Take it easy, and you'll be fine!

[jmurray01]

Well yesterday we got snow, and last night we got snow too, so by this morning there was quite a lot of snow and ice on the roads, but that didn't bother our 14 year old Ford Front Wheel Drive hatchback with no ABS or T/C.

It has worn All-Season tyres, but with the right driving style, it didn't get stuck once, and never spun its wheels!

If you have a manual transmission, take off in second gear if you're on snow/ice, and when going downhill, put it in a low gear so the engine is acting like a brake and stopping the vehicle speeding up too much without the need to press the brakes and possibly locking the wheels up, causing a skid.

And the most important thing - Keep your speed down!

My personal rule is when on snow keep below 40MPH, and when on ice keep below 20MPH, and when going round a snowy/icy bend, slow to half of that (20MPH for snow or 10MPH for ice).

Another thing I've learned this year, is not to lower your tyre pressures.

In the past I've lowered my tyre pressures thinking I was giving the treads more grip, but that has been proved wrong this year when I kept the pressures at the recommended numbers and we went out today without any skidding or wheel spin, unlike last winter with lowered pressures.

Spare a thought for your car too! When you go out in the cold you want to get warm, don't you ? Well so does your engine!

Start the car up and let it idle for 10 minutes before leaving so your oil will get time to fully circulate and lubricate all the parts in the engine before the revs are increased and a strain is put on the components.

You may notice that on initial start up on a cold morning the engine goes "tap tap tap tap tap", but that is OK, it is just the valves sticking due to lack of lubrication because the oil is more gloopy than normal.

As long as you warm the engine up before driving it, no damage will come to the valves, but if you drive it immediately, the valves will be moving very fast without lubrication.

And lastly, don't feel pressured to speed up if there is a vehicle close behind you that wants to go faster. It'll only end badly! And by keeping your speed down, you're forcing the vehicle behind you to slow down, which even if it makes the driver a bit angry, is making them safer too!

That's my two pence...

 

[BKBrown]

I'm SO confused :confused2: ! I was under the impression that you were 14 (maybe 15) years old, Yet most of your posts sound like someone MUCH older ! How would someone of that age be driving (unless it is different in Scotland) ?????? :confused2: :confused3:

Most of what you say about driving in snow is good advice - common sense and caution are the best policy on snow and ice. Many people here don't understand that just because they have a 4WD or AWD that does not mean you can drive like a maniac and stop on a dime !

The closer they follow --- the slower I get !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Oddball]

Good advice JM. However, around my neck of the woods, if you're going slower than the guy behind you you get tailgated, honked at, flipped off, and then when they do get an opportunity to pass, they usually cut back in front of you too close and slam on thier brakes. On ice/snow I just let off the gas and slow down even more to force them to pass me because sure enough, if they tailgate long enough I'll end up getting rear ended. Bunch of freakin' idiots around here. Mostly people from up north that think they know how to drive on the ice and snow. More than once I've caught up with some moron that just had to pass me so he could go the speed limit on the snow/ice and he's off in the ditch trying to flag down help and I just trundle on by and wave. Believe me, I've driven up north in the winter. Northern snow and ice is a lot different than the stuff we get here. Well, the snow is anyway, ice is pretty much the same everywhere. Plus they usually get a jump on it and have salt and sand down before it even quits snowing. Last winter we had an ice storm that pretty much shut down the northern half of the state for the better part of a week. Its a rare occurance, so the road agencies don't have the equipment to handle it. All the northerners were screaming about what morons we are down here for not being prepared, but they don't seem to realize you don't go spending millions of dollars on snow plows and other equipment that'll only get used once every 5 to 10 years. Of course the state and local gov'ts did cave to pressure and end up doing just that in a time when they should be cutting back on expenditures. In my 45 years in and around Atlanta, I can count on one hand the number of times that we had enough snow/ice to shut down the city for more than a day. We live at the bottom of a hill and the cul-de-sac was about 2 inches of ice and stayed that way for days due to runoff from up the street refreezing at the bottom of the hill every night. Meanwhile, when I was finally able to venture out, most of the wrecks and abandonned cars I saw had northern state license plates on them.

 

[Carscw]

It's true I live off of exit 5 on I 20 last winter the side of the hwy was full of jeeps and mustangs

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[jmurray01]

I'm SO confused :confused2: ! I was under the impression that you were 14 (maybe 15) years old, Yet most of your posts sound like someone MUCH older ! How would someone of that age be driving (unless it is different in Scotland) ?????? :confused2: :confused3:

Most of what you say about driving in snow is good advice - common sense and caution are the best policy on snow and ice. Many people here don't understand that just because they have a 4WD or AWD that does not mean you can drive like a maniac and stop on a dime !

The closer they follow --- the slower I get !!!!!!!!!!!!

I am 16, and I don't drive, my mother does, but I keep the car maintained (washed, tyre pressures, servicing etc...).

 

[BKBrown]

OK - that makes sense ! You still sound (in your posts) like you are older than your physical age. {that is a GOOD thing} :thumbsup: :biggrin:

Still don't understand why it is tires here and tyres there ?

They say I was never really a child at heart - always more like a grown up ! :biggrin: :thumbsup:

I am 16, and I don't drive, my mother does, but I keep the car maintained (washed, tyre pressures, servicing etc...).

 

[Chev]

I am from up north and moved to the ATL area. I do drive better than most of the locals here that think this snow and ice is tougher than northern snow and ice.

Let me by. I'll still stop and pull you out. If you slow down, don't gun it when I pass you up.

 

[Carscw]

I have been down here just west of Atlanta for 20 years and still am amazed at how they go into a panic at the first snow flake

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[Oddball]

I am from up north and moved to the ATL area. I do drive better than most of the locals here that think this snow and ice is tougher than northern snow and ice.

Let me by. I'll still stop and pull you out. If you slow down, don't gun it when I pass you up.

I think you are the exception rather than the rule. I can predict with probably about 85% accuracy where someone is from by the way they drive in the snow around here. Generally if they're flying by going 20 mph faster than everyone else they're gonna have northern license plates, and generally those are the people that end up in the ditch at the first curve.

Please don't get me wrong. If there is a serious accident I'll stop if needed, just not for the a-hole that passed me a mile back and went flying on down the road at 60 mph in the snow and simply slid off the road into a ditch. I think a big part of the problem is that people rely too heavily on ABS and traction control, thinking they can go faster and not have to worry.

 

[Oddball]

I have been down here just west of Atlanta for 20 years and still am amazed at how they go into a panic at the first snow flake

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It amazes me too and I grew up here. I think its partly because they know what happens on the roads here. The snow almost always turns to ice and driving conditions get much worse. I used to love to take the car out and play in the snow in an empty parking lot somewhere, but I don't venture out in the snow or ice now unless absolutely necessary. Partly because our cul-de-sac turns into a skating rink and I can't get out and partly because I've been in too many serious wrecks, caused by others, to tempt fate by getting out in the snow with the maniacs around here.