Idiots and winter driving

[buickanddeere]

What? That's one of the occasions when you use your hazard lights. You are driving at a reduced speed and need to call attention to yourself to the people coming up from behind.

Heck, if I'm transporting a round or bales of hay in my ute (on a public highway) I'm typically travelling at 70-80kph in a 100kph zone. I've got my 4-ways on. When it's safe to do so (for all concerned) I'll pull over to let anyone behind me pass.

Drivers who are not operating the fourways while in motion are the ones who should be flogged and fined.

Highway traffic acts states that fourways are ONLY for crippled vehicles stationary on the side of the roadway. Or large trucks that have pulled onto the road or onto a hill and are unable to maintain highway speed due to a lack of HP to accelerate the load.
Those flashing their fourways in a bit of fog or snow while driving down the road are very rude and inconsiderate.
Emergency lights are for emergencies.

 

[Wagtail]

Highway traffic acts states that fourways are ONLY for crippled vehicles stationary on the side of the roadway. Or large trucks that have pulled onto the road or onto a hill and are unable to maintain highway speed due to a lack of HP to accelerate the load.
Those flashing their fourways in a bit of fog or snow while driving down the road are very rude and inconsiderate.
Emergency lights are for emergencies.

Welp, consider me rude and inconsiderate. Feel free to dob me into the police and then come on down and give me a flogging, Mate.

'cause I will continue to warn others that I am a hazard to them when the circumstances call for it. There are enough twits on the road who aren't paying enough attention as it is and if I can prevent them from running up my clacka, so much the better.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Welp, consider me rude and inconsiderate. Feel free to dob me into the police and then come on down and give me a flogging, Mate.

'cause I will continue to warn others that I am a hazard to them when the circumstances call for it. There are enough twits on the road who aren't paying enough attention as it is and if I can prevent them from running up my clacka, so much the better.

Keep in mind different rules and laws in different areas.

 

[Garandman]

//
Too often somebody with summer tires say they will just drive more carefull. A wreck will find them as attractive as a trailer park to a tornado.

The Subaru WRX and STI are AWD - but come with summer performance tires. Just getting it from the car dealer to the tire dealer can be exciting if you buy in winter. A guy posted a video on YouTube of his STI sitting in his driveway, spinning all four wheels without moving an inch on packed ice/snow.

Subaru also used to deliver Outbacks with Bridgestone RE92's. If you look on tirerack, they had just about the worst reputation of any A/S tire on snow and ice. When I bought the OBW, I drove it straight to the Nokian dealer for Hakkapeliittas and sold the brand new takeoffs for $100. Good Riddance.

FWIW the "Nordman" series of winter tires are made by Nokian: they are older designs. The General Altimax Arctic is the Gislaved NordFrost 3: Continental owns both so when Gislaved came out with the NordFrost 4, they shipped the molds to General. Not as good as the latest but excellent bang-for-buck, stocked lots of dealers and available in a wide range of sizes for cars and light trucks.

Most Scandinavian countries require winter tires and they often review earlier than anywhere in NA. Here's the 2015. Not all available in US.

Studless Tire Rankings

Nokian Hakkapeliiitta R2: 7.7 points
Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice 2 7.6 points
Michelin X-Ice XI3: 7.6 points
Pirelli Ice Zero R: 7.6 points
Continental Conti Viking Contact 6: 7,5 points
Nordman RS: 7.0 points
Bridgestone Blizzak WS80: 6.9 points
Nankang Ice Activa Ice 1: 6.7 points

Car & Driver.

 

[aczlan]

FWIW the "Nordman" series of winter tires are made by Nokian: they are older designs. The General Altimax Arctic is the Gislaved NordFrost 3: Continental owns both so when Gislaved came out with the NordFrost 4, they shipped the molds to General. Not as good as the latest but excellent bang-for-buck, stocked lots of dealers and available in a wide range of sizes for cars and light trucks.

I run General tires on all of our cars and I have been very happy with them. They seem to be an excellent value for the money.

Aaron Z

 

[Oaktree]

Another mitigating factor for our reputation as some of the worst snow drivers in the nation is the nature of the snow we get, it is usually very wet and heavy, (mashed potatoes). About ten years ago we had an exceptionally heavy snow fall, close to two feet, the husband of one of my co-workers was from Saskatoon. He had been quite disdainful of the skill level of the local drivers when it came to snow driving. He became a little more respectful after he got very stuck trying to get out of their driveway. He was used to light dry powdery snow, not the heavy wet slippery stuff that we get here

Yeah, learned that one the hard way myself. I've lived most of my life in northern New England where for the most part our snow is fairly dry, even our "heart attack" snow is nothing like what you get in the PNW. Spent a couple years out there in the mid 70s (when pretty much everything was still rear wheel drive). Got turned back one day heading west thru Stevens Pass (they weren't allowing anyone thru unless they had chains or studs...I had regular snow tires, but not acceptable), turned around prepared to go back to Wenatchee, then to I-90. Well, there were still uphill sections going that way too, and with the amount of traffic being re-routed the snow had become packed and very icy. Got about halfway up one hill, and that's all she wrote. Fortunately, someone came along and lent me a set of chains which got me home safely. Thank you again 40 years later!!

I'm on the other side of that, I'm usually the one getting the law called on, the best is a loud motorcycle on a quiet day lol, I have been know to crack a bike or two open now and again. I am mindful and feel horrible at night though, during the day it's a free for all on noise.

It's amazing how many people waste law enforcements time on dumb calls like noise complaints ext. quads on the roads, or whatever don't ask how I know that lol.

No offense dude, but what is it with (some) motorcyclists and extremely loud exhausts? Is it that you're oblivious to how annoying/deafening it is to people behind or around you or do you just not care?

Where I live 4 wheelers are allowed on some roads (at the option of individual town, and mostly back roads). Way too many instances of idiots going waay too fast and/or with loud exhausts.
It's jerks like this that ruin it for everyone.

 

[Garandman]

//No offense dude, but what is it with (some) motorcyclists and extremely loud exhausts? Is it that you're oblivious to how annoying/deafening it is to people behind or around you or do you just not care?
//

Never understood why cars, trucks etc need sound muffling, but some sport bike and Harley riders think straight pipes are OK. They're why places like Boston and Hampton, NH started trying to pass sound legislation.

 

[buickanddeere]

Keep in mind different rules and laws in different areas.

So it is fine with you to flash lights on and off into somebody's eye's ? If they can see your flashers they can see your tailights.

 

[Egon]

So it is fine with you to flash lights on and off into somebody's eye's ? If they can see your flashers they can see your tailights.

B&D, you're gona have to enlarge your world. There are places where the four ways are required for all vehicles travelling below a certain speed. It's an indication the vehicle is travelling below normal speed. There be a lot of us just be normal folk with normal reactions that need all the help we can get!

 

[bigdeano]

I didn't read all the posts, but if you don't want to worry about ice, put 4 studded tires on your vehicle. Makes a huge difference. I did it for 15 years where I used to live.