now be moving.
If your engine is lacking in torque low down then doing the above will result in a stall. All you need to do is stick it in 1st, lift the clutch until it bites, and apply a slight amount of right foot. Release the handbrake and hey presto. Once you’re moving you can release the clutch completely, but ensure you reduce the power so you don’t bunny-hop forward and risk breaking traction. If you happen to give it too much power before releasing the handbrake you will burn your clutch out or induce wheel spin. You want to be looking at maintaing about 1krpm when releasing the handbrake.
If you have an Auto box then it’s even easier. Simply stick it in Drive, or Reverse, let off the handbrake and the gearbox will do the rest.
Now, I know some of you have driveways where there is a gradient of some description. It’s still possible and remarkably easy to get going in this situation. The dictating factor is what type of car you have. Also, for best results I’d leave the snow on the ground for the same reasons as described above.
Regular FWD, Front mounted: These cars work best being reversed up an incline as you want to keep as much weight on the front wheels as possible. The same principles apply as you would use when pulling away from a standstill, only you need to be more skilful with the clutch and listen / feel for what the engine and tyres are doing. If your car has traction control functions or a diff lock then I’d recommend using this too (press the EDC/DSC/ESP button so that the traction control warning light comes on), just turn it off again when you’re on the road. Auto boxes are really handy for this type of thing as it naturally takes up the clutch bite; all you need to do is gently apply the power until you get moving.
RWD, front and rear mounted: This is the most difficult type of car to get going off an incline and requires a bit of dynamic thinking rather than brute force. As the drive is from the rear you want to keep the rear of the car pointing down the hill, this is because you want the weight transfer to shift to the rear and increase your grip on the snow. Use your diff lock again if you have it. Same as the FWD tips, just add a little more power so you don’t stall it and you should be ok. If you find the back end is too light or you have ice under the tyres try rolling back a little way onto fresh snow. Aim to get enough momentum on your next attempt so you pass over the ice and onto fresh snow without losing any grip. A gentle application of gas is the key with RWD.
4wd: Easy peasy. Most are either diesels or V6’s so there is plenty of torque available. You shouldn’t have to do anything different to a level surface driveway. If it’s a heavy beast then use the diff lock or you might find one wheel slipping.
So, now you’re off the driveway and on the main road. There is snow and ice everywhere and the gritters haven’t been along your route (not that I agree with grit). How do you ensure you get to work safely and easily? So long as you are not sharing the road with dangerous drivers there is no reason why you should worry about your journey to work or trip to the shops. Common sense will get you there every time. Speed is the key, or rather ‘speed reduction’ is the key. Too many drivers seem to think they can drive at regular road speeds in the snow and on ice, expecting that their brakes will work as per normal. The fact is you can’t. As I mentioned in the first part of this script, snow will assist your grip as you drive over it by freezing into ice-like tread patterns. This is the case up to a point but it is affected by speed.
Driving nice and slow will ensure you get the best from your tyres and the relationship it has with the snow. Travelling too quickly doesn’t allow the snow/ice tread to form due to the increased friction. What happens instead is you create a layer of water between the tyre and the snow below. When it comes to cornering or braking you have nothing to lean on and all the result is normally a skid. It’s the same principle behind the use of skis on the snow. If you stand still on ski’s (on snow obviously) and try to slide a foot back and forth you will notice that it takes a little bit of effort before the ski starts to move. This is because the ski has frozen to the snow with a fine layer of water, created when the pressure you placed on the snow caused it to melt and then refreeze. When you break that traction the ice layer melts again creating a nice slippery wet surface ideal for skiing. This is effectively what happens when you break traction between your tyres and the road. Only a reduction in speed and a rotation of the wheels to match the road speed can regain the traction that was lost.
So, you’re driving along and the traffic in front comes to a stop. How do you ensure you stop or slow in plenty of time without losing traction? Firstly, your road speed should be low enough for you to feel confident you can stop in an emergency. If you don’t feel confident you can do this then the chances are you are going too fast, FACT!! That aside, situations do arise when you need to stop quickly or slow down quicker than you would normally be expected to. ABS doesn’t work in the snow or on ice so you can’t rely on that to save you. The brakes simply lock up as the car thinks it’s come to a stop due to the lack of friction under the tyres. The way to avoid this is to do the job of the ABS yourself.
ABS works by preventing the brakes from locking up on a dry or wet surface where there is substantial grip. The brakes are applied up to the point where the tyres are about to lose traction and then release for a split second. This process is repeated numerous times under a hard stop, removing in theory any risk of brake induced skidding. To replicate this in the snow you have to combine the use of your brakes with the use of your gearbox.
Practice this on a safe, straight road before you have to do it for real. Driving in a straight line at 20mph in 3rd gear, pick a point 100m ahead. This will be where you want to stop, or earlier if you’re good. Any more than 20mph is too fast in my opinion and on our busy roads is plain dangerous.
The following needs to be done in quite quick succession if you are to stop within 100m:
1. Take your foot off the accelerator pedal and cover the brake.
2. Quickly depress the clutch and select 2nd gear.
3. Lift the clutch gently until you feel the engine start to slow the car (engine braking). If you lift the clutch too quickly then you’ll lose traction.
4. Gently apply the brake as the car gets down to 10mph but ensure the wheels do not lock up.
5. Select 1st gear, lifting the clutch even more gently than in 2nd. If it comes up to quickly simply press the clutch down a little.
6. You should now be doing about 5mph and you can gently apply the brake.
7. Come to a stop.
RWD cars may have a slightly longer stopping distance than FWD cars due to the different balance characteristics of the vehicles. All you need to do if you find the engine is braking the car too much (locking up) or too little(not enough torque) is vary your application of the clutch and apply the front brakes to match. It’s a bit alien at first but it becomes second nature once you’ve had a bit of practice. Just remember not to stamp on the brakes.
It’s all simple stuff and it all stems from an understanding of how the snow works under your tyres. So long as you don’t break off the little frozen tread patterns by excessive braking and acceleration then there is no reason why you should lose traction.
Cornering in the snow is the next thing to mention. It’s no more complicated than any other part of the journey; you just need to abide by the laws of physics and the lessons learnt so far. You need to remember that on a corner the weight of the vehicle will shift according to which direction you are turning. What you should aim to do is keep the weight transfer down to a minimum. The way to do this is to keep your speed down, keep it constant and keep the steering smooth. Imagine you have a box of water on the dash board. You want to keep that water as still as possible and the only way to do that is to drive gently.
If when cornering in the snow you feel you are being pushed left or right in your seat then you are going too fast. The fact that you are moving in your seat also means that your cars weight distribution is shifting, which will potentially cause your tyres to break traction. 15 to 20mph on a corner is plenty and so long as it’s not a tight corner you shouldn’t feel much in the way of weight shifting. Do not accelerate or brake around a bend as this will also induce a shift in weight. This is even more applicable if you have a RWD car as you will lose the rear end long before you lose the front.
If you do happen to lose traction on a bend you have a couple of options depending on what direction you are turning. If there is traffic coming on the other side of the road and you are turning left then the chances are you’re going to be sliding into the central reservation or at worst into oncoming traffic. You best bet, if you have time is to take your foot off the accelerator, straighten the front wheels up, attempt to regain traction (following the procedure covered above in the ‘stopping’ section), reduce your speed and attempt to turn before you have a collision. Do not slam your foot on the brake hoping for some ‘Divine Intervention’. If you are turning right and you lose traction then you will most likely be met with a horrible crunch as your rims meet the kerb on the left. If you are lucky and you have room, again straighten up your wheels and follow the above.
As I’ve said previously, if you drive at a sensible speed you won’t have any problems or find yourself in these situations.
That pretty much covers the regular commute and the hazards that go along with it but I haven’t covered ice yet. It has its own problems, but to be honest the principles of overcoming it are the same.
Most people get stuck on the ice when they have already managed to get out onto the main road and overcome the snow at home. It amazes me that they see the two obstacles as such different animals. The fact is it works for and against you in almost the same way.
As I said with UK snow, our ice is also a wet and soft type. It’s also quite sticky and to an extent can be moulded under your tyre. The dry ice you see in the north of Europe is quite hard and unforgiving and requires the use of studded tyres to get any purchase on its surface. No such requirement here.
What happens when you drive on ice in the UK is this; with the ice being wet, your tyres will also be wet. The cold, wet tread surface presses onto the cold ice layer and as it freezes it bonds the two surfaces together. It’s not concrete-strong bond but it’s strong enough to allow you to make a hill ascent or bring your car to a stop so long as you don’t break traction.
The proof is in the application of a hill hold. You can park your car on an icy incline quite easily; I don’t think anyone would have an issue with that. So, given you have the friction available to park on an icy hill you should in theory be able to pull away under the same conditions......... providing you stick to the laws of physics? Last time we had snow I saw plenty of people revving and wheel spinning away up an icy hill, wondering why they were only getting halfway up before sliding back down with the wheels still go forward. Because they never had the traction in the first place it was only the momentum that got them as far as they did. Had they attempted the ascent at a sensible speed and without wheel spin then they would have got up the hill without an issue. It’s all about keeping that relationship between your tyres and the road going. So long as the tread freezes to the ice you will have traction. Only excessive acceleration and braking can break the bond. Just apply the same procedure as I mentioned in the section about getting off a ‘driveway with a gradient’ and you’ll be fine. If you find the wheels slip a little more than they do in the snow it’s because you’re using too much power. Just lower the level of gas or press the clutch down a little so your tyres don’t lose grip. Also, remember to use your traction control / diff lock as this will help keep all driven wheels turning.
Auto boxes are also great in these conditions. Simply stick it in Drive or in Reverse (remember FWD cars do better reversing up steep slippery slopes) and away you go. No gas required.
I think I pretty much covered all the basics. I’m not going to teach anyone how to drift or do doughnuts in the snow as that wouldn’t be very sensible of me. The spiel I’ve written above (from my deathbed as me and the wife have terrible flu – possibly swine flu) is designed to help you get off the drive and off to work when you thought it couldn’t be done. I think a lot of people use the snow and ice as an excuse, fuelled by the Health & Safety culture that says we shouldn’t dare venture out into the cold. The fact is we don’t get bad weather here, not when you compare it to the likes of Norway and Sweden. Do you ever hear of them missing work due to snow and ice?
Anyway, I hope it helps and if anyone has any further questions then feel free to ask away. Should this be made a sticky for the winter period? Maybe a mod could read it over and see if it’s worthy or sensible enough.
Eddie
Edited by ecain63 on Friday 17th December 15:21
.Mark said:
Superb Eddie thanks. Hope you don't mind but I passed to a couple of workmates.
Thats fine mate, just so long as they realise they have no legal return should they crash and tell the insurance / old bill they were following my tips. lol
The wife is starting to feel better now
Edited by ecain63 on Friday 17th December 16:34
knight said:
So basically it's all just common sense? Something which is sadly lacking in todays society 
Yep, but hopefully the above will aid you in avoiding the lesser educated, lesser experienced beings on the road. At the end of the day, if they drive into you then its their fault that they did not apply the correct driving style for the conditions. The sad thing is there is nothing we can do to avoid an impact from another vehicle, but at least we can stand tall and say that we will not cause an accident ourselves. All very good especially about the slowing down bit.
Sorry but the info on the abs stuff is utter rubbish on anything newer than a 1998 car.
I instruct & teach many of the mainstream motor manufacturer staff on all the modern ABS, EBD, DSC, VSC, ESP type systems, it will be able to do better than any human being ever. Old skool 80's Audi's did have crap rudimentary systems & did require a switch! Please don't keep shouting about something that does not apply. Don't blame the ABS for crap braking blame the tyres!
Actually tomorrow I'm going to make a little video about it at the local play area to show you all.
Sorry but the info on the abs stuff is utter rubbish on anything newer than a 1998 car.
I instruct & teach many of the mainstream motor manufacturer staff on all the modern ABS, EBD, DSC, VSC, ESP type systems, it will be able to do better than any human being ever. Old skool 80's Audi's did have crap rudimentary systems & did require a switch! Please don't keep shouting about something that does not apply. Don't blame the ABS for crap braking blame the tyres!
Actually tomorrow I'm going to make a little video about it at the local play area to show you all.
ecain63 said:
What happens when you drive on ice in the UK is this; with the ice being wet, your tyres will also be wet. The cold, wet tread surface presses onto the cold ice layer and as it freezes it bonds the two surfaces together. It’s not concrete-strong bond but it’s strong enough to allow you to make a hill ascent or bring your car to a stop so long as you don’t break traction.
The proof is in the application of a hill hold. You can park your car on an icy incline quite easily; I don’t think anyone would have an issue with that. So, given you have the friction available to park on an icy hill you should in theory be able to pull away under the same conditions......... providing you stick to the laws of physics? Last time we had snow I saw plenty of people revving and wheel spinning away up an icy hill, wondering why they were only getting halfway up before sliding back down with the wheels still go forward. Because they never had the traction in the first place it was only the momentum that got them as far as they did. Had they attempted the ascent at a sensible speed and without wheel spin then they would have got up the hill without an issue. It’s all about keeping that relationship between your tyres and the road going. So long as the tread freezes to the ice you will have traction. Only excessive acceleration and braking can break the bond. Just apply the same procedure as I mentioned in the section about getting off a ‘driveway with a gradient’ and you’ll be fine. If you find the wheels slip a little more than they do in the snow it’s because you’re using too much power. Just lower the level of gas or press the clutch down a little so your tyres don’t lose grip. Also, remember to use your traction control / diff lock as this will help keep all driven wheels turning.
Auto boxes are also great in these conditions. Simply stick it in Drive or in Reverse (remember FWD cars do better reversing up steep slippery slopes) and away you go. No gas required.
Thanks.
ecain63 said:
Prove me wrong by all means. I'm always ready to learn.
ABS is great in the dry but I'm yet to see it work on the snow and ice.
What car are you gonna be driving in the vid?
I'll try & get a selection together, here are the opponents from my fleet, tell what, you you choose a pair & I'll organise it.ABS is great in the dry but I'm yet to see it work on the snow and ice.
What car are you gonna be driving in the vid?
Edited by ecain63 on Friday 17th December 19:03
ABS Equipped cars
2000 Golf Estate (with DSC) on snowies v Non ABS/TCS 2000 Seat Arosa Tdi on snowies
ABS 1995 Landcruiser on A/T tyres v Non 1991 Landrcruiser on Snowies
(both the same model otherwise)
Edited by cptsideways on Friday 17th December 19:16
What would be a fair test would be for you to drive the ABS cars with 'summer' tyres and I'll drive the non-ABS cars with 'summer' tyres seeing as 95% of road users are on 'summer' rubber. I reckon I could match or beat the ABS systems. Snow tyres may well give the car the grip to use ABS effectively but I'm still convinced that the regular 'summer' tread won't. And this is what most people are sporting.
I look forward to seeing your vids regardless.
I look forward to seeing your vids regardless.
And for all the other road users that are barely proficient drivers it would be so much simpler to get some winter tyres! It is not just about not getting stuck but more importantly about being able to steer and brake - why people go to great lenghts to dispute that winter tyres can be life savers for very little money in the great scheme of things is somewhat puzzling...
Apart from that, very good write-up and thanks for taking the time to put this together.
Apart from that, very good write-up and thanks for taking the time to put this together.
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