Black Ice? Please Don't Panic!!!!!!

anotherbaldrick

The big problem around here is hills that descend onto a junction with a major road. Every year you get some twit or twatess who goes to brake at their usual point only to find they are on black ice. Last year in the village one went straight through the lights and T boned a horse box.

thistledome

marlot wrote: »

Try very hard to think ahead so you never have to stop, expecially at junctions, where the ice gets particularly polished. If you must come to a stop, try to stop ten feet back from the junction - you're more likely to get going again, and if someone on the other road is out of control they're less likely to hit you. It can often come as a shock just how slippery the road is around junctions, so aiming to stop ten feet earlier gives you a margin of error (that I've had to use a few times!)

Thanks for your post, very informative.

Regarding junctions, I did all of the above last year at a crossroads and still sailed right across it on the ice. It was just my good luck that there was no other vehicle close enough to hit (I was crossing a major road from a minor road).

Would winter tyres help this and do you have to have them on the front and back or would it be OK to just have them on the driven wheels?

I'm frightened to go out now.

sunshinetours

thistledome wrote: »

Thanks for your post, very informative.

Regarding junctions, I did all of the above last year at a crossroads and still sailed right across it on the ice. It was just my good luck that there was no other vehicle close enough to hit (I was crossing a major road from a minor road).

Would winter tyres help this and do you have to have them on the front and back or would it be OK to just have them on the driven wheels?

I'm frightened to go out now.

Yes! Ideally front and back yes as all 4 wheels brake

Plenty of info on here about them and youtube has a number of videos showing the difference on ice

Limey

If I saw a car skid out ahead due to black Ice I'd try to stop before I got to said patch of black ice.:rotfl:

I love driving rwd cars in the snow it's great fun but you do need 'dancing feet' on the pedals. I remember driving for a good few hours after a big snow fall about 7 years ago (south london to home in Hants) in my MR2, by the time I got back home my feet and legs were aching but I was still smiling.:cool:

johnfarquhar74

ariba10 wrote: »

When you hit a patch of black ice.

You have the same control on steering and braking as you would in falling down a mineshaft.

,,and when you hit a patch of black ice that's EXACTLY what it is like,
however,
a patch of ice is exactly that, a patch. Very rarely do we get whole roads/streets of black ice, that's not to say people never come across vast expanses of it, it is just unlikely as you need both dampness and sudden low temperatures to create it.
Unfortunately when you do hit the ice you are either unaware or when you are aware, it's too late as you are going sideways.
My tip for the winter is to drive with a virtual hot cup of coffee between your legs, very gentle lateral or longitudinal movements and all should be well;)

Alias_Omega

Limey wrote: »

If I saw a car skid out ahead due to black Ice I'd try to stop before I got to said patch of black ice.:rotfl:

I love driving rwd cars in the snow it's great fun but you do need 'dancing feet' on the pedals. I remember driving for a good few hours after a big snow fall about 7 years ago (south london to home in Hants) in my MR2, by the time I got back home my feet and legs were aching but I was still smiling.:cool:

I still remember the new M5 drivers face when i overtook him in the snow in my run down renault car. It was snowing, i had travelled about 35 miles in it already and about 8 miles from work. No way was i going to accept his 10mph speed in front of me making me late for work. :rotfl:

I would commute nearly 90 miles a day, in all weathers inc on a bike. Madness.

Brallaqueen

can anyone explain how black ice affects motorcycles and scooters? what do you do then?

Alias_Omega

Queen,

I remember one junction, the bike would not stop. The steering went very light, i was travelling 15-20mph anyhow as i was stopping at the give-way. I put my legs down to stabilse it, it failed so i just let it go. Once it stopped, i picked it up. Rode it to work, used a hammer and wrench to bend the rear brake pedal back.

It was a old RD125.


I have had good times, and bad times in the weather. Have commuted all the way to work and back, when others 10miles away from work cannot get in, to arrive back at the house and smack the car off the kerb outside.

Thats the way the cookie crumbles..

sharnad

Strider590 wrote: »

Terrible conditions this morning, black ice everywhere.....

But what's with these silly folk who feel the car start to slip a little and then slam on the brakes? What's gonna happen? Seriously?

They are of course going end up sideways and the rest of us are going to end up slamming into the side of them!!!

If you hit black ice, the best thing to do is to remain calm, DON'T brake and make only small adjustments to the steering to keep the car straight!

Where do you live, is it Scotland we havent had ice down here yet though it was a little frosty this morning. I was hoping it was going to hold off for a couple more weeks

marlot

thistledome wrote: »

Regarding junctions, I did all of the above last year at a crossroads and still sailed right across it on the ice. It was just my good luck that there was no other vehicle close enough to hit (I was crossing a major road from a minor road).

Would winter tyres help this and do you have to have them on the front and back or would it be OK to just have them on the driven wheels?

Yes, junctions are usually the most slippery of places, as the ice gets polished, and its fairly sobering when you sail right through a junction. By the time you realise its going to happen, all you can do is get off the brakes and steer gently. And hope! It teaches you to brake very much earlier next time!

I live on a slight hill, and the number of drivers who stop at the stop line, and get stuck is amazing. I tell them to roll back ten feet then gently drive up the the junction. Even so, probably 4 out of 5 give it too much power and start sliding again. They say the road is impassable, but I get in their cars and drive up the hill first attempt with the engine at tickover speed, just easing the clutch out gently.

Winter tyres are wonderful. They can't work miracles, but they do stop you better. I'd always go for 4 of them - your car has 4 brakes, and its stopping power you want more than anything. Plus its not clever to have different amounts of grip front and back.

mytyres sell winter tyres on steel rims, ready to fit.