Driving in the Snow

I'm with you on that rant and I drive a terrible snow car - Mustang. Last night I had a 30 minute delay due to a traffic light being out. My normal drive home is 45 minutes and I spent 1 1/4 hours geting home - just to take it out my wieght set!

I don't miss driving in the snow- at all.  What was scary was having to worry about how other people drove!  I hated driving in the snow- so glad i don't have to do that anymore.

I once saw our previous secretary driving into our snow covered parking lot at an enormous rate of speed, and barely stopping in time, narrowly avoiding someone elses car . I mentioned to her one day, "Missy, you might want to slow down a bit when the roads are slippery." Her answer was, "Oh, I'm OK, I have 4-wheel drive!" Ummm...it doesn't help you stop any sooner dear!



Edited by max 2005-12-09 9:18 AM

I'm with ya Sass... I had some fun in that last night to. Not anything on the order of 4 hours, but 45 minutes was plenty (2-3 of that was spent trying to get up my driveway).

At least they had everything cleaned up pretty well this morning.

Max, that was always one of my favorite lines to hear when in Minot. All 4 wheel drive ever did was help me get out of the ditch after I slid off the road. That and I liked to remind people that they may have 4 wheel drive, but they only have 2 wheel brakes.

bts

my truck is the worst EVER in snow. First off it's a 2wd truck with a locking rear end, so no weight on the rear wheels and they both spin. Plus it has a full racing suspension on it, so it's super stiff, AND I still have summer performance tires on it, which don't do so hot in the snow.

If the road is slick, I'm driving sideways and drifting the corners. The advantage is I can do donuts like a mad man.


The funny thing is that after being in the snow for about 4 days, I get a feel for how it reacts again, and can drive just as well (sometimes better) then half the guys with 4wd.

at least you all live in places that always get snow, where at least the majority of people know how to drive in it...  here in northern VA, where it doesn't snow a whole lot, people have absolutely no idea.  concepts like "drive slower" and "don't follow so closely" and "easy on the breaks" just don't seem to exist.  I like the 4 wheel drive comment, people think its like they are driving a tank on dry roads. 

This user's post has been ignored.

lara your front wheel drive will do better in the snow than something with rear wheel, so you already have that working in your favor. i don't know about putting anything in the trunk to add weight... i can't say for sure that it wouldn't help. i've had little front wheel drive cars most of my life, and never had a problem. then again, i had to learn how to drive in the snow, when i was 16, before i really had much of a chance to not drive in the snow. steep learning curve. just go slow, take your time, and always be easy on the brakes. you'll be fine.

Edited by 3558 2005-12-09 11:57 AM

Yeah, locking your brakes in that situation sux. BTW, weight in the trunk is mostly for rear wheel drive vehicles.

Always steer into the skid... unless you're skidding towards a tanker truck.

bts

in that case, just open your door and bail out.

Same here in Atlanta!

• 4-wheel drive cars and trucks are great for getting moving, but do not help with stopping, don't drive faster than your ability to stop before hitting something

• all cars have low gears, including those with automatic transmissions. Use them. Low gears are the single best thing for driving in the snow.

• don't drive faster than your ability to stop before hitting something

• if you're stuck in a snowbank, don't spin your wheels. Rock back and forth instead. Put the car in reverse and move it until just before your wheels spin, step on the brake, shift to low, move forward until just before your wheels spin, repeat until you get enough momentum to move through the snow bank

• don't drive faster than your ability to stop before hitting something

• if you need to make a 90 degree turn really quickly in a manual transmission car, turn the steering wheel in the direction of your turn while at the same time locking your parking breaks. You should be able to turn the car 90 degrees in about three feet. Only try this if there is a lot of snow on the road and no other cars.

Oh yea, don't drive faster than your ability to stop before hitting something.

Edited by dontracy 2005-12-09 12:51 PM

Sure, first good snowfall, head to the nearest open parking lot and experiment. Accelerate, brake, steer, where you have plenty of room to not hit anything. This was my son's first experience driving a car, and yes, he did hit the snowbank, and he did get the car stuck. He realized that 1) driving is harder than it looks, 2) things happen very fast, 3) it ain't like Nintendo, and 4) make sure you have emergency gear (see below).

Does your Accord have ABS or traction control?

Weight in the trunk will have a marginal benefit by increasing traction in the rear, but since these aren't the drive wheels, it won't work like hubby expects. At the least, you can use the kitty litter to sprinkle around/under the tires after you slide off the road (Sand works much better!).

The problem with small front-wheel-drive cars, especially those with wide tires, is they ride up onto the pile of snow and you have to dig the snow out from under the car, not just around the tires. (Carry a shovel?).

Carry a blanket or old sleeping bag to keep warm if you do get stuck. ALWAYS have a coat, hat, and gloves. You can also throw a couple of old floormats, doormats, or throw rugs (like the kindgergarten rag-mats) in the trunk. You can use them to insulate you from the ground if you need to change a tire, for traction under the tire, etc.

Unless you're Chuck Norris... then you just roundhouse kick the truck out of the way.

bts

Also, if you are Chuck Norris you can always just roundhouse kick the car out of any snowbanks, although I think most snowbanks would see Chuck Norris coming, get scared and run away.

Don Tracy has good advice. The biggest thing is just to go slow and leave lots of room between the car in front of you because it will take longer to stop. when braking its generally better to pump the brakes (small, short braking) than to lean on the pedal. This helps keep the car weight a little more evenly distributed over all 4 wheels.

Personally, I don't think 4WD or ABS can completely your car from spin-outs. And it's really sad that people immediately think that they are driving a tank if their cars are equiped with these features.

I know I am not a good at driving in snow, so I tend to go slow if I couldn't see well or if there are stuff on the ground. While most people are very patient and understanding, there are always morons out there honking me for not going fast enough. I am very tempted to jump out, and ask them if it is their intent to have my car spin out and kill everybody.

Grr Grrr.

This user's post has been ignored.

okay....

weight in the back of a FWD car is a bad idea. It gives teh rear more momentum once it starts sliding, so if you manage to start spinning, it's harder to stop.

Like was suggested, take your car out into a deserted parking lot and push it until traction brakes. Keep doing this until you get a feel for when you will start to slide and the motion of the car one it starts to slide. Practice enough and you will build reactions to counter steer and get you back in the right direction instead of in the snow bank.

Some hints to try in the deserted parking lot:

RWD car/truck: Mash gas and get the rear sliding out to one side. Turn into the skid so that the front wheels always point the same direction....let the car pivot around the wheels. The rear end will stabelize and come back under control. Don't panic and let off the gas quickly or slam the brake. Don't disengague the clutch. The car can be moving sideways as long as the rear tires are sliding. Once they grip, they will launch in the direction they are facing. YOu want to them grip AFTER you are straight. So gradually let off on the gas as the rear end comes back around. If you are good you can swing the back end back and forth and keep going in a straight line. Also get spinning in a good quick donut and suddenlt counter steer and try to recover. You can stop the spin any time you want to with a twist of the wheel. Just practice and it will become second nature.

4wd: try to do a donut in 4wd. it's hard. 4wd will grip as long as the wheels are moving. So try accelerating through some donuts and then do some using the brake. You will see what I'm talking about. Again, play until you can make it brake traction on command and can control the slide.

If more people did donuts, the roads would be a safer place.

lara one other thing, you mentioned that its manual transmission...  sometimes its easier to start going in 2nd instead of 1st if you find your tires are spinning.