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

TrickyWicky

I had a smack on the ice a few years ago, did everything by the book, minor adjustments to the steering, gentle braking (which of course locked the wheels as they had zero grip to keep them turning), let go of the brake etc... no difference at all. Even the gradual steering resulted in me going ahead in a straight line (the road was slanting to the left slightly too). Front wheel drive cars are supposed to have more grip on ice but this didn't. No steering, no slowing.. all i could do was watch it take aim at the front end of a parked car where it then promptly ploughed into it.

Total distance covered was a good 30 yards at just under 20mph and nothing worked. The next year i took to driving out of the estate on flat tyres and even that was slippery. Then once on the clear bit of road you got to pump them back up again.. I really need to convert that lawnmower engine into a pump..

cyclonebri1

Trebor16 wrote: »

It's a 4 second gap in the wet, not 3, and that is a minimum. So at 40 mph that would be a minimum gap of 235 feet.

And that is still way way out,double it at least, sorry trebor, but it is so;)

Strider590

^^^ That lamppost must have hurt Trebor's head and it's taken 24 years to recover :S

Limey

Brallaqueen wrote: »

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

Rider clenches butt cheeks and prays to whichever deity is relevent to him/her.:rotfl:

vaio

and then falls off

cyclonebri1

marlot wrote: »

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.

No you don't, that's what you want to do do but you don't

Like the rest of us you watch them struggle

I do support the Darwinian side of things, lets them fight it out, the xxxxx's will survive, trouble is I can't see who the xxxxx's are???????????

Trebor16

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

And that is still way way out,double it at least, sorry trebor, but it is so;)

I was only quoting the figures for wet weather, not ice/snow to correct Strider and his 3 second/150 feet. I see he still hasn't recovered from being dropped on his head as a baby.

Freefall

Strider590 wrote: »

At 40mph the following distance is what? 150ft? (giving a nice generous 3s gap as you should in wet conditions) it's said that in ice you need 10x that distance, so that's 1500ft. Do you expect anyone to drive 1/4 of a mile away from the car in front, when they're unaware of any ice on the roads during rush hour traffic at 8am?

I think the distance argument is mute in these conditions, the key is driver education in how to handle the conditions correctly.

Problem I see is this. The general rule is the driver who goes into the rear of another vehicle is at fault (contrary to urban myth this is not a rule to which there is no exceptions but near enough).

So if you want to keep your NCD and your premiums down it seems like you would have to increase your gap AND decrease your speed. 1/4 of a mile is just absurd though... as you point out.

marlot

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

No you don't, that's what you want to do do but you don't

Like the rest of us you watch them struggle

I do support the Darwinian side of things, lets them fight it out, the xxxxx's will survive, trouble is I can't see who the xxxxx's are???????????

Don't judge others by your own standards. I would have helped at least 20 people last winter at that junction (its only 100 yards from my house).

I'm also part of a rescue group who go out in our 4x4s to help some of the local medics get to the seriously ill.

Some of us actually help those around us.

cyclonebri1

DTDfanBoy wrote: »

The most important factor is to know your cars abilities, if you have a modern car with stability control and you want to stop use the brakes, steer in the direction you want to go, and the car will do the rest

If you still manage to hit the car in front you are traveling to closely, it's a simple as that.

Advising not to brake in a modern car is a bit of a moot point, if the car detects you are entering a slide it will brake for you regardless of whether you want to or not. :T

I'll pull you up on 2 things there, 1stly the most important factor is knowing your own limitations.

2ndly the car does not brake for you unless you are fool enough to keep the accelarator planted and the traction control comes in, and then it only brakes the wheel that's actually slipping.