How to drive in winter

Something that can be difficult in snowy conditions is knowing where your lane is. Caught up to a guy yesterday who seemed to be having trouble keeping it on the right side of the road.

When there's no visible lines people tend to move towards the middle which can be dangerous. Running oncoming traffic off the road or having a head on isn't what you want to happen.

Just because the lines aren't visible the pavement is still there and taking the whole road isn't a good thing.

Learn to read the clues. A lot of times the rumble strips may be visible when the lines are gone. In this case there were no rumble strips but the edge of the pavement could be seen and I could make out the crown in the center of the road.

These clues can be easier to pick up if you're looking far ahead. I get the impression this guy was looking only a short distance ahead which is a bad idea any time.

Each road is different and blowing or heavy snowfall can make it much more difficult to find your place on the road but just hugging the middle is a bad idea IMO.

If you're out there as the lines are disappearing but are still visible try to put your outside tires directly on the fog line. This will make it visible for the people following.

Don't worry, Mr. Snow won't hurt Mr. Tire.


Kind of hard to see on a small screen but the truck ahead is not in his lane.

 

This is my second year in the "poop" so to speak. Last year I hit the ditch on the first day (kept her straight and upright) of "snow" (freezing rain topped with heavy, powdery snow and high winds with a empty sailboat for a trailer; roll-tite) and never really got my confidence back until spring.

This year is incredibly different. Where I live, it goes from +35C in the summer to -35C in the winter, so driving in snow isn't a problem, it's the articulating combination that was and learning how to control it with confidence that was.

There is no real advice that can be given. It all comes from experience. "Slow and steady wins the race" applies here, and avoiding sharp movements, heavy braking (whether service or jakes) and lack of planning (prepare for the worst, and hope for the best) are the only keys to success I can give.

Like driving the truck, only so much can be taught... everything else must be learned.

I went from dreading going into work each and every day the sky wasn't clear and the Sun wasn't shining, to pulling someone out of a ditch who lost it on a back-country gravel road without anything on the trailer and driving down that same road at speeds I didn't think possible through treads more than a foot deep.

 

The intangible thing is technique.

Sometimes you have to use wheel spin and momentum, other times it is feathering the throttle and straightening the steers to reduce as much drag as possible to get the tiniest amount of momentum that you can exploit to then get the rig pointed in the right direction as it moves again.

Other times you just have to accept that it's time to get help.

Stay patient, be thoughtful and never lose your cool.

And never forget the pole or parked trailer that is always (By some immutable law of the universe) in the #### way.

 

Gotta second this.... after this last freezing rain here in Columbus I got stupid and had to thread my truck and empty can between 2 cars with all my brakes semi-locked (ABS was trying to kick in, ice wasn't having it....) because I read the road wrong and forgot how fast it can go from treated and wet to clean and icy. Thankfully kept it straight and got it stopped, without going through the red light even, despite the pickup truck in the left turn lane being about 8 inches in my lane to boot.

Scared my underwear so bad it tried to crawl up my butt to hide though.

But it was all about feeling where the steering stopped being effective and trying to get back to where it was. Same with the brakes. I wish I could say it was all skill but, like Tater said, it's almost an intangible thing that just kind of kicks in. Looking back on it I don't think I consciously did much during the whole thing.

 

1st chains this season

 

Sometimes three lane freeways effectively become two lanes when it is snowing hard, or four become three. When there's so much snow you can't see the stripes, folks naturally tend to try and space farther apart. In those conditions I think it is best to follow the new lane, where tires have worn down the snow and keep space, or slightly stay to the right of the right lane tracks if snow isn't too deep and threatening to grab your right steer.

 

I recall I70 in a Nor'easter where it dumped 4 feet of snow west of Baltimore. Since most of it was small hills Mr Snow did not bother my mack too much. Just plowed into it. That was the thing, no more 3 lanes and shoulders, use all of it.

I was maybe one of 10 vehicles moving that way that early in the morning, 8 of which were my company mates going for loading as well downtown at the ship. When you get that much cooling on the radiator though you aint ginna get heat into the cab too much. It's all steel. No luxury back in them days.