10 Tips for Driving in the Snow

Coming in hot with that first post.

 

You don’t think we get freezing rain in the north?

 

lol...I work at unc and there's a lot of employees here from the Midwest and Northeast and they're the ones I'm usually helping out. I live up in Granville County so the ones I'm pulling out of ditches around the house are the rednecks being stupid

From the surprised northerners I’ve had to recover from ditches or just spinning tires in low areas...I’d say no lol

 

TBQH, every snow storm there are numerous spin outs and accidents in the Twin Cities. It’s not like we’re immune to it. We are accustomed to it though, thus the city doesn’t completely shutdown.

 

Pretty good, the 12 X 12 wiped window made me laugh. Fricken morons! I have seen that before.

 

Although freezing rain is definitely a PITA, it’s usually gone by the next day. The storms that create the most long lasting challenging conditions IMHO are those where it starts snowing above 32F and then dips to 0F for a week+ straight. It creates a thick sheet of hard packed rough snow/ice mixture that doesn’t melt even with salt on it. Then when it warms up, a layer of water exists on top of it that creates something akin to grease . As it melts, large potholes are created that pose a additional threat.

 

I get it but it’s all about location, location, location. It’s really not in the budget here to deal with a lot of winter precipitation. The preparation and road maintenance is pretty poor here. We don’t have the resources to deal with snow well because we don’t get a lot of it. There are other factors at play also such as ground temp. Take a day in early January for example , if New York and North Carolina both have air temps of 30 degrees and they both get 4 inches of snow the driving experiences will be very different. Due to the ground temps NC’s snow is much more likely to have a layer of glazed ice underneath the snow. My post wasn’t meant to trash northerners because I have a lot family in Ohio. It was more to point out that there is a difference. In my 20 years of helping people out in slippery situations down here there’s been a common theme. Most of the southerners I’ve had to help were just out being idiots and couldn’t handle their vehicles and most of the northerners I’ve helped were not out playing around but had similar comments to “This isn’t like driving in the snow where I’m from”.

 

Another thing is driving on Virgin Roads quite easy to deal with Winter conditions when your driving on the home field .

Be on a road the first time Wow I had no clue the Afternoon Sun caused Melting and this up hill section is a sheet of ice around this blind turn.

The warmer things are the slippery things get

 

As a Florida transplant and relative novice in snow (minimal experience but not none my family is all in the Midwest) I have one question, do you air down at all for ice and snow as you would for sand and mud or is that more dangerous than helpful?

Do you air down to put on chains?

 

No, don’t air down on-road. You can try it for off-road snow wheeling to see if it helps (depends on your tires and the type of snow).

 

Now If I need to put on chains it is because getting somewhere is critical Like meet the Air Evac chopper

I lower the tire pressure install chains reinflate tires now the chains are tight .

In my younger days I would venture out to play not so much anymore .

 

Great points to make.

I'll add to #5: Everyone has four-wheel brakes. So many people seem to find that a revelation when in conversation they casually bring up "I've got 4wd, I'll be fine on my well used 3 seasons"...

 

Has anyone mentioned not outrunning your visibility yet?

You need to be able to come to a complete stop within your line of sight. That can mean going slow. Which can also mean being the first person not to rear end the pile up. Unfortunately, you run the risk of being rear ended by people driving blind.

 

Driving in the snow in a nut shell.

 

Wow, just found this and fully agree from central BC.

I'll add, carry a shovel. - I just freed a family in a mini van that had drifted off the road by shoveling 6" of snow in two paths from their front wheel back to the road so they could drive out of their trouble.

Drive your auto like a standard, especially for slowing down.

Communication - I carry a Zoleo sat communicator because I'm often out alone and out of cell reception.

Remember - 90% of the people on the road drive like little old ladies because 10% don't

 

Up here in NE VT, we get our fair share of the white stuff, be it slick and shallow, or deep and drifted. Not to mention the appearance of ice on a regular basis.
Apart from common sense, the most important thing is a good set of dedicated snow tires. Mine happen to be Studded Nokia Hakkapeliitas…..
Another thing. Turn off that traction control. I can’t count the number of times I’ve come across someone halfway up a hill. I’ll stop and ask them what’s up? Usually they reply that they can’t continue. After asking them if they have a button somewhere on the dashboard that looks like a car on top of some squiggly skid marks, they usually say “yes!” I then tell them to push it and then try to drive on. Voila! They usually say “I always wondered what that button was for “.
I always keep a shovel, chain or strap, and some steel traction ramps in the back of the truck.

 

Have to agree with your post... I live very close to Tahoe and frequent the roads often as I support Public Safety infrastructure.. so.. during closed roads as well and the amount of bullshittery is meh..