I managed, and now i make my living driving in all weather
I managed, and now i make my living driving in all weather
Mikey52_1 wrote: I've been driving on snow since I started driving (40-odd years now. Geez, that makes me sound like a geezer!) and I still start the season with the parking lot routine. It 'sharpens the mind', as it were; gets the reflexes which have got a little slow through the summer back to usefullness. Also it gives onlookers something to wonder about...And forgetting how the brakes work can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on how stupidly the folks around you are driving. Honestly, sometimes I think they have the memory of a goldfish. 'Way too fast and braking 'way too late and generally acting like they've grown up in some locale other than eastern Montana. Every winter the complaints are there about "Why isn't that street sanded/plowed/salted...blahblahblah" and warnings the first couple weeks about stupid drivers. Bottom line: smooth is fast, fast is slow, and watch the other guy do the dumb stuff.
I do this too. Besides it's just so much fun. I love driving in the snow. 'Course it's better if the people who don't know how to drive in snow get scared and hide at home.
Driving in snow is fairly similar to driving on sand or dirt. Driving on ice or in slush is different though.
I still have never driven in snow.
I usually turn the traction control off. In a VW, it makes the car slide unpredictably whereas I prefer to make the car slide when and where I want.
My winter car in PA and ONT was a 96 Impala SS with winter-only Pirellis. I got stuck a lot but it was fun.
For the most part, if the snow is so bad that you shouldn't be driving, everything is closed or cancelled anyway. At that point you build a fire in the fireplace, mix up a Crown and Coke, and watch a movie.
Wintery places are setup for keeping roads clear. When I was a kid, if I was awakened at 5am by a snowplow going by, I could count on school not being cancelled or they wouldn't be making the effort. If I woke up at 6 to my alarm and the road was untouched, school was cancelled. With salt and plows they keep things moving
As in most of life, the most dangerous part about driving the snow is everybody else. The fact that you exhibit even the slightest level of concern or awareness puts you leaps and bounds ahead of 99% of anyone you'll encounter. The fact that more of these waterheads aren't dead every year is only a testament to the progression of safety technologies. So in addition to picking up a new skill set of vehicle dynamics and control, you'll also want to keep your head on a swivel.
The good news is that most of the time, accidents in the snow are at a slow enough speed that no major damage or injuries occur. The bad news is, even if you see the accident as it's approaching, there's often little more you can do about it than brace for the impact, and get a few extra swear words in.
What the others have said. Parking lot practice is a great idea. If the road surface looks suspicious do a brake tap (not in heavy traffic tho) or better yet blip the throttle to gauge traction.
Bridges and elevated roadways will freeze before road surfaces. Even if the road surface looks clear bridges may be icy, don't assume they have been treated.
What he said^.
Bridges (black ice) and lane changes account for the majority of spinouts. Just be careful when crossing a bridge and avoid lane changes if it's really slick out. If you do find yourself passing in the hammer lane give yourself LOTS of extra time and space to make the pass. Too many people come out too fast and start fishtailing which leads to them overcorrecting and then, BLAMMO! right in the median.
curtis73 wrote: For the most part, if the snow is so bad that you shouldn't be driving, everything is closed or cancelled anyway. At that point you build a fire in the fireplace, mix up a Crown and Coke, and watch a movie.
This is what separates everyone from Subaru owners.
Just go slower than everyone else and you'll be fine. You'll be freaked out by how little stopping force you have at first. A little downward slope and hitting the brakes at 20 mph will feel like it's doing absolutely nothing. Even seasoned winter drivers have a few "oh E36 M3" moments at the start of winter or when we hop from a car with snow tires into one without. Your brain needs to recalibrate a lot, but for someone who already knows what a sliding car feels like it's no biggie.
It's great fun in a RWD or AWD car with good tires, blasting along at the absolute ragged edge of adhesion with the car sideways and at full oppo...at 15 mph.
I pretty much stay off of faster rural 2-lane roads and highways unless absolutely necessary, though. People do some boneheaded things, especially now that everything is AWD and traction control'd. They have no trouble getting up to speed and don't realize how bad the roads are until it comes time to stop or change lanes and they wind up sideways in front of you.
I love driving in the snow, the roadways are usually less busy since all those who fear it stayed home.
I would suggest finding an open lot where you can get a feel for how the vehicle will react in certain instances. This way we can get an idea on what the car will do if you need some quick evasive maneuvering.
Also a good set of snow tires are your friends.
Yeah, you should have no problems with snow. I like driving in it, and don't. I love it because it's fun and teaches you a lot about listening to your car, but I hate it because I see Jesus taking the wheel entirely too many times.
I agree with finding a parking lot and seeing just how little traction you have. It's pretty disorienting the first time you drive on snow. You can take a turn so slow your grandmother would tell you to speed up, but you'll still break traction and understeer into a curb. Just assume there's absolutely no grip anywhere and you'll be alright.
The other thing about being a good driver in the snow is to know when not to drive. If it gets really bad, stay home with your buddies and drink beer.
The best thing to do if you hit black ice. Nothing. Don't touch the brakes, same position on the throttle. Steer straight ahead. This is all good, providing the road is straight. In a curve can be fun. Just don't do anything suddenly.
The best part of driving in snowy conditions...driving on frozen lakes in snowy conditions!
Some said to watch out for black ice on bridges. Bridges and overpasses! The road surface will be colder on an overpass than the road before and after it. The salt might have liquified the water below 32°F and allowed it to evaporate from the rest of the road but the overpass can still have ice on it. I've watched multiple cars bounce off of railing in front of me driving towards the overpass. Talk about white knuckling it.
Twin_Cam wrote: The other thing about being a good driver in the snow is to know when not to drive. If it gets really bad, stay home with your buddies and drink beer.
True... when I have to drive in the snow, I prefer to drive my 4x4 Cummins... not because it's any better in the snow than my TDI - it's not (I run snow tires on both) - but simply because it's more "expendable" should somebody hit it.
driving in the snow up in WI is a lot easier than driving in the snow down here in VA in my experience. Here in VA it generally melts and gets slick and slushy, and re-freezes into ice. And most everyone on the road is a panic stricken moron.
When I visited family a few years ago in WI I drove a good bit, a lot of side streets were just hard packed snow, it was cold and windy enough that it doesnt come close to melting and re-freezing into ice. 5 degrees with -25 windchill. a bit nippy!
Twin_Cam wrote: You can take a turn so slow your grandmother would tell you to speed up, but you'll still break traction and understeer into a curb.
I know we are talking about somebody brand new to winter driving, but damn, some of you don't know how to handle a car in slick conditions
Winter is especially enjoyable when it involves awd. Not only can you LFB like a fwd car, you also get to power out of corners with authority. In a city of 1 million people, they usually freak out a bit when you go sliding around downtown.
Damn do I LOVE winter 
iceracer wrote: The best thing to do if you hit black ice. Nothing. Don't touch the brakes, same position on the throttle. Steer straight ahead. This is all good, providing the road is straight. In a curve can be fun. Just don't do anything suddenly.
Yeah, I've had 2 black ice experiences, one good, one bad. Driving my 3-year-old to daycare in the old Supra on a cold, post-snow morning. Came over the crest of a hill at moderate speed on a gentle curve and the road noise just disappeared. Completely. It was eery. I had enough time to lift gently and countersteer; back end came gracefully around but fortunately I had altered the trajectory enough to carry us backward into a parking lot entrance instead the ditches on either side. After we came to a stop my daughter asked form the car seat "Was that fun?"...
Second time I was making a left in my old Neon ACR on a running-late morning. Road conditions were fine but I drove into the shadow of an office building where the ACR promptly washed out straight into the curb. Bent the strut and LCA, busted the rim, and ruined the tire.
I was following a pickup truck with my cherokee, on a divided highway, as we both were passing a car in the slow lane. Suddenly the car started spinning while staying in it's own lane. The pickup slammed on the brakes and so did I. The cherokee, without abs, went slidding, and before I slammed into the back of the pickup I let off the brakes and drove into the ditch in the median. I actually got up along side of the pickup and looked the man in the face. He must have saw the sense of urgancy in my face, and promptly drove away. I slowed down a little more and drove out of the foot of snow back on to the highway. I still don't know what happend to the spinning car. I like to imagine it's still spinning somewhere .
barrowcadbury wrote: Yes, and you will love it :D Seriously, in MN, I look forward to driving in the stuff every winter. And with 10 years autox experience, you'll pick it up very quickly. The first thing you should do is find an empty parking lot (with a covering of snow), and just hoon around a bit. Try slamming on the brakes, do a little skidpad test, etc. to get a feel for it. The biggest thing to remember is brake way earlier than you think you have to, especially on the all-season tires that will be equipped on a rental car - rather slow down too early than go sliding into another car or through an intersection.
Probably not the best thing to do in the rental lot at MKE, but I will drive around a bit and get the feel for it before I get out into the thick of things.
In reply to SupraWes:
Ok, I'll try not to tempt you with such ideas:
Taiden wrote:curtis73 wrote: For the most part, if the snow is so bad that you shouldn't be driving, everything is closed or cancelled anyway. At that point you build a fire in the fireplace, mix up a Crown and Coke, and watch a movie.This is what separates everyone from Subaru owners.
That's what the WRX driver thought on ice covered US75 in Toledo last year until the Town Car cruised past him at twice his speed....
HiTempguy wrote:Twin_Cam wrote: You can take a turn so slow your grandmother would tell you to speed up, but you'll still break traction and understeer into a curb.I know we are talking about somebody brand new to winter driving, but damn, some of you don't know how to handle a car in slick conditions
That was the third time I'd ever driven a car, my dad thought it would be good practice. I took the turn at (literally) 7 mph. Caused $900 damage to his half-year-old Civic. Hondas are E36 M3 in the snow.
And I've since improved. I drove a lowered Saturn coupe four hours in a blizzard to get home from an autocross-turned-snowcross once. I passed many, many trucks and SUVs stuck in ditches.
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