New driver - can employer force me to use my car if it’s snowing

Sharon87

I think it's good judgement not to drive in the snow if not comfortable. I was fortunate last year to get a driving lesson in the snow, a few days before my test.

The most important things I learned were use your gears to brake and in plenty of time and gently use your brakes. Also drive in other people's tyre tracks if it's deep snow and avoid hilly areas. When you want to slow down, go through the gears one by one, but try to avoid 1st gear unless you need to stop. And always gently use the accelerator when moving off and go up to 2nd as soon as possible.

Also if you do start skidding, do not brake, turn the wheel into the skid at the appropriate speed, so if you're only doing 9-10mph dont sharply turn the wheel.

Hope this helps if you have a practice in the future snow that is inevitable to happen!

vikingaero

Gilbert2 wrote: »

By that logic it would be safer to change tyres at 7mm because they are not at 8mm!:rotfl:

The Germans tend to change their tyres at 3-4mm which is why we get shedloads of partworns for cheapskates in the UK. I think the UK Police have a policy of changing them at 3mm too.

vikingaero

caz_cardiff87 wrote: »

It’s pretty much all gone now except for a few patches in our car park, some residential roads are a bit icey but nothing major. So unfortunately it will have to wait till the next time! I do think its a good idea tho!

Also just to note - my boss didn’t make it in on friday (and trust me if she could she would, her journey is pretty epic on the best of days so for her to not turn up means it was pretty bad! there is no issue from work with me, just a few snide comments from colleagues that got my back up a bit and left me wondering if i was being a pansy about it

i’m glad the majority of you appreciate those who recognise their ability or lack thereof and decide not to risk it. Being a new driver insurance premiums are epic (i’m paying 170 a month!) the last thing i need is an accident or to write the car off and not be able to replace it.

As for the tyre issue, for those who didn’t appreciate my legal but albeit low tyre tread, my car is booked in for tuesday - 4 new tyres for the grand price of 200 quid.

I understand its annoying when people bang on about not being able to afford maintenance on their cars but insist on driving - trust me i would never drive my car if it was illegal to do so, i need my license and could not put that in jeopardy by being ignorant of the risks. I’ve budgeted for mot repairs and left myself very little disposable income for the next two months, no biggie, it’s doable and i always put my car first because i have no other choice!

What does irk me a little is when some people (and again i’ve had this from colleagues) who flipantly say ‘get a credit card / loan / car finance’ and assume a graduate, living in an overdraft and already paying off a credit card (albeit a small one and forking out a ton on insurance) who only recently got turned down for credit, would automatically be accepted for loans of upwards of 3 - 4 grand on a nearly new or used car with warranties and whatever else....admittedly i haven’t shopped around too much as i am aware to many applications for credit can mess up your ability to be accepted so i’m really dubious about sneding off too many applications.

yes in an ideal world i won’t have to rely on trade dealers or private sellers for a cheap runaround, and actually have a car i trust for more than pootering from hospital sites and around town. I’ve got a financial plan for the next 12 - 18 months, to clear my debt, live as frugally as possible, build up a ’safety net' and wait for my insurance to come down significantly.Digging yourself out of the financial hole after uni just takes time, and i think a lot of people forget that or just don’t understand. All i can say is i do everything possible to keep my car going so for those who can replace things willy nilly and not worry about it, thats great for you, but not everyone can do that.

FWIW, despite all the doubters and "Macho Motoring Polis" (MMP) on here you are doing the right thing. :T

(1) You've rightly questioned your ability and taken some silly flak on here. Undoubtedly you do need to practice a little.

(2) You have a cheap car that should satisfy the MMP who insist that you should never buy new.

(3) You are financially crippled by your insurance costs as a young driver. I pay about £250 per year for each of our cars! Some of my younger male colleagues pay £3-400 per month for insurance.

(4) You seem to have your financial head well screwed on and all credit to you for that.

(5) 50% of those that criticise you may have an element of truth. The other 50% are armchair critics that travel by bus.

Yolina

StrongWork wrote: »

I don't think it's a coincidence that Europe seems to take snow in its stride whereas the UK appears to grind to a halt after 2cm worth!
.

Well it depends I'm French from the Alps, so yeah we're rather used to it and we don't bat an eyelid but we also have the right equipment - so winter tyres, chains, shovel etc; the tarmac used is different and we have a lot of snowploughs, snow blowers and gritters which do *all* the roads, not just main ones. Sometimes the only thing to do is wait for the snowplough to come round or you're not going to go anywhere (i.e my mum's house on the side of the mountain with a narrow road, 15% slope, and a foot or 2 of the fluffy stuff :rotfl: or in cases when an avalanche has cut off the road)

But the areas of France which don't get snow often grind to a standstill just like the UK does.

caz_cardiff87

vikingaero wrote: »

FWIW, despite all the doubters and "Macho Motoring Polis" (MMP) on here you are doing the right thing. :T

(1) You've rightly questioned your ability and taken some silly flak on here. Undoubtedly you do need to practice a little.

(2) You have a cheap car that should satisfy the MMP who insist that you should never buy new.

(3) You are financially crippled by your insurance costs as a young driver. I pay about £250 per year for each of our cars! Some of my younger male colleagues pay £3-400 per month for insurance.

(4) You seem to have your financial head well screwed on and all credit to you for that.

(5) 50% of those that criticise you may have an element of truth. The other 50% are armchair critics that travel by bus.

very much agree and thank you! The last point made me laugh!

coinxoperated

vikingaero wrote: »

FWIW, despite all the doubters and "Macho Motoring Polis" (MMP) on here you are doing the right thing. :T

(1) You've rightly questioned your ability and taken some silly flak on here. Undoubtedly you do need to practice a little.

(2) You have a cheap car that should satisfy the MMP who insist that you should never buy new.

(3) You are financially crippled by your insurance costs as a young driver. I pay about £250 per year for each of our cars! Some of my younger male colleagues pay £3-400 per month for insurance.

(4) You seem to have your financial head well screwed on and all credit to you for that.

(5) 50% of those that criticise you may have an element of truth. The other 50% are armchair critics that travel by bus.

Just wanted to add that I have driven for 6 years, regularly travelling across the country for work. I have a banger of a car as I'm saving up for a newer model rather than getting into debt. Even with 6 years no claims, as I'm under 25. My insurance is 170 PER MONTH for a 1.2 fiat punto 02 reg.

I also get nervous driving in this weather. I can handle other things fine, but the older cars are generally lighter and do tend to drift and skid much easier.

If you don't feel safe, don't do it. Explain that you don't feel confident enough to drive your car in this weather so you won't be doing so. Say you are more than happy to get public transport to wherever you need to go. If they want to grumble, let them. Safety is more important than money!

butterfly72

Regarding employers, i am a district nurse in the NHS and we got an email this week stating that if we couldnt get in due to the snow we'd have to take it as annual leave. No mention of take care or thanks for risking your own safety and cars for the benefit of our patients!

Anyway, all the nurses managed to get out and visit patients ALL DAY despite the weather. Flipping head office closed and sent everyone in there home at midday!:mad:


Btw, had my winter tyres on and they were brill. That and driving like Miss Daisy, i didnt slip or skid once!

sunshinetours

photome wrote: »

That of course depends on your job and wether you want to keep it. I am a field service engineer and drive 30000 a year, not sure the company would be to impressed if i refused to drive everytime it snowed

We have had snow since monday here and it was really bad on tue with temps of -15 and so many main roads closed it was ridiculous, but I still managed 150 miles that day all be it it took me 2 hours to do 10 miles at one point

To the OP i think you prob did the right thing unless of course you took the job knowing that you would have to use your car to be able to carry out your job.

2mm on your tyres doesnt mean you have to go straight out and buy more tyres so ignore those that give you hassle, of course they are very close to being illegal but they are not!

And ignore the idiot who says return your license

Sorry but that is simply bad advice and why many people get stuck or have accidents. Driving in slippy conditions with 2mm of tread is never going to be easy and combined with the OP's own admitted inexperience is a recipe for disaster.

OP should try and get to work another way and get a lift with someone who is happy to drive

colino

Right, no experience of driving in these conditions, so when are you going to get it? Damn near bald tyres but paying £170/month to keep this ornament in your drive?
Most people I know new to winter driving have done something practical about it, not just exercised their keyboard fingers.

Lum

Did you actually read the OP? He requires his car for work as he has to travel to multiple sites, and the tyres are already booked in for replacement when he gets paid. He just doesn't want to have to drive to work in the snow and is looking for legal ways to avoid doing this without losing his job!

It's far from being an ornament on the drive.

Please try to remember what it was like being 19, and then factor in just how stupid insurance for young people has gotten these days. The OP is somehow struggling along with this car-requiring job, somehow making ends meet despite being at a £170 a month disadvantage compared to his older (and probably better paid) co-workers. Plenty of people in this situation would have given up and gone on the dole by now. The OP just didn't want to drive the car in it's current state in the snow.

How did it turn out in the end BTW?