Discussion
Ranger 6, they'd frown on you using the H/S just in case you did block it, it's needed for the emergency vehicles to get to the priority cases, obviously if you were stuck in non-moving traffic and fitted them, if you could find a way through then carefully go for it. I went to work from J28 to J23 in my fully tooled up 300TDi Discovery instead of my normal Jap Eurobox. I had no problem driving down lane 3 past the traffic where no vehicles had been, anything on normal tyres wouldn't have made it a foot. I did stop and pull a couple of those HGV and got them a bit straighter, but only managed to get one moving properly but then 400 yds further on the traffic was stopped again.
Another trick for driving in snow even with *normal* tyres, is to let the pressure down to around 20 psi instead of the usual 30 - 35psi, this helps the tyres grip in the snow, you do need to have a tyre pressure guage with you for this, guessing is no good.
As has been said, over on the continent where they constantly get this type of weather, they're tooled up for it. In Sweden you must fit studded tyres at a certain date,it's actually an offence not to! and you're told when you can change back to ordinary ones. The roads there look like millions of women in stiletto heels have marched across the tarmac.
Everyone knows that rear wheel drive cars are not the best option in slippery conditions, basically that's just what an artic is, a rear wheel drive unit dragging up to 44 tons behind it. Next time you're in a car park, check out the tyres on HGVs, they look like slicks with 2 or 3 grooves cut in them, completely useless for snow conditions.
Cars with thin tyres have more chance as well, all those with their posh wide alloys and low profile fat tyres don't fair as good in these conditions.
Anyway, Hey-Ho, it'll soon be summer, the snow will have gone, and the warm rain will be back with us.
Another trick for driving in snow even with *normal* tyres, is to let the pressure down to around 20 psi instead of the usual 30 - 35psi, this helps the tyres grip in the snow, you do need to have a tyre pressure guage with you for this, guessing is no good.
As has been said, over on the continent where they constantly get this type of weather, they're tooled up for it. In Sweden you must fit studded tyres at a certain date,it's actually an offence not to! and you're told when you can change back to ordinary ones. The roads there look like millions of women in stiletto heels have marched across the tarmac.
Everyone knows that rear wheel drive cars are not the best option in slippery conditions, basically that's just what an artic is, a rear wheel drive unit dragging up to 44 tons behind it. Next time you're in a car park, check out the tyres on HGVs, they look like slicks with 2 or 3 grooves cut in them, completely useless for snow conditions.
Cars with thin tyres have more chance as well, all those with their posh wide alloys and low profile fat tyres don't fair as good in these conditions.
Anyway, Hey-Ho, it'll soon be summer, the snow will have gone, and the warm rain will be back with us.
Gafferjim said:
Another trick for driving in snow even with *normal* tyres, is to let the pressure down to around 20 psi instead of the usual 30 - 35psi, this helps the tyres grip in the snow, you do need to have a tyre pressure guage with you for this, guessing is no good.
Not sure that's good advice, sure is a whole new thread and a massive can of worms! 
Manicminer said:
Gafferjim said:
Another trick for driving in snow even with *normal* tyres, is to let the pressure down to around 20 psi instead of the usual 30 - 35psi, this helps the tyres grip in the snow, you do need to have a tyre pressure guage with you for this, guessing is no good.
Not sure that's good advice, sure is a whole new thread and a massive can of worms! cptsideways said:
If 2.5 tons of landcruiser on Michelin winters can pull 44 tons of truck up a big snowy hill it tends to suggest the tyres are the problem.
Financially I bet each truck stuck lost more stuck in that than the cost of some tyres for the drive wheels
At around £500 a tyre so don't be so sure, and trucks have double wheels on their drive wheels so 4 in total. Then you have the fact that every truck in the fleet would be replaced by them, not all 838 Eddie Stobart trucks got stuck that night. Maybe 2 or 3?Financially I bet each truck stuck lost more stuck in that than the cost of some tyres for the drive wheels
I have no idea how much a late or missed delivery costs a haulage firm but I doubt it's as much as 838 trucks all needing 4 new tyres every Winter.
Then if the company buys the tyres, they have to find somewhere to store 3352 tyres once Winter is over again. Although some companies do lease their tyres but again I have no idea how much that costs when giving back hardly used tyres.
Threads like this make me quite nostalgic......for a short while. Many is the time I've driven up and down the M6 in all sorts of weather.
24 today, forecast is 26 tomorrow, then 28, 30 and 30. Have to be prepared for bush fires so I've turned the sprinklers on for a couple of hours to try and keep the greenery green.
Christchurch. New Zealand.
24 today, forecast is 26 tomorrow, then 28, 30 and 30. Have to be prepared for bush fires so I've turned the sprinklers on for a couple of hours to try and keep the greenery green.
Christchurch. New Zealand.
hora said:
Every Dec/Jan you get people being delayed flying out somewhere. EXPECT it may happen ffs. People/news moaning away in Heathrow etc. If it was me I'd hope they wouldn't take off with even a whiff of snow !
Even Germany spiegel-Online said:
Winter weather threw travel across Germany into turmoil early this week. Snow blanketed much of the country, causing hundreds of cancelled flights and road closures. Conditions began to improve on Tuesday, but not before skiers at ice skaters could have a little fun.
link
link
I flew in and out of Hamburg weekly last December and January. We were delayed every time for de-icing at both MAN and HAM, but the sleet and snow they were getting at the time wasnt enough to stick to the roads, so I never had a problem getting around. You could tell the crew were German by their irritation at inefficiency of the Manchester ground crew 
Gafferjim said:
Ranger 6, they'd frown on you using the H/S just in case you did block it, it's needed for the emergency vehicles to get to the priority cases, obviously if you were stuck in non-moving traffic and fitted them, if you could find a way through then carefully go for it. I went to work from J28 to J23 in my fully tooled up 300TDi Discovery instead of my normal Jap Eurobox. I had no problem driving down lane 3 past the traffic where no vehicles had been, anything on normal tyres wouldn't have made it a foot. I did stop and pull a couple of those HGV and got them a bit straighter, but only managed to get one moving properly but then 400 yds further on the traffic was stopped again.
Thanks 
very useful advice.With experience in Sweden, France, Germany, Austria & Switzerland I've never actually been stuck on a motorway because of the weather - roadworks, accidents however are for a different thread!!
Trucking the M6 Northbound at speed 
Driving on the m6 on the 25:01:13 jct 27-28 heading north
After sitting on the flyover at jct 27 from 21.15-23.30,I about turned and headed back to Scotland.(was meant to be going to Coventry) Traffic had been stopped before jct 27 from going north,so i had the road to myself.....Here's what it looked like from my cab......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4z9rr6v3sc
Driving on the m6 on the 25:01:13 jct 27-28 heading north
After sitting on the flyover at jct 27 from 21.15-23.30,I about turned and headed back to Scotland.(was meant to be going to Coventry) Traffic had been stopped before jct 27 from going north,so i had the road to myself.....Here's what it looked like from my cab......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4z9rr6v3sc
Nickyboy said:
This guy has had a crash all on his own
That's because they're stupid and drive way too fast.My 330Ci is hopeless in the snow, so I use my F650 Funduro to commute, and of course because I'm going slowly, with being on a motorbike in the snow, dorks in cars insist on sitting 12" off my tail and overtaking like idiots at the first chance, then are stuck a few yards on behind the car I was keeping my distance from. Of course as soon as there's any gradient they're stuck and the little bike floats along past them with their uselessly spinning wheels
A few years ago I was travelling up from London when similar snow hit, the M54 was virgin snow in the outside lane and 6" deep tyre trails in the inside lane. Me and the girlfriend were riding along steadily in the tyre trails (on a K100RS and a GPz500) at 30 or so but there were still morons doing 70 mph coming up behind us fast then slithering everywhere while going into the outside lane for the overtake. The standard of driving was appalling.
All it takes is for someone in an artic to be behaving like that, jack knife and bingo one blocked motorway.
... and just to prove that RWD isn't all bad in the snow this is one of my bikes up on top of Minera mountain on the Minera-Worlds End-Llangollen road
Edited by slparry on Monday 28th January 10:56
Edited by slparry on Monday 28th January 10:58
slparry said:
Nickyboy said:
This guy has had a crash all on his own
That's because they're stupid and drive way too fast.By that time, the motorway was quiet, it wasn't icy and 2 lanes were clear. Quite how they managed it I don't know...
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