driving on black ice

I was wondering how others drive in these conditions:
I am driving through winding mountain roads with dry to wet pavement and patches of black ice. Obviously I can't switch it into 4x4 before black ice since you can't see it. Is it better to keep it in 4 hi the whole time or keep it in 2 wheel drive and go slow, with idiots riding my ass, and just pray I don't get sideways? How does everyone else deal with this?

 

Let the morons pass if you don't feel safe.

Always remember - 4x4 gets you moving, it doesn't help you stop or keep control. If you're going to spin out in 2wd, you'll spin out in 4wd.

 

Good advice rich. I just moved from flat warm weather town to a cold mountain area, so I don't have my confidence on the roads here yet.

 

yeah. i usually take it under 10 mph under speed limit. turn on all my lights and cruise. at my own rate. better to be safe than sorry.

 

Keyword is to go slow and take it easy, let the other morons crash, don't be pressured by them to drive faster and have yourself wind up in a crash instead.

 

You bought a 4X4 for a reason use it.

 

Exactly. 4wd won't do crap for you on ice. It's terrifying that people would think that it would. People are retarded drivers even on dry pavement but factor in ice/snow and these idiots think just because they have 4wd that they can drive on anything. Stay off the road if you don't have to be out there.

 

Agreed, if its really slippery, I would say that 4wd will help you from not getting sideways.. instead the whole truck will just fly off the road.

Also, I live in Canada in an area where its always freezing and melting and stuff all the time. What I always do is look to see if there is water spray coming from the wheels of my truck or anyone else's vehicle. If there is spray, that means there can't be ice. I also listen if I cant see spray, if it has like that wet sound then you are all good.
Also.. I look for the glint on the road from headlights, thats a dead give away. If all that fails nothing beats slamming on your brakes and see if you slide haha.

Driving on black ice is my least favourite condition because you never really know when its going to be slippery or not, if you are unsure just slow down and don't risk yourself or anyone else's lives.

 

Dude I drove professionally,accident free for 25 years here in Pa. there is nothing to help you on black ice or any ice for that matter,10 miles under isnt good enough, its always a gamble,if you can try to put 1 set of tires on the berm if possible,4 way flahers,etc. I've said it a thousand times,when you think you know it all,thats when you wreck. Every day,every time is different out there. When I used to hear on the cb guys saying that I'm a professional driver I would get on and say where you at dude cause I'm a 25 year rookie---- When you think you know it all,thats when things happen.
Yes 4 wheel will help but not near what you think.Common sense and if its feels wrong,trust your instinct.A lot more to be said but you get the drift.
Slow down before the curves not in them,its better to have to give a slight amount of gas to get around the curve then to brake in it, same with bridges,overpass's,etc that are part of or in a curve. Straight aways are not usally a problem,its when entering a curve or some oddity in the road when most people lose it-so be prepared in that situation for others to lose it. THINK AHEAD for the other idiot. hope this helps some.

 

On the side note this year seems to be crazy with black ice. Two days on the roll nothing but black ice. It's been like this for whole week.

 

another good rule of thumb is to watch the outside temp indicator....could save you

 

Good call fixxer!

 

Always smarter to pull to the right or off the road temporarily to let the faster drivers to pass by you. This will relieve you of the pressure of them riding your tail, and also warn you of dangers on the road as they will likely spin off ahead of you!!

Drive RIGHT for sure.

 

Keep it in 2wd and go slow. Excessive speed in bad conditions will get you in trouble no 4wd will help you.

 

Not sure how 2wd is an advantage over 4wd in a low traction condition

 

Just wanted to point out that I completely agree that 4x4 is not the answer to anything and you can't just floor it and still stop fine or keep control on ice. However, having power to your front wheels instead of just the (very light) rear, is a huge plus in most slippery situations. I personally wouldn't go so far as to say that being in 2wd or 4wd has no difference on ice. Power to the front wheels makes a big difference for me.

That said, I agree with all of the above about not over driving the conditions or being over confident because you have 4x4. Definitely don't do anything you don't feel safe doing. I'd be going as slow as necessary to ensure my safety (especially with passengers). Let the jerks pass you and pray they don't end up flying off the mountain for being so dumb as to floor it everywhere in the winter.

 

I have driven through many snow storms and very bad weather in my FWD Nissan Sentra on all season tires and in my 2wd Tacoma on worn tires, NEVER had an issue, just kept slow and steady.

It was funny how many full size 4x4 pickups passed me, just so i could see them couple miles down the road in a ditch.

 

I didn't say it was not possible to drive in slick conditions in 2WD but 4WD is going to provide more capability in the same conditions

 

Two schools of thought on that one. One group of people say to stay in 2WD on ice because if you brake and start to skid the tires the rears will still be rolling and can prevent a spinout. On the other hand in 4WD the effective braking ability before the skid is started will be better because there's not front-rear bias.

Personally I prefer to use 4WD and stay within my skill level. I've had enough understeering skids in my Hondas when the front tires are skidding and the rear shoes aren't even touching yet to not want to do it again.

 

Good points , but you only covered braking whereas 4WD will help in getting going , as well as pulling through corners