Why can nobody drive in the snow

[Stridey]

Chatted to someone yesterday, snow falling. She said she was scared to drive in snow.

I asked if her car was front wheel drive, she said she didn’t know.

[swisstoni]

With a inch max of snow overnight many round my way have obviously not felt up to braving the frozen arctic tundra and stayed at home.

Normally full shopping car parks now half empty.

[Balmoral]

Stridey said:

I asked if her car was front wheel drive, she said she didn’t know.

Which is fair enough, I wouldn't have a clue what the spin speed is of our washing machine

[Shakermaker]

Andy665 said:

Shakermaker said:

I rather put it down to the fact that we don't get regular enough snow here in the UK for people to get used to driving in it properly.

One or two days a year at most, and in fact, several years where it doesn't snow at all in vast parts of the country, so people can easily go many years without having to do it at all.

That's like saying "People who have not had a house fire cannot be expected to know what to do"

Driving in ice and snow is hardly rocket science - simply requires a degree of interest in driving properly and common sense - sadly both are qualities sadly lacking in most drivers.

Yesterday in Shropshire I'd say 49% of drivers were panic stricken and crawling along at 10-15mph, 49% totally ignored the conditions and were driving as they normally would, only a few appeared to be driving sensibly and to the conditions

Not the best analogy really.

With a house fire - you already know how to get out of your house, in a fire, you'll just be doing it with more urgency than normal, and hopeful that you are wearing at least something.

In snow, you have to drive in a way unfamiliar to your normal style.

Also, i think we have to consider what is considered to be a succesful drive in the snow. If "Not crashing" is the desired outcome, then even in snow, most people manage that. Its just the small % of drivers who DO crash in the snow, who cause delays and hold ups for everyone else.

[Oilchange]

Asked my kid to put her Alfa into 'All Weather' mode in the mornings as it's icy, she'd already done it!
This is a good sign...

[Stridey]

Balmoral said:

Stridey said:

I asked if her car was front wheel drive, she said she didn’t know.

Which is fair enough, I wouldn't have a clue what the spin speed is of our washing machine

Ouch!

[Car-Matt]

To answer the OP without reading the rest of the thread.

1) We aren't taught it in order to pass our test
2) most of us are on inappropriate tyres


[/Thread]

[John145]

People don't fit winter tyres. Also there is a popular misconception that "my car is an SUV therefore ready for anything".

Winter tyres completely change the game as soon as it gets cold, icy or snowy.

Here in Germany we run winter tyres and it's regularly -5 to -10degC with snow and we're still cruising around without incident.

[motco]

John145 said:

People don't fit winter tyres. Also there is a popular misconception that "my car is an SUV therefore ready for anything".

Winter tyres completely change the game as soon as it gets cold, icy or snowy.

Here in Germany we run winter tyres and it's regularly -5 to -10degC with snow and we're still cruising around without incident.

Last winter my son was living on the edge of Exmoor and driving an Audi RS4 Quattro. He found that 4x4, DSC, ABS, traction control are all totally academic when you are slithering down a snow-covered hill with no control whatsoever over your speed or direction. Physics applies come what may. A colleague with another 4x4 but on winter tyres collected his car from the snowdrift it ended up in and towed it to a safer place with traction described by my son as similar to on a wet road. Frankly I was sceptical of the hype surrounding winter tyres but this chap had just returned from driving home from Austria and he swears by winter rubber - with good reason it seems.

[ToothbrushMan]

so many people in the UK cant drive in normal conditions.

what make you think offering education about driving in snow will improve matters?

youll still get the "me, me, me" brigade which it seems continue to grow at a pace.

this is problem you've got people like you and I who kind of know what we're doing (or what not to do) pootling around being aware and alert and keeping the speed in check and getting the distances right to be able to stop, driving around a load of other people who dont give a fig about any of that and so you stand more chance of them hitting you than you hitting them. I try to really keep my distance from other drivers in the deep or icy stuff.

as long as they dont crash into me or anyone else fine. id pay good money to see some idiot who thinks they are immortal lose it on a corner and end up halfway down a ditch that they cant drive out from.

Edited by ToothbrushMan on Wednesday 23 January 11:10

[Balmoral]

Beats me why all season are not the default tyre here in the UK rather than summers.

[Car-Matt]

Balmoral said:

Beats me why all season are not the default tyre here in the UK rather than summers.

100%

New cars should come with all seasons as standard with summer performance tyres being an option. Soon it would become normal

[omniflow]

EazyDuz said:

Op claims to have seen cars locking up their wheels. Sounds like BS to me, ABS is on basically all road worthy cars these days

I can confirm 100% that last night I saw many cars with their front wheels locked and not rotating whilst the rear wheels were rotating very slowly, as the car slid slowly down a slush covered hill and the driver having absolutely zero say in which direction the car was moving in. These were all cars that were less than 10 years old.

[Downward]

Car-Matt said:

Balmoral said:

Beats me why all season are not the default tyre here in the UK rather than summers.

100%

New cars should come with all seasons as standard with summer performance tyres being an option. Soon it would become normal

Yeah but on massive alloys the all weather tyres look rubbish and most aspects of car buying with alloys is the bigger the alloy the thinner the sidewalk the better it looks.

[Speed addicted]

Car-Matt said:

Balmoral said:

Beats me why all season are not the default tyre here in the UK rather than summers.

100%

New cars should come with all seasons as standard with summer performance tyres being an option. Soon it would become normal

Totally, my wife's Evoque and my pickup both came with all seasons as standard and they cope just fine with everything we've had, including 6" of snow.
For non performance stuff I don't see why you would fit anything else.

Obviously full winters and sporty summers will be better in their more extreme ends of the market, but for general use all seasons are spot on.

[TurbosSuck]

I can drive in the snow

To be honest I love it! From when I first learnt to drive I would go out in the snow at every opportunity just to get a hang of it. Wasn't long before before I could handbrake drift around tighter corners like a pro. A manoeuvre one of my friends later tried to replicate causing him to crash into a kerb and break his car.

I'm not sure the problem is that most people can't drive in the snow. I think it's that most people just can't drive properly at all, difference is that in normal conditions the grip levels allow them to get away with it...

[300bhp/ton]

omniflow said:

I can confirm 100% that last night I saw many cars with their front wheels locked and not rotating whilst the rear wheels were rotating very slowly, as the car slid slowly down a slush covered hill and the driver having absolutely zero say in which direction the car was moving in. These were all cars that were less than 10 years old.

Actually that is down to the brake bias. I did post a thread a while back with a link to t a YT vid explaining this and demoing how a 4wd truck will stop better using the bakes in 4wd over 2wd (only works with proper 4wd systems with a transfer box).

[300bhp/ton]

Car-Matt said:

Balmoral said:

Beats me why all season are not the default tyre here in the UK rather than summers.

100%

New cars should come with all seasons as standard with summer performance tyres being an option. Soon it would become normal

I'm not sure they are needed though. Some years some parts of the UK won't see snow at all. And despite the wide spread snow yesterday, none settled on any of the roads locally to me. It was just a mildly wet road in coolish temperatures.

[Car-Matt]

300bhp/ton said:

Car-Matt said:

Balmoral said:

Beats me why all season are not the default tyre here in the UK rather than summers.

100%

New cars should come with all seasons as standard with summer performance tyres being an option. Soon it would become normal

I'm not sure they are needed though. Some years some parts of the UK won't see snow at all. And despite the wide spread snow yesterday, none settled on any of the roads locally to me. It was just a mildly wet road in coolish temperatures.

There's a clue in the name - ALL SEASON

Not even WINTER Tyres are SNOW specific

[Speed addicted]

Car-Matt said:

300bhp/ton said:

Car-Matt said:

Balmoral said:

Beats me why all season are not the default tyre here in the UK rather than summers.

100%

New cars should come with all seasons as standard with summer performance tyres being an option. Soon it would become normal

I'm not sure they are needed though. Some years some parts of the UK won't see snow at all. And despite the wide spread snow yesterday, none settled on any of the roads locally to me. It was just a mildly wet road in coolish temperatures.

There's a clue in the name - ALL SEASON

Not even WINTER Tyres are SNOW specific

They're generally better in wet and cold conditions, as well as loads better in snow. So that's half the year in the UK.