Why can nobody drive in the snow
Discussion
North east here and our estate is high up so we get the snow worse than the rest of the city. My car was stuck for about a week last winter, fwd fiesta st, so could get it out of the estate but not back in due to the banks, twists and turns. I remember getting stuck on one attempt and with no throttle on in 2nd gear it was still spinning trying to pull away.
Worst offenders I tend to see are the SUVs on summer tyres and the folks who drive off with a 8” circle of front windscreen cleared and the rest of the car covered in snow!
Worst offenders I tend to see are the SUVs on summer tyres and the folks who drive off with a 8” circle of front windscreen cleared and the rest of the car covered in snow!
It’s a catch-22. Most people think they’re great drivers and don’t need more driver training. To suggest it would be a slur on their masculinity. It’s the minority who will have done IAM/RoSPA/HPC and recognise that learning is continuous..
Quite a few will have the attitude that because they’ve done 64 million miles last year they’re great drivers, it’s all the other idiots who should be forced to undergo training.
Quite a few will have the attitude that because they’ve done 64 million miles last year they’re great drivers, it’s all the other idiots who should be forced to undergo training.
AlexS_LDN said:
Snowing like mad in North London, but too wet to settle at the moment... they say it will warm up (if you can call 8 warm) on Friday before the real cold is back at the weekend. The weather is not severe enough for people to buy winter tyres and change them over in autumn, unlike Germany where they can more or less guarantee snow each winter in certain areas.
Interestingly enough a recent Speed Awareness Course I did dealt with hazard perception and snow, but there's few opportunities for it to be taught in a practical driving test
I had to stay behind 3 cars tonight in North London.Each one been driven by drivers who where probably pooing their pants .It was more dangerous them going so slow and banging on their brakes all the time .SO i legged it when given the chance .These Barum snow marked (All season ?) tyres on a e39 are fine if driven with care Interestingly enough a recent Speed Awareness Course I did dealt with hazard perception and snow, but there's few opportunities for it to be taught in a practical driving test
vikingaero said:
Every year I practice driving in the snow (on winter tyres). In an empty car park I'll accelerate hard several times to gauge the level of grip, I'll corner to assess when the car will slide and I'll slam on the brakes to see when it slides/ABS cuts in. That's it. A simple 5 minute session to remind me where the limits are. It's not boy racer handbrake turns - just low level practice.
Every time it’s icy or snows I’ll dab the brakes to see where the limit is. Then a bit of gas etc. Never going fast just out of the work estate etc. Glad it’s not just me. Now. Give me an empty car park covered in snow and that’s another story 
yonex said:
vikingaero said:
Every year I practice driving in the snow (on winter tyres). In an empty car park I'll accelerate hard several times to gauge the level of grip, I'll corner to assess when the car will slide and I'll slam on the brakes to see when it slides/ABS cuts in. That's it. A simple 5 minute session to remind me where the limits are. It's not boy racer handbrake turns - just low level practice.
Every time it’s icy or snows I’ll dab the brakes to see where the limit is. Then a bit of gas etc. Never going fast just out of the work estate etc. Glad it’s not just me. Now. Give me an empty car park covered in snow and that’s another story 
designforlife said:
We don't get enough snow regularly or for long enough periods for people to become versed in how to drive in it properly....nor do we get enough to really justify running winter tyres, which would cut down on accidents for sure.
Same thing happens when it rains in LA...accidents everywhere.
‘It never rains in California, but girl, let me warn ya, it pours, man it pours.’Same thing happens when it rains in LA...accidents everywhere.
kambites said:
People in the south of England are rubbish at driving in snow because it snows about once a decade down here. I dare say people who live in the highlands are decent enough at it. in many respects, yes it's lack of practice but I also blame modern cars. Apart from the wide low profile tyres, people are so cocooned in their tin boxes they just get in, turn on the radio and heater and off they go insulated against the conditions expecting their car with traction control, ABS etc to cope.
otolith said:
Years and years ago, I lived in the Lake District. We got a fair bit of snow up there. I picked a new (to me) Peugeot 309 up from Telford, and we got a couple of inches of snow. I couldn't believe the incompetence, but then the people where I lived were used to it, and that lot weren't.
I can confirm that driving standards here in Telford have exponentially decreased since your last visit (in all weather conditions)It was icy and snowy this morning around here as I went over the Pennines and most people were driving like they usually do however they don't have the grip that they usually do but they didn't seem realise that, that's the issue.
Most drivers don't understand what gives them the ability to brake and accelerate and then get all shocked when it goes wrong and come out with statements like "it just wouldn't stop and I hit them, I couldn't do anything"
There are more accidents when it's cold and raining/snowing because people drive the same way as when it's warm and sunny, it'll never change.
Most drivers don't understand what gives them the ability to brake and accelerate and then get all shocked when it goes wrong and come out with statements like "it just wouldn't stop and I hit them, I couldn't do anything"
There are more accidents when it's cold and raining/snowing because people drive the same way as when it's warm and sunny, it'll never change.
Tired said:
300bhp/ton said:
Shakermaker said:
Compared to where?
I think Scandinavia generally put more effort into driver training including skid pad time.Although, driver training in Sweden, Finland, Norway etc. is more intensive and in depth than it is in the UK as well.
Nevertheless there are still some who come a cropper at any time, usually as a result of overconfidence and pushing on.
I've just come back home from a very slow journey in the light snow on the m40... 2 hours for a 1 hour journey ffs. My fat tyred FWD diesel span it's wheels at the merest tickle of throttle. I did however get caught out trying to turn off the main road onto a side road, abs-ing my way 10 m past the junction. the driver waiting didn't look to impressed when I put into reverse and spun turned it to the direction I wanted to take. 
I have a Finnish colleague who has recently moved to the uk. Her brother is a rally driver ( aren't they all in Finland) and she claims to be pretty handy behind the wheel, but even she struggles on uk roads with summer tyres. she says that's the main difference
This morning I came a across a van broadside in a narrow lane having just side swiped a jag... they were too busy berating each other to notice the queue of cars wanting to get past.
a top day of commuting!
I have a Finnish colleague who has recently moved to the uk. Her brother is a rally driver ( aren't they all in Finland) and she claims to be pretty handy behind the wheel, but even she struggles on uk roads with summer tyres. she says that's the main difference
This morning I came a across a van broadside in a narrow lane having just side swiped a jag... they were too busy berating each other to notice the queue of cars wanting to get past.
a top day of commuting!
Light dusting of snow in Berkshire tonight, my RWD 343bhp SMG M3 just lit the rears up at the slightest whiff of throttle on straight flat roads, even crawling in traffic. Needed a delicate stroke of the pedal to get any kind of grip, much to the chagrin of the white van man driving right up my arse which really helped matters.
Because I’m a powerfully built company director I’ve done a day of hooning round the ice driving circuit in Val D’Isere in a 3 series and *know* all about the theory of snow and ice driving, I’ve pulled a full drift like the best of them under the watchful eye of a mad French rally driver. All great theory. Most of which goes straight out the window when running fat low profile summer tyres on the couple of days a year we get snow in the South East.
I did consider parking up at a pub and leaving it there, having a couple of pints then walking the 6 miles home but the pub might have well have been called The Dog and Fist so I soldiered on and made it home, berating the local authority for not gritting any f
king major roads in my neck of the woods.
Because I’m a powerfully built company director I’ve done a day of hooning round the ice driving circuit in Val D’Isere in a 3 series and *know* all about the theory of snow and ice driving, I’ve pulled a full drift like the best of them under the watchful eye of a mad French rally driver. All great theory. Most of which goes straight out the window when running fat low profile summer tyres on the couple of days a year we get snow in the South East.
I did consider parking up at a pub and leaving it there, having a couple of pints then walking the 6 miles home but the pub might have well have been called The Dog and Fist so I soldiered on and made it home, berating the local authority for not gritting any f
king major roads in my neck of the woods.PurpleTurtle said:
Light dusting of snow in Berkshire tonight, my RWD 343bhp SMG M3 just lit the rears up at the slightest whiff of throttle on straight flat roads, even crawling in traffic. Needed a delicate stroke of the pedal to get any kind of grip, much to the chagrin of the white van man driving right up my arse which really helped matters.
Because I’m a powerfully built company director I’ve done a day of hooning round the ice driving circuit in Val D’Isere in a 3 series and *know* all about the theory of snow and ice driving, I’ve pulled a full drift like the best of them under the watchful eye of a mad French rally driver. All great theory. Most of which goes straight out the window when running fat low profile summer tyres on the couple of days a year we get snow in the South East.
I did consider parking up at a pub and leaving it there, having a couple of pints then walking the 6 miles home but the pub might have well have been called The Dog and Fist so I soldiered on and made it home, berating the local authority for not gritting any fking major roads in my neck of the woods.
I once got caught out up on't moor in my old e46 M3 SMG PS2 tyres IIRC in hammering snow, that was a shocker and coming down hill was butt clenching, ever since that night all the other 4 M cars I've had have always worn winters even on those it's only a twitch of the right foot from going sideways but if you're careful with throttle you do have plenty of braking and corner grip on an M with winters. Because I’m a powerfully built company director I’ve done a day of hooning round the ice driving circuit in Val D’Isere in a 3 series and *know* all about the theory of snow and ice driving, I’ve pulled a full drift like the best of them under the watchful eye of a mad French rally driver. All great theory. Most of which goes straight out the window when running fat low profile summer tyres on the couple of days a year we get snow in the South East.
I did consider parking up at a pub and leaving it there, having a couple of pints then walking the 6 miles home but the pub might have well have been called The Dog and Fist so I soldiered on and made it home, berating the local authority for not gritting any f
king major roads in my neck of the woods.I had an SL320 that I parked up at the side of the road and walked home one night it was all over the shop, but that's the trick knowing when you can't continue....
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff