As I said in a previous post, for about four decades I lived in areas that were cold and snowy for large parts of the year. Also, should add that I worked at a job where there were days that at least a couple people had to be there. (This often included me.) Leaving the facility unattended could sometimes be a danger to public safety. However, I agree that in most situations the best safety tip is to avoid driving when road conditions are bad.
Anyway, most of the employees at that facility used studded snow tires or chains if they didn't have four-wheel drive. Even with four-wheel drive, studs were the only thing that worked reasonably well on ice. In my opinion, studded snow tires are the best on ice or hard-packed snow. However, as someone else noted, studded tires don't get very good traction on bare or wet pavement. Emergency braking distances are greatly increased on bare or wet pavement with studded tires compared to other types of tires. Even a rear wheel drive pickup truck can get around pretty well with chains on and some extra weight in the back of the bed.
I think this topic has been pretty well covered, but there are a couple things I'd like to add:
Always, slow way down BEFORE going down a steep hill. It may be impossible to slow down quickly once you're going down the hill. (Unless you hit a tree or another vehicle or something.)
Perhaps practice driving on snow and ice in a large, open parking lot when there are very few people around. This might help you learn the proper techniques for driving in slippery conditions and keep you from panicking when you start to slide.
Someone else mentioned turning into the slide. This is true, but I've noticed that it's easy to over compensate - turn too far too quickly. This often causes the back end to quickly slide back the other way causing the vehicle to slide all the way around in the opposite direction.
Anyway, most of the employees at that facility used studded snow tires or chains if they didn't have four-wheel drive. Even with four-wheel drive, studs were the only thing that worked reasonably well on ice. In my opinion, studded snow tires are the best on ice or hard-packed snow. However, as someone else noted, studded tires don't get very good traction on bare or wet pavement. Emergency braking distances are greatly increased on bare or wet pavement with studded tires compared to other types of tires. Even a rear wheel drive pickup truck can get around pretty well with chains on and some extra weight in the back of the bed.
I think this topic has been pretty well covered, but there are a couple things I'd like to add:
Always, slow way down BEFORE going down a steep hill. It may be impossible to slow down quickly once you're going down the hill. (Unless you hit a tree or another vehicle or something.)
Perhaps practice driving on snow and ice in a large, open parking lot when there are very few people around. This might help you learn the proper techniques for driving in slippery conditions and keep you from panicking when you start to slide.
Someone else mentioned turning into the slide. This is true, but I've noticed that it's easy to over compensate - turn too far too quickly. This often causes the back end to quickly slide back the other way causing the vehicle to slide all the way around in the opposite direction.
Statistics: Posted by OpenMinded1 — Wed Jan 24, 2024 8:08 am — Replies 96 — Views 3767