Winter Driving Tips

[Slowpoke Slim]

Depends on where in Neb he's headed. Is he going to be in a large municipal area, with reliable, regular city snow plow service? Or is he going to be in a rural area, and required to be "on his own" for snow removal. And, does he "need" to get out when others can safely stay home, aka "snow days". If he has the luxury of being able to stay sheltered in place at home, until the roads are opened up and cleared, then do so. If, he's like me, and must be available as soon as the state police open the road block gates, then he needs a proper snow country vehicle, and proper snow tires. Some secondary and tertiary roads may not be cleared for days, or even a week or more on a really big snow storm. If he needs to get down one of these roads, the "stay home if snow up to your bumper" rule won't work.

Mrs. Slim and I both have 4x4's, with PROPER snow country tires on them. So many people incorrectly think that just getting a 4x4 solves all their snow problems. NOPE. Most of the winter I have between 1000 and 1200 lbs of playground sand in the bed of my truck for ballast. So equipped, I can make it through 3 feet of fresh snow. The ballast weight helps with ice too. Really ice is a bigger problem than snow. My 2wd work van has 600 lbs of ballast sand (in bags) added to the normal weight of tools, equipment, parts and racking in the winter. With proper winter tires, the snow has to be pretty deep before I am forced to park the 2wd van and take my personal 4x4 pickup out of town.

When I travel out of town for work (frequently), I take along a little food, some drinks, and most importantly, a full expedition grade set of insulated coveralls and hooded coat, plus snow boots, not to mention the normal gloves, coat, hat, etc. This is just in case I do get stuck, or slide off the road in the middle of nowhere, I'm not a Popsicle by the time they find me.

 

[cqaigy2]

Like Slim said, be ready to survive if your stuck in the weather. Food, water and warm clothes blankets. Those shorts, t-shirt and sandals aren't going to help you much.

 

[JRobyn]

If not a large vacant parking lot, a public lake, assuming it has been proven safe to support vehicles. My sister and I learned VOLUMES in a short time driving out on the lakes when we visited my aunt in MN.

 

[Ken]

For a few years traveled from Colorado to Rapid city S. Dakota. mostly all on call outs when the storm caused power outages or iced up antennas on communication towers. Always first question when arrived was "What took you so long"
Have had vehicle ice up until engine could not run . get into snow drifts deep enough to prevent fore ward or back ward moving until being dug out.
I always carried enough clothing to keep warm should something unforeseen happened. This was before C.B. bag phone or cell phones . military type wool blankets ,sleeping bag designed for mountain weather.
Cans of Dinty Moore Stew with method of heating.(Sterno) also container of water. frying pan knife and spoon. container of gas/diesel for vehicle as well oil for engine.
And only safe advice is not to trust the driver in front behind or trying to pass you. slow up and let them go.
if you see then in the ditch after honking to pass wave and let them sit in safe area of the ditch.
Also on the first ice or snow .on clear area of highway swerve the vehicle to see how it will react. try to stop and see if brakes lock or pulse to grip highway.
Only way to learn is practice driving .
Some refuse to dim the lights drive to where cannot see any portion of there vehicle behind you . and try to pass the snowplows . Remember them. they will be off road with in 2 miles. waving for help as you pass.
ken

 

[RSKY]

We are required to carry chains where there is deep snow, also carry a long whip with a flag on the top so you can find your car if you get snowed in, I learned that one the hard way after spending two hours digging out the wrong car.
If you get caught in a drift and are covered turn the engine off, using the engine for the heater can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
And, (we actually saw this, wish I had the video camera at the time) when you fit chains, make sure they are on the drive wheels, the one we saw was two young girls fitting chains to a Ford Laser on the back wheels (Ford Laser is a/was a rebadged Mazda 323).
With the auto, on mine I can push the stick sideways in drive and drive it like a manual, forward for up a gear, back for down and it displays on the dash.

I didn't realize it snowed in Australia, much less deep enough you couldn't tell you were digging out the wrong car. So I googled it. I put in "Does it snow in" and before I could finish the sentence "Does it snow in Australia" showed up at the top of the list. So I figure your post caused enough people to ask the same question that it moved that to the top of the Google list.

Good job mate!

RSKY

 

[JK22]

:thumbsup:
Rule #1: It's counterintuitive, but putting on the brakes is usually the worst thing to do.

Locking up brakes on snow and ice is useless. You're just leaving what direction you travel up to to gravity and momentums fate. Better off using what little friction your tires have to steer.
Most anti-lock brakes on ice and snow are horrible. There are times, despite what I said above, that I'd rather be skidding to a stop rather than have no braking at all because the anti-locks are releasing. Vehicles aren't smart enough to know the difference.

Pumping the brakes works in both cases, because you may be able to steer clear, or pump to reset the anti-lock detection function long enough to actually have some braking before it kicks in again.

Steer into skids and stay off the brakes!
Hit the gas if its front wheel drive and she'll pull out of the skid.
Rear wheel drive, let off on the gas to straighten it out.


Weight=traction. Rear wheel drive trucks are the WORST in snow. Studded tires are the best.
Static friction is greater than kinetic friction. (i.e. a tire not spinning/skidding has more traction than one that isn't)

I agree. Brakes are not your friend. Learn to downshift rather than braking. And I hate ABS. Learn how to drive through a skid. If you are depending on ABS, you’re probably praying at the same time.

 

[bunyip]

I didn't realize it snowed in Australia, much less deep enough you couldn't tell you were digging out the wrong car. So I googled it. I put in "Does it snow in" and before I could finish the sentence "Does it snow in Australia" showed up at the top of the list. So I figure your post caused enough people to ask the same question that it moved that to the top of the Google list.

Good job mate!

RSKY

Snow is above 800 metres in the southern states and most of the areas are national parks or ski resorts although there are a few towns in other areas.
Tasmania gets a lot of snow on the west coast and highlands in the middle.
There are also a lot of seasonal track and road closures in some of these areas as you don't want to be there anyway in winter.
The hills around Melbourne get a dusting most years, enough to throw a few snowballs for a few hours and cause a few minor traffic accidents.
I lost my car at Falls Creek which is one of the bigger resorts, we were up there for almost a fortnight ski-ing and it was a year of heavy snow (and dug out the wrong car).
Snow is pretty much confined to Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria he says sitting here in 33ｰ C heat today and as humid as buggery.

 

[2ndhalf]

If you get alot of snow in that area, and that is his only vehicle....best thing he can do is get a 4wd.

Beyond that.....if his truck has abs....that's good. If not...pump brakes to maintain control.

Add weight. 400-600# of cat litter or sand in bags in the bed will do wonders. And if you do get stuck, open a bag and spread some down.

Go slow. Slow easy starts...slow easy stops. No sudden lane changes.

When roads are bad, and slush between tire tracks, (speaking of divided highways)....pick a lane and stay in it.

Have good tires. Studded winter tires are best...but there are some good all season tires out there. No bald tires, or blocky tread that has no sipes. Sipes are a good thing. As is open shoulders to clear out.

Also good to find an abandoned large parking lot. Go play. Practice loosing control and corrections. Learn the limits of the vehicle and limits of driver skill.

I drive 2 hours a day on a mix of back country roads and interstates. I have driven that two hours in all types of vehicles.

LD1 hits most of them right on the money. One thing he missed; leave space for stopping even if the person behind you is an idiot on your tail. Brake check them. The #1 cause for accidents in poor weather in my experienced opinion; TAIL GATING!

One thing about buying tires; go to tirerack.com and see if you can find the tires that are rated excellent for the traction type you prefer (i.e. Winter, Rain etc.) Then walk into the tire shop and TELL THEM what tire you want and if they don't have it make them order it.

The tire guy will sell you what he has a lot of.

 

[RoyJackson]

As a resident of Vermont, I'll add a couple:

If your vehicle's transmission has overdrive ratios, drop it down to direct drive
Let the engine braking slow you as much as possible (which is why you don't want the vehicle in overdrive)
Never use cruise control while on snow or ice
Always remember 4WD will get you going, but is no help in stopping
Resist the impulse to speed up when folks pass you on the interstates....good chance you'll see them off the road, sooner or later.
Dress to walk...good chance you will get stuck at some point.

Use common sense! I always tell people I have 4WD to get home, not to work. If conditions warrant, stay home.

The other posts covered pretty much anything else I'd write...

 

[2ndhalf]

Considering the fact he is driving a 2wd pickup; probably the worst vehicle on snow/ice unless equiped correctly he should heed what has been said about weight and tires.

His truck without the right tires and weight is a sled and not in a good sense of the word. Put 800 lb of sand in the back and get good all season tires; not M&S. I don't know about Nebraska winters like I do Ohio winters but a M&S tire on ice or hardpacked snow are about worthless and frankly scarey.