Rant: Winter Driving

[guyver01]

Also funny that I made it home without an accident.

i make it home without accidents all the time.

3 inches is a "dusting" around here...

 

[Numenorean]

You obviously don't know anything. 4WD can help turning. You'd be a moron to use a locker in the snow. That's not what they are for. Neither is snow what LSD is for. ABS and A-Trac would help. Not being a moron would help more.

 

[Gamingphreek]

You obviously don't know anything. 4WD can help turning. You'd be a moron to use a locker in the snow. That's not what they are for. Neither is snow what LSD is for. ABS and A-Trac would help. Not being a moron would help more.

If you swerve or jerk the wheel at sufficient speed I don't care if you have 2 wheels pulling you or 6 wheels, you will slide.

Using a locker in the snow would help if I were stuck and needed to get out where 1 tire is getting all the torque.

An LSD certainly helps when trying to accelerate in the snow. For the same reason a using my locker would have helped. When I needed to accelerate from a stand still I heard the LSD come on, I saw the light and felt the car start to move.

Unless you have a Tacoma, I'm not sure you know what A-Trac is. A-Trac replaces the Traction Control on Toyota 4x4 when you have 4-Lo engaged.

 

[Gamingphreek]

i make it home without accidents all the time.

3 inches is a "dusting" around here...

Congratulations?

Given that you weren't there, I witnessed an accident behind me, and I observed the conditions, you might want to consider that I have a point here

I agree 3" is next to nothing. The snow is not my only concern. Sudden stops in rush hour traffic and other cars on the road also dictate my speed. For someone who "makes it home without accidents all the time", I would expect you to understand that

 

[Linflas]

i make it home without accidents all the time.

3 inches is a "dusting" around here...

And a place where 3 inches is a dusting no doubt has tons of equipment, chemicals, and experience dealing with snow that an area that averages 18 inches total in a typical winter doesn't. Also Northern Virginia has a very large population of people from places that rarely see snow to people from places like Minnesota where snow is a given. The folks from the northern climes seem to feel that the conditions here in the snow are just like what they dealt with "back home" when in fact most times they are quite different.

 

[Numenorean]

If you swerve or jerk the wheel at sufficient speed I don't care if you have 2 wheels pulling you or 6 wheels, you will slide.

Using a locker in the snow would help if I were stuck and needed to get out where 1 tire is getting all the torque.

An LSD certainly helps when trying to accelerate in the snow. For the same reason a using my locker would have helped. When I needed to accelerate from a stand still I heard the LSD come on, I saw the light and felt the car start to move.

Unless you have a Tacoma, I'm not sure you know what A-Trac is. A-Trac replaces the Traction Control on Toyota 4x4 when you have 4-Lo engaged.

I know exactly what A-Trac is - and it would help if there was sufficient snow to warrant driving in 4Lo. You wouldn't really be doing this on normal roads but there are County Roads here which it could be necessary on sometimes.

You mean one tire getting all the traction? Running a locker on-road in snowy/icy conditions isn't the smartest thing to do. To get unstuck it may help yes. LSD may help minimally. But you're better off to run in 4WD without a locker in these conditions. It does depend on the locker. If it's non-selectable you should not be using it in snow. If it is....you still wouldn't just want to leave it on all the time on the road.

Anyway I'm not talking about swerving and jerking - just simply driving normally in these conditions 4WD can help when turning. You can go a bit faster around a curve without fishtailing than in 2WD.

If you're accelerating in the snow so much that your LSD kicks in, then you're doing it wrong.

 

[Gamingphreek]

I know exactly what A-Trac is - and it would help if there was sufficient snow to warrant driving in 4Lo. You wouldn't really be doing this on normal roads but there are County Roads here which it could be necessary on sometimes.

Ok - sorry I didn't mean to imply anything negative there. I think it is a Toyota unique name and I just wanted to clarify in case you thought it was something else. I agree with everything you mentioned here.

You mean one tire getting all the traction? Running a locker on-road in snowy/icy conditions isn't the smartest thing to do. To get unstuck it may help yes. LSD may help minimally. But you're better off to run in 4WD without a locker in these conditions. It does depend on the locker. If it's non-selectable you should not be using it in snow. If it is....you still wouldn't just want to leave it on all the time on the road.

I absolutely agree that running it while driving normally would be a bad decision. In fact it may actually increase a person's chance of slipping since one tire would spin while cornering.

4WD would certainly not be a bad idea in the slightest. It would have helped my drive, but I prefer to stay in 2WD as long as possible.

Anyway I'm not talking about swerving and jerking - just simply driving normally in these conditions 4WD can help when turning. You can go a bit faster around a curve without fishtailing than in 2WD.

I would agree. Perhaps I didn't clarify myself properly in my original post.

If you're accelerating in the snow so much that your LSD kicks in, then you're doing it wrong.

Not necessarily. In this case when accelerating I was on a hill coming from a stop at a light off an exit ramp. When I tried to go, I knew I would slip so I went very easy on the gas and the tires still slipped. When they started slipping, apparently one tire had more traction and was able to pull even at that low acceleration thanks to the LSD.

See bolded point above.

 

[Numenorean]

Okay.....if you were on a hill then that makes sense. I assumed you were on level road - oops.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Okay.....if you were on a hill then that makes sense. I assumed you were on level road - oops.

Nope completely my fault - I wasn't clear. I would agree with you on level road - you have to give it a little bit more to come on

 

[Jumpem]

Really 30mph in a dusting of snow? I would be looking to get by you too. I have a 45 mile commute and can'tspend it going 30. That said I drive an Outback with snow tires, so I'm comfortable in the snow.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Really 30mph in a dusting of snow? I would be looking to get by you too. I have a 45 mile commute and can'tspend it going 30. That said I drive an Outback with snow tires, so I'm comfortable in the snow.

My goodness reading comprehension deteriorates as the night goes on.

3" > Dusting

Nobody was looking to pass me.

Snow tires and a 4WD/AWD vehicle do not give you an excuse to drive normally in bad weather.

For your sake, I certainly hope you don't end up like the person behind me who crashed head-on into the median with the way you claim to want to drive.

 

[dingster1]

Yeah we had a couple of wrecks up here in Gaithersburg tonight too. Thankfully they let us out of class early.

 

[EagleKeeper]

You can see the same type of problem in LA or Las Vegas when you get some rain.

The road surface changes and people have forgotten how to dirive in those conditions. Because it happens so infrequently, the problem will always exist.

It is only when you can consistent weather patterns that people are not affected.

 

[eits]

lol @ a driver from virginia ranting about virginia drivers.

 

[vi edit]

I want to initiate a law that if you get in a wreck on the first day of snow for the year you either lose your license for a year or you have to get your car painted bright pink as a public sign of your ineptitude behind the wheel.

 

[Gamingphreek]

I want to initiate a law that if you get in a wreck on the first day of snow for the year you either lose your license for a year or you have to get your car painted bright pink as a public sign of your ineptitude behind the wheel.

Hahaha that would be awesome.

lol @ a driver from virginia ranting about virginia drivers.

Ha yea - there are still some of us that can drive I personally love driving in the snow

 

[Jumpem]

My goodness reading comprehension deteriorates as the night goes on.

3" > Dusting

Nobody was looking to pass me.

Snow tires and a 4WD/AWD vehicle do not give you an excuse to drive normally in bad weather.

For your sake, I certainly hope you don't end up like the person behind me who crashed head-on into the median with the way you claim to want to drive.

3" is a dusting. We just had four feet plus, followed by another foot a couple days later. I certainly slow down, but I don't go absurdly slow.

 

[DrPizza]

Congratulations. You're a better driver in the snow than 99% of all Virginia drivers I've encountered. But, based on your comments, you sound like you suck at driving on snow/don't know what you're talking about. (but suck less than the rest of the idiots in VA.)
I'm in western NY. Snowbelt area. 1 foot of snow and school is still open. For my first 5 or 6 years of teaching, I commuted down an interstate highway. despite the passing lane sometimes not being plowed before I went to work, I can't recall ever having to slow down to less than 55 mph, except on 2 or 3 occasions when we had freezing rain & severe black ice problems. With a little experience (which you must not have), you feel when a tire loses traction & simply let off on the gas for a second. Or, you pump the gas peddle to help with acceleration.

For the last 5 years, I've had to drive down a winding country highway with a lot of bends in it. Occasionally I have to slow down to 45.

You think you know how to drive because you can go 30mph on a highway, probably with a death grip on the steering wheel? Please.

 

[Gamingphreek]

3" is a dusting. We just had four feet plus, followed by another foot a couple days later. I certainly slow down, but I don't go absurdly slow.

If you had 4 feet of snow at once and then the 1 foot landed on top of that making 5' measurable with a ruler you aren't driving anywhere because that is over the hood of 99% of cars on the rood. Even if you do manage to move, it would be absurdly slow based on the laws of physics.

Even if you had an argument that was remotely valid, you may want to look into a "Strawman logical fallacy".

Also you missed the point of this thread entirely.

 

[guyver01]

If you had 4 feet of snow at once and then the 1 foot landed on top of that making 5' measurable with a ruler you aren't driving anywhere because that is over the hood of 99% of cars on the rood. Even if you do manage to move, it would be absurdly slow based on the laws of physics.

Well... Einstein.... i guess Virginia doesn't own a snow plow.

Please regale us with tales of your Physics Degree and let us know when the snow melts enough for us to go out and "speed" at 30mph down the roads.

Also you missed the point of this thread entirely.

which was what, exactly? That you can drive 30mph down a lightly snow-dusted road without needing ABS?

Good for you ... make sure your sidewalls are inflated to maximum sidewall pressure, too.


Why exactly did you buy a 4x4? makes carrying the beer keg easier to grandma's for a good country hoe-down?

 

[Jumpem]

If you had 4 feet of snow at once and then the 1 foot landed on top of that making 5' measurable with a ruler you aren't driving anywhere because that is over the hood of 99% of cars on the rood. Even if you do manage to move, it would be absurdly slow based on the laws of physics.

Even if you had an argument that was remotely valid, you may want to look into a "Strawman logical fallacy".

Also you missed the point of this thread entirely.

The snow doesn't come down all at once. The four feet was over the course of 98 hours. I'd say the roads stayed under 10". Some are plowed timely, some aren't. Schools and offices are still open. Everyone gets where they need to be regardless.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Congratulations. You're a better driver in the snow than 99% of all Virginia drivers I've encountered. But, based on your comments, you sound like you suck at driving on snow/don't know what you're talking about. (but suck less than the rest of the idiots in VA.)
I'm in western NY. Snowbelt area. 1 foot of snow and school is still open. For my first 5 or 6 years of teaching, I commuted down an interstate highway. despite the passing lane sometimes not being plowed before I went to work, I can't recall ever having to slow down to less than 55 mph, except on 2 or 3 occasions when we had freezing rain & severe black ice problems. With a little experience (which you must not have), you feel when a tire loses traction & simply let off on the gas for a second. Or, you pump the gas peddle to help with acceleration.

For the last 5 years, I've had to drive down a winding country highway with a lot of bends in it. Occasionally I have to slow down to 45.

You think you know how to drive because you can go 30mph on a highway, probably with a death grip on the steering wheel? Please.

You think you made enough assumptions in that little speel?

What makes you think I couldn't/haven't driven just fine in >1 foot of snow?

Once again, you being capable of handling the car or not is not relevant. At those speeds you can neither swerve nor stop on a dime, thus it is inappropriate/irresponsible to drive in traffic at those speeds.

I never said I was an All-Pro at driving. I simply said that others were irresponsible in the way they were driving on the evening commute as evidenced by the crash.

 

[DrPizza]

BTW, the only thing ABS is good for on highways is for slowing down when idiots pull into the passing lane doing only 30mph. If you have to use your brakes while driving on snow covered roads, and it's not because someone just got in your way, you're doing it wrong.

(Well, of course, unless you're just having fun driving sideways down the road instead of forward down the road.)

 

[Gamingphreek]

Well... Einstein.... i guess Virginia doesn't own a snow plow.

Please regale us with tales of your Physics Degree and let us know when the snow melts enough for us to go out and "speed" at 30mph down the roads.




which was what, exactly? That you can drive 30mph down a lightly snow-dusted road without needing ABS?

Good for you ... make sure your sidewalls are inflated to maximum sidewall pressure, too.


Why exactly did you buy a 4x4? makes carrying the beer keg easier to grandma's for a good country hoe-down?

Why in the world are you still posting here? Just to troll? To boost that little number of posts in the corner your screen? To show off your current lack of reading comprehension? Seriously, why?

The snow doesn't come down all at once. The four feet was over the course of 98 hours. I'd say the roads stayed under 10". Some are plowed timely, some aren't. Schools and offices are still open. Everyone gets where they need to be regardless.

The way you presented it earlier I got the impression you were in a blizzard and had 4' of snow on the ground at once.

I think circumstances are very different in different areas in the country. People are commuting all over to DC and the surrounding areas. VDOT probably doesn't have the same capabilities that Northern states have.

I personally wouldn't mind going to the office in 10" of snow one bit. What I do worry about is the lack of skill of some of the other drivers on the road. Today is simply case and point in that.

 

[alevasseur14]

I've had a ton of fun driving around the metro after last Saturday's snowmaggedon! The freeways basically turn into one giant lane and since I work second shift the world is my playground on the way home. My snow tires are great but I'm always more concerned most about the people around me. I go as fast as I feel is safe and others will let me. Anything else just isn't worth getting into some kind of accident over.

I think if everyone just took a breath and did EXACTLY like me, the world would be a much better place!