Tips for Driving in Snow and Ice

bigg_a3

Hi all,

just had some major snow up in Sheffield this weekend, went to sleep Saturday Night and woke up Sunday morning with about 8inches of the good old white stuff. Anyway I have a rear wheel drive Lexus and was fine over flat roads and small inclines but hit a hill nearly made it to the top and had to trun it round and park in the local Aldi.

Anyway thought I would put a compliation of decent driving tips from I know mister Crabmen hammers them but there may just be a few he'd missed, enjoy!


Driving in snow and ice

• If your tyres are making virtually no noise this could be a sign you're driving on ice.

• If your vehicle skids, depress the clutch and turn the steering wheel into the direction of the skid. When the vehicle straightens steer along the road. Don't brake - it will just lock up your wheels and you'll skid further.

• Stopping distances are ten times longer in ice and snow.

• Gentle manoeuvres are the key to safe driving.

• Reduce your risk of skidding by reducing your speed, too much power is often the source of problems in snow and ice.

• Wear comfortable, dry shoes: cumbersome, snow-covered boots will slip on the pedals.

• Select second gear when pulling away, easing your foot off the clutch gently to avoid wheel-spin.

• Try to maintain a constant speed, choosing the most suitable gear in advance to avoid having to change down while climbing a hill.

• When driving downhill, choose third or fourth gear to prevent skidding.

• Always apply brakes gently.

• If you do get stuck, straighten the steering and clear the snow from the wheels. Put a sack or old rug in front of the driving wheels to give the tyres some grip. Once on the move again, try not to stop until you reach firmer ground

Anyway hope this helps!

G

DirectDebacle

Consider if your journey is absolutely necessary. If it isn't an emergency it probably isn't.

anewman

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Consider if your journey is absolutely necessary. If it isn't an emergency it probably isn't.

Although sadly most employers will tell you it is "necessary."

And regarding the phrase "turn into the skid", it may make more sense to say steer so you aim towards the direction that you want to go.

Lemonade_Pockets

anewman wrote: »

Although sadly most employers will tell you it is "necessary."

And regarding the phrase "turn into the skid", it may make more sense to say steer so you aim towards the direction that you want to go.

To be pedantic surely the whole point is steer in opposite direction to what you want to go as in "opposite lock" ????

DirectDebacle

Anyone know how to control a four wheel skid on ice?

Mark_Hewitt

I agree, turn into the skid is not helpful, because certainly before I started driving I'd imagined that to be entirely the opposite of the reality. Of course in reality you turn the correct way instinctively.

Kurtis_Blue

Lemonade_Pockets wrote: »

To be pedantic surely the whole point is steer in opposite direction to what you want to go as in "opposite lock" ????

Depends if the skid is over/under steer, steer to the direction you wish to go is clearer for those that need it.

But once you're past 90 degrees just brake and clutch.

cyclonebri1

Lemonade_Pockets wrote: »

To be pedantic surely the whole point is steer in opposite direction to what you want to go as in "opposite lock" ????

It's not pedantic but it is wrong. If you are skidding and not in full control, ie, as in not pointing in the direction you want to travel in, you gently steer back to the true direction and when true again very quickly remove this "opposite lock". This is where most folks go wrong, they over correct.


Skidding with the car still going the way tou want it is no problem and just comes under the earlier point of it taking far far further to stop;)

cyclonebri1

kurtis_blue wrote: »

depends if the skid is over/under steer, steer to the direction you wish to go is clearer for those that need it.

but once you're past 90 degrees just brake and clutch.

and pray;)

maninthestreet

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Anyone know how to control a four wheel skid on ice?

You can't - the car is completely out of control. Don't touch the brakes, accelerator or steering, and hope/pray you get control back before you hit something.

DirectDebacle

maninthestreet wrote: »

You can't - the car is completely out of control. Don't touch the brakes, accelerator or steering, and hope/pray you get control back before you hit something.

I know. On a different thread someone claimed there wasn't any type of skid that couldn't be controlled.

Hope you didn't spend too much time researching it.