Winter driving

[The Haymaker]

Merry Christmas to you Haymaker.


About trucks braking, a guy once told me they put on a heck of a show, but you may notice they aren't slowing down much
Dave.

Thanks Dave!

I just say "Newtons Laws apply". Love driving in the snow though. Was in Smyrna 1900 thursday night. Roads were poorly maintained and they had 24" of fresh fall. What a blast!

E

 

[The Haymaker]

Ghost drivers irritate me as well - how can you drive without making sure you can be seen?
I had to drive in the storm to feed friends horses, it was actually quite pleasant to know, only plows and me are on the road and everybody else stayed home

Some yahoo fill-in on one of the radio shows I listen too was complaining about how much fuel the nation would save if we weren't enforcing or pushing daytime lights. Duh. Even on a bright, sunny, day they are a good thing. The human eye sees contrast best. How do you do that? Run lights!

 

[irvingj]

I think we'd save a lot more fuel if people would just look at/check their tires once in a while- ever notice how many are running soft? Now THAT costs some fuel!

 

[dodge man]

I also hate the day time running lights, how much can you dumb down a vehicle. I also hate the fog lights on all the time. People do that because they think it "looks cool". My reaction is "its not foggy out".

 

[aczlan]

I think we'd save a lot more fuel if people would just look at/check their tires once in a while- ever notice how many are running soft? Now THAT costs some fuel!

And in the wintertime could cause an accident... IIRC the general rule of thumb is to run snowtires ~2psi higher than summer tires. The thinking is that high pressure will cut into the snow/ice better and give you more traction.

Aaron Z

 

[harpoonalt]

Winter driving is easy as long as we remember that there are two things that cannot be done quickly: 1) changing speed, and 2) changing direction. When I was a kid we used to practice things like controlled skids, etc, which helped to prepare us for the unexpected. In those days I used to buy a new set of recapped snow tires every fall. They would be worn out by the next fall. Keep it slower and keep it safer!

Best thing you can do for your new teen drivers is to get them in a big parking lot full of snow and have them do panic stops, sharp turns and get the feel of how a car behaves so when they get on the road, they will be prepared. Hard to make them believe that sometimes not braking will give them more control until they actually experience it. And it's fun for them too.
winter tires can turn a horrible snow car into a a winter beating machine. My first set of real winter tires made me a believer.
We live up the mountain off a main route to a ski area. Amazing how many "flatlanders" zoom by going way too fast for conditions. I wish they could see the accidents we see every year from people losing control and crossing the centerline. Slow down, be seen, and be smooth.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Some yahoo fill-in on one of the radio shows I listen too was complaining about how much fuel the nation would save if we weren't enforcing or pushing daytime lights. Duh. Even on a bright, sunny, day they are a good thing. The human eye sees contrast best. How do you do that? Run lights!

They would say lot of gas just by changing traffic lights. In Northern Virginia traffic lights are on 24/7 - whatever happened to flashing orange for nights I don't know, but many times a line of cars is stopped by a single one, because he is pulling from a subdivision to 2 lane and activates that bloody switch! And the road is most of the time empty, no need for the light and a stop at 5:30 AM.

OK, rant mood off

 

[LBrown59]

Yes! Speaking of lights and safety.... I agree 100% about the DRL with no taillights- really a potentially dangerous situaton.

Then there are drivers with "camougflaged" cars --silver, dark colors-- that drive in low-light conditions with NO lights on! I think people just don't realize how well a silver car blends in with a wet road on a foggy morning. 40 years ago in Scandinavia,

a law that if you had your wipers on you had to have headlights on as well.... I see NY now has a similar law;
*why not the rest of the country?

And my favorite peeve.... (sorry!) the "fog" lights that many newer cars come with- folks never turn 'em off!! They switch to low beam, and you're suddenly faced with a wall of light. I also suspect no one ever checks the aim of those fog lights. When someone's behind me and it's bright enough to cast a strong shadow of my head on my car's ceiling.... ARRGH! Too bad there couldn't be a fairly bright indicator light on the dash when the fog lights are on....

Apologies-- I just had to rant!pasted that a few days a
Oh- my daughter's Volvo has that "rear fog light"-- I agree, a great idea!

*My state just passed that a couple days ago effective Jan 2010.

 

[LBrown59]

I have no idea how many people in how many states change tires for the Winter, but my father-in-law, who lived in the south end of West Virginia (very hilly terrain) used to keep 2 sets of 4 tires mounted on rims so he could change them quickly.

In 1971 i bougt a new chevey chevell convertable and a new ford 3/4 ton canper special PU.
I did the same thing for tires for both of them and even inculded studs front and rear.

 

[Cliff_Johns]

Winter tires are good. I use them.

DRLs are good. I use them. I had them turned on, even though the car came without them enabled. They aren't headlights and they should not be mistaken for headlights. They are mostly to make sure pedestrians crossing the road notice you, and so cars pulling out in front of you notice you in daylight.

Best saftey strategy is not to drive when the weather is bad if you can help it. Even if you do everything right, it doesn't mean everyone else will.

Just my opinion.
Cliff