Winter weather

All I can say as a newbie (only driven in the winter once, but have driven on snow/ice before in my rig) is that everything I know and can say...

Well, it's already up there.

I love the winter. Love the cold and everything. (And I don't meant Atlanta "cold" ). I'll wear shorts and short sleeves in the winter in Atlanta and it doesn't bother me until it gets below the 20's.

What makes me nervous is other drivers. That's not to say I'm confident in my own abilities, but I know how I'll react to certain situations. It may not be the right actions, but I know what to expect from me.

I drove us-78 in Tn right after they had their snow and ice storms (both times), I was enjoying it even on the ice until I came across OD pulling doubles running 15 in a 55 with no flashers... The idiot even had headphones on.

I know some of you will say I haven't driven in "real" ice and snow, and that's cool. But I'm looking forward to it when I move up into canada.

 

I like driving in bad weather, the rain/snow is relaxing. There are a couple exceptions like strong wind on ice or overcautious drivers mixed with overconfident drivers.

 

It gets old... but it is a part of the job. Stay calm and do the best you can and take it one mile at a time. Understand your equipment- Do you have older drive/steer tires? What kind of weight do you have? Are you pulling an empty van in a cross-wind? An empty truck at 32,000 lbs is a different animal than a truck that weighs 80,000 lbs. You have to plan accordingly.

If its just a quick system or a band of snow that's going to drop a quick inch or two and then be gone in a couple of hours... I might pull off and take a coffee break and let the salt shakers do their thing. You'd be surprised at how quickly the road conditions can improve once they lay down some salt.

Many times when a stretch of interstate gets slick- I have been known to jump off the big road and run on the old road. For example- This winter when I-39 was a sheet of ice South of LaSalle/Peru and cars and trucks were in the ditches, I ran up old 51 and had no issues at all... it wasn't high, dry and dusty by any means... but it was far better than 39. I've done the same in Wisconsin when 90/94 got slick- I jumped off and ran 12/16 and it was just fine.

Keep up to date on the weather and know what your getting into. Have plan B and plan C available. Know where truck stops and rest areas are. When it gets real bad- just park it. There is nothing they're going to load on my trailer that's worth anyone getting hurt (or worse) for.

 

You're a driver. You will do more miles in 1 year than the average person will do in 10. In 4 years, you will do a lifetime. You will lose that overwhelming urge to slam on the brakes every time something's not kosher. That n itself will solve the majority of problems that you could ever have in in climate weather. It will no longer be your instinctive reaction.

You will hear people say, "You don't know how you would react in an emergency." That's not true. You will know exactly what you'd do when you hit a patch of ice.

I do what some of the guys talked about. When it first snows, I park. Let all the people who are going to die go ahead and die. And when they're cramming into the houses and parking lots and the road is empty, I drive. Easy on the controls and go on down the road like an overgrown ice skater.

 

Really since summer is starting today, forget about winter for now.

When winter comes, you should ask us, as I highly doubt you will remember anything from now till then.

Suffice it to say, alertness is higher in ANY bad weather.

 

Be alert!

The world needs more Lerts.