Drove through the Valley of Trucks

[MossRoad]

Lucky Dog!!! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

We had a bright sunny day and watched the clouds stay to our west all day. About 40 miles west of us they had 20 inches of lake effect snow. We got nothing. What I wouldn't give for a good old blizzard right about now.

 

[Phred]

Ah yes .....while its been a very long time I recall that four bald tires and a far away look in their eyes is standard procedure for north east tennessee this time of year.

Your all right about the SUV 4x4 issue in the sense that a good truck is no substitute for a dumb driver.

But for those of us that really need a 4x4 truck and know how to use one its the ideal tool since in many cases the extra ground clerance is critical. Some of the 4x4 cars don't cut it in real deep snow or off road.

The issues is why do all these people who never really need a 4x4 feel the need for one?
I bet 90% of them end up in 4wd one or twice a year.


And if you have ever owned an early suburu you will never buy another.

Fred

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks Richard, we howled when we read your post.

We were scheduled to go into Knoxville Thursday (in her Miata, no less), but elected not to when the local TV weather gods got all wide-eyed about the impending "storm." It seems we made the right decision.

BTW, we have ISDN up and working. Love that 128K.

SnowRidge

 

[Richard]

Glad to hear the ISDN is working /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif It does seem to be about the best performance/dollar combination out there for those of us in this area.

Richard

 

[Argee]

Richard,
I was on the way home from work this afternoon in what can only be described as a mini blizzard. Visibility was down to less than 25 feet and traffic was crawling along at about 30 mph on the freeway. Lasted for about 10 miles and all I could think of was your story. This guy in a 4X4 pickup flew by me and I thought for sure he would be in the ditch a few miles up the road caught in "The Valley of Trucks. To be honest he could have gone in the ditch and I passed right by him because it was snowing so hard that I had a death grip on the steering wheel and was focused on that blur in front of me that was the car I was following. We get storms like this a few times a year and I sure hate getting caught in them.

 

[grandad]

Great story! My theory is that precipitation and low temperature both have an adverse effect on IQ. Combine them, and you can have an average IQ drop of 40 points or more among the drivers on any given stretch of road.

The only antidote is winter driving experience... lots of it. Those who only see frozen precip once a year or so just never get the chance to climb up the learning curve, no matter what they drive.

The only problem with my theory is it doesn't explain the "first snow and everyone forgot how to drive on it" phenomenon, which seems to happen everywhere.

 

[Boondox]

<font color=blue>first snow and everyone forgot how to drive on it</font color=blue>
Grandad -- Here's another factor to plug into your theory. Winter tires wear faster than all seasons, so up here in New England folks wait as long as possible before changing over. The first snowfall generally finds a lot of people with their summer tires still in place, hence the overly timid driving.

Pete

 

[rozett]

The biggest cause of SUVs in the puckerbrush is soccer mom's and dad's who think 4-wheel drive means that they can do 60 in the snow. What the dealer never told them is that a 4-wheel skid is unrecoverable. Once you have wheels on both axles spinning, you might as well honker down for the ride, because it is out of your hands by then.

The 4-wheel drive helps you get moving, but isn't much help after you are up to speed. I drive a Ford Excursion 4x4 and spend as much time as possible in 2-wheel drive while in the snow. Although we did have 22" on Christmas Day and I buzzed out to the store before the plows came around. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Pete,

Around here most of the truck owners I know run all season tires all year around. I know I do. If it's not snow and ice it's mud out at my property. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[MossRoad]

<font color=blue>a 4-wheel skid is unrecoverable. Once you have wheels on both axles spinning, you might as well honker down for the ride, because it is out of your hands by then.

The 4-wheel drive helps you get moving, but isn't much help after you are up to speed. </font color=blue>

I respectfully disagree /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

The mistake I see most people making in a skid is laying on the brakes until the vehicle is stopped. You can feather the gas pedal to pull yourself out of a skid very nicely with 4WD. You end up driving the car around the curve VS sliding sideways off of it.

Granted, you shouldn't have gotten into the skid in the first place, but maybe you had to take emergency evasive action due to some other thing.

As far as not helping when up to speed, take driving along and hitting an unseen puddle or ice patch. I'd rather have it in 4wd than 2wd in that situation.

Again, just my opinion. Your experiences may be different. Good discussion, though /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif