Oh here we go
Last year I drove in snow for all of 1 day. Yesterday (although very heavy snow) It was for about three hours. In the last 10 years I have driven in snow about 5 days.
You seriously expect to go through all the hastle of having a spare set of winter tyres? This is not the baltic, its not the alps, we dont get stranded for months on end.
As for loading the car up with winter survival gear ala Ranulph Finnes. How many people died of hypothermia or starvation in their car after being trapped in snow in the last 20 years Tell you what I will lend you my hand, you wont need more than 5 fingers. (mind you thats 5 more fingers than Ranulph Finnes has got)
IF you live in a prt of the UK where snow is a significant factor then maybe. Knowhere in England for sure
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And anyway,most problems in snow are caused by the cars in front of you!!!
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As for loading the car up with winter survival gear ala Ranulph Finnes.>>
Agree re winter tyres unless in the Cairngorms etc.
Though putting the wellies, a shovel and an extra fleece in the boot is a bit like an umbrella on a sunny day, you take it and you are less likely to need it.
It is the mirror of Murphy's law where if you dont take it you are more likely to need it.
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I tend to carry many of the aforesaid items all year anyway (except a shovel) - for the 'price' of a few kgs. of extra weight you have your own home-from-home kit. My 'kit' comprises:
proper multi-function Swiss army knife thingy, water in flask, some German Stollen (one opened , one 'spare') , water/windproof clothing, hat, blanket/picnic blanket, boot-liner that doubles as a blanket (bobbly flexible rubber type), binoculars, spare bulbs, WD40, tyre pressure guage, torch, electrical tape, fuses, 1L engine oil - and a few other bits & pieces.
This takes up very little room really & can be carried in those boot recesses & car cubby holes that don't get used much. It may cost a little more fuel consumption over the year, but the confidence & flexibility it gives more than compensates. Of course, all this prefaced with the golden rule: car in fit condition, good tyres.
I just wish there was more opportunity to do this 'driving in snow' business, I love all that sort of thing!
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German Stollen? Not Austrian?
Have you any idea what reckless compromises you are making on essential safety equipment?
And the binoculars....I assume you are not referring to the compact sort. That would never do.
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>>Knowhere in England for sure.
Isn't Co Durham in England?
BBC: "130 vehicles remain stuck on the A66"
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I live in Poland and I don't even carry a scraper.
I have seen telephone boxes covered by drifted snow but I have never seen anyone in serious difficulty. I got delayed in the mountains a few years ago waiting for a snow plough which took about two hours to get through.
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I used to live in N Scotland.
There was a true story of a man trapped in drifts for 24 hours . He was a commercial traveller in wonen's tights and dressed in those to keep warm.
I've seen too many cars go off raod in snow to dress lightly when driving. If you have an accident and go off road and are stuck injured and unseen, death by hypothermia is a real possibility.
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death by hypothermia is a real possibility.
Theoretically yes it is, but how many HAVE actually died in the last 15 years?
And as far as cumbria goes, ok cars are stuck. BUT emergency services were on scene, no one has died of hypothermia, people are getting fed and watered, we are not looking at a tragedy here. Frankly a shovel in these circumstances is as much use as a chocolate fire guard.
in 48 hours form the time the snow fell the road will be open and no-one will have any idea anything amiss was up.
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"death by hypothermia is a real possibility"
A lot of the beggars that hang out by the traffic lights in Warsaw have no legs, they're the ones who have drunk a litre of vodka and fallen asleep on the streets in minus 20 and woken up frost bitten. It happened to my wife's uncle Wladek (the family embarrassment - we don't normally talk about him) but he was lucky and two kids found him just in time.
I don't really think anyone's going to die in a long line of cars in the UK, it doesn't get that cold, you're in a car and there's plenty of help around.
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I would estimate quite a few have died the last few days from single vehicle accidents :-(
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/72...m
"Grampian Police described driving conditions in the area at the time as poor because of snow and ice."
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AE
Given that we've had no proper snow in southern England since about 1986 15 years is probably a reasonably safe time frame. Like being stranded in the desert, best rule is to stay in/by your vehicle. Hypothermia, fatal or not, tended to be sufferd by the ill clad who (admittedly before mobiles) went off in search help and means of communication.
Probabilty of risk may be low(ish) but impact is high enough to require a control measure
Usually pick up coat and fleece anyway for a long journey - it can be perishing on the hard shoulder - wellies and shovel added if snow present/possible. And I did dig Mum's R5 out of a blocked road once; mind you I'd only gone down there for the sport of it!!!
Also seem to recall one or two fatalities from CO poisoning when engines were left running while marooned in snowdrifts. Advice was to use shovel to keep airflow round exhaust and run engine for a 10 mins in an hour.
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My car normally has in it for everyday use
Me, my mobile, two high-vis vests, 1 torch,
for dog walking
It also has a protective nylon sheet in the boot, 1 smelly dog blanket, and one mud spattered coat containing some balls and a chcukit stick, Oh and my hunter wellies.
with that lot I can probably survive 24 hours in my car under any conditions. 24 hours is all you need unless you are off in the highlands of scotland.
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>>I live in Poland [snip] I have never seen anyone in serious difficulty
Does everyone use winter tyres?
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"Does everyone use winter tyres?"
Most people do. When I was stuck in the mountains though, we were all using chains but the snow was more than a metre deep.
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You may as well carry a wet suit, snorkel and a pair of flippers for the floods. For the very warm weather,we do actually get every other year, you'll need to carry a sun hat, sandles and sun cream.....I wouldn't worry about it.
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 02/02/2008 at 11:54
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As I have posted before: the winners of the German 2007 AutoBild.de winter tyre test are:
Dunlop SP Winter Sport
Michelin Primacy Alpin
Continental Winter Contact
download.autobild.de/dl/335998/2007_40052_Winterre...f
These tyres are great on ice and snow and are recommended for Central Europe winter driving. However, if your driving conditions are not similar to these conditions you will need to reassess your tyre requirements.
Tyres are always a question of compromise, mainly because of weather condition changes; one day wet & cold, few months later hot & dry. A tyre designed for best performance in one condition can often be poor in another. I remember an unnerving drive in a Land Rover on Michelin XS desert tyres (which are road legal in UK) from Brum to Weston-super-mare & return in the rain. They were so slippery, my cornering speeds and braking performance were halved.
Scandanavian conditions require slightly different tyres to Central Europe; the climate is colder, so roads are less free of ice and snow; a less compromise design can be used.
At the moment, I do not have a firm recommendation for north UK, but my starting point would be the test above.
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I would say that it would be very worthwhile considering a set of snow socks
snowchains.co.uk/main/weisssock.htm
These are TUV approved and by all accounts perform extremely well without the drawbacks of noisy, slow, damage causing metal chains.
They are light and take up little room so can be carried in the boot easily.
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How long will a car run for at tick-over, providing nothing more than heat, a bit of light, and the radio? I would have guessed days for a diesel engine, but have no idea how frugal a petrol car is at idle.
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How long will a car run for at tick-over providing nothing more than heat a bit of light and the radio? I would have guessed days for a diesel engine but have no idea how frugal a petrol car is at idle.
About 15 years ago I was stuck in a snow storm which lead to being stuck for about 10 hours. I had about half a tank and it was nowhere near running out. What did for a number of cars in the queue was power failure. On tickover the alternator isn't producing enough output to recharge the battery and a battery in poor condition will fail.
According to the computer on a diesel Touran I hired last year it was using about a gallon an hour on tickover.
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How about these automatic snow chains:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEsSCcnSoiY
instant traction at the flick of a switch!
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I live on the edge of the Peak Disrict on the side of a steep hill with very scenic views all around, both of Kinder Scout and of Manchester. About 20 years ago we had about 200mm of snow and family visitors whom we walked up to the top of the hill to take photographs. The way up / down is a hill of about 1 in 6 in parts and bends. The challenge was taken up by a lot of people who decided to go out to the countryside to see the views. We stopped to help a good number of cars stuck on the road, explaining to them how to deal with skids and not to use the brakes. One car had a couple of almost bald tyres and a passenger in a dance dress and high heeled peep-toe shoes. We hurried back to the house to avoid meeting more motorists.
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Re Winter tyres. My Panda 4x4 has run on all season tyres for 2.5 years including 3 winters of occasional snow and these perform well. They seem to be a good compromise for the UK and make much more sense than having 2 sets of wheels and tyres. I wonder why this option is given so little consideration?
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I drove back through the worst of the snow in Scotland saturday morning,the only problems I encountered were a few cars in front of me who did not have a clue about negotiating snow and the windscreen covered in salt with the low sun in my eyes.Around Avienmore the road was covered in lumps of ice stuck to the road in patches which made it like driving over bolders.
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Rustbucket, I am jealous!
Was looking at the TrafficScotland cameras on Saturday and the ones on the A9 after Aviemore looked very snow bound! Every time there is snow we get all the warnings that it is going to "sweep across the country" but the reality is the M8 corridor very rarely sees anything! :(
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"doctorchris
Winter tyres. My Panda 4x4 has run on all season tyres for 2.5 years including 3 winters of occasional snow and these perform well."
One of our local GPs told me that in the early 1980s, when snow was much more prevalent, the GPs in Buxton all had Panda 4x4s and narrow tyres. They didn't have much trouble in getting around whatever the weather.
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Grew up on the outskirts of Leeds. We were on main roads but only a short distance from villages and isolated farms on the edge of Ilkely Moor. 4x4 Pandas very common there as well.
The old Mini could hold its own in the snow as well.
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edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/weather/2008/02/04/s...w
Strangely despite 5 feet of snow, the roads seem remarkably clear. We know nothing in this country and crucially those in charge know nothing.
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edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/weather/2008/02/04/s...w Strangely despite 5 feet of snow the roads seem remarkably clear. We know nothing in this country and crucially those in charge know nothing.
Errrr at the moment it's a report on a what looks like a terrorist incident in Israel - no snow involved.
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Oh,,,, saved the snow link (as suggested in the link address "snow emergency" weird)
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