Driving In The Snow: Tips?

[Flibb]

Hers a tip

CLEAR ALL THE BLOODY SNOW FROM THE CAR, not just the windscreen. Watched some idiot break hard and the snow slid off the roof and covered the windscreen. Clear the bonnet so if you do manage to get some speed you dont end up with snow blowing on to to the windscreen, and clear the vents while your at it.

[KalC]

You're doing it wrong


As to the warm vs cold engine - it is better to get the engine warmed up by being gentle but driving than to just leave it idling on the drive. Also, potentially if you leave it running on the drive you run the risk of committing the offence of 'quitting' (leaving a vehicle running whilst unattented), and if the car was to be stolen, the insurance company not paying out.

Really I didnt know about 'quitting'. I was with the car at all times anyway whilst I cleared the snow of it. Well to be exact I cleared the snow then sat inside warming myself up then I drove off

Its easier and smoother to drive when your not freezing your arse off!

[kalniel]

Whys that then? I left the engine running whilst I cleared the snow of the windows etc and then I was off. Isn't a warm engine better than a cold one?

Idling doesn't warm an engine up very much at all, but it does burn inefficiently, causing extra pollutants that'll gum up your catalytic converter. Meanwhile you're not creating any excess power for the alternator to draw off to feed all your lights, heaters and fans, so you place extra load on the battery and/or cause even more fuel to be wasted to maintain idle revs.

[finlay666]

that must of been scary mate.

Good point about the tyres, I think the rated tyre pressure for my Focus is 32psi for the front and 30psi for the rears. Just had them pumped about 2 weeks back, would it be to take them down a bit or leave them as they are?

Not really, had a similar situation on a dual carriageway when overtaking a broken down car, that was scary as it just kept drifting, feels weird when it 'snaps' back into having grip though

In my area they don't usually grid some of the roads properly, used to it for a few years now, last year was particularly bad as it was a lot of snow.

Not used to doing it on a big petrol saloon instead of a smaller diesel hatchback though...

[Butcher]

Leaving the engine idling is prolonging the time it's cold (idling is just about the slowest way to warm the engine), which is bad. You want to get it up to temperature quickly, which means driving it.

If you're cold, wear your coat and gloves inside the car for a bit - you can always pull over and take them off once the car warms up.

[TAKTAK]

Pretend that you have big balls of death in the back, if you brake sharply (i.e. using the foot brake) then they will roll forward and kill you, if you accelerate too quickly then they will roll back and kill your car, if you go too fast around a corner they will kill your car.

Slow down before the corner and take it steady, keep it in a high gear, and just remember that you can only mess things up the once, it's best to take it slow and potentially annoy some other drivers, than go speeding along.

Then again, that counts for all driving, my friend found out the hard way and he is no longer with us.

But above all, if you don't need to drive, then don't...

[jimbouk]

If you have to go out then follow the above advice. Otherwise keep an eye on the forecast and don't if it's looking bad. I'm possibly driving a couple of hundred miles on Sunday, but if the weather's looking bad then I'll just put it off. Not a choice everyone can make, but if you can then you'll be doing the other people a favour with less cars on the road.

[staffsMike]

I like to use low gears down hills to hold the car at low speed without having to use or over use the brakes.

Basically as TAKTAK says, just take it very easy, don't react to people getting too close behind, there's nothing you can do really unless you can force them to pass you.

Some idiot in a rover seemed hell bent on killing me and my dog earlier. Comes round a totally iced over corner at a speed I wouldn't even attempt in the dry and landed in a field.. idiot.

[directhex]

Driving In The Snow: Tips?

Don't.

[Lucio]

I love the challenge of driving in the snow, having to maintain control over your car's direction and speed at all times whilst reading the road ahead for any patches where you might skid or slip.

That said, I don't know any real tips for other people, since I drive in an odd style, making heavy use of the clutch to control the speed of the car (regardless of the conditions).


My only real tip for novice drivers is really don't go out in the snow unless you absolutely have to if you're feeling nervous or aprehensive. Snow driving requires confidence, calm and measured maneavuers and accepting the fact that you will slip and slide a little.

[mightymouse]

when i was living in canada i used to turn on the car keep it full blast heater on the windscreen to defrost the insides while i clear the snow then i drive off. it was impossible to drive when the inside of the car was so darn freezing but then again it was canada

[Konan555]

If you've got ABS and you can't disable it, remember it just doesn't understand snow. When it starts seriously flapping around under your foot, you can let it off and try again or jab it harder and lock all four wheels.

[lodore]

Wish i had read this thread before I went out=(
I tried to slow down at end of the hill but didnt work. glad the people where nice and i only need to pay for their break light cluster.

[Guy]

If it gets really bad, I usually just take the fuse out for the ABS, don't have to worry about it kicking in then. (I havent tried this on the Ford yet, just the Nissan!) Not sure if on more modern stuff it would flag anything up or stick the car into limp home mode.

[abaxas]

Sort of on but also off topic.

You'll find the more basic/cheaper/older the car, the better it will be in the snow.

Wide tyres, more power, ABS, traction control are all killers in snow. Switch them off if you can.

If you drive a rear wheel drive car just dont bother. Stay at home.

Another tip is if you drive with someone in the passenger seat, get them as a spotter. You drive looking about 20-30m ahead. They spot things beyond that.Get a system going eg. left ice 50 etc.

[midzt]

I remember last year when I was working, all the people with Mercs had massive problems getting going because the traction control would just kick in and you can't turn them off fully.

I haven't really got any more tips, I'd just be repeating any of the above.
But as others have said, I actually quite enjoy the challenge, altho I don't go out just for it, but if I have to drive I find it good fun.