Driving a truck on the snow

Many times the worrying about the weather is worse than when you actually get to it. However, it can be nasty. If you know snow is possible, check your route, plan in advance places to park it...i.e...knowing there is a pull-off in 5 miles is much more comforting than thinking am I ever going to get through this..

If on coming traffic has snow wadded up all over them, park the truck.....practice putting on chains, on dirt, on pavement...uneven terrain, so when the time comes....you aren't asking yourself...should I put them on, is it going to get worse...., just park, put them on and go. You will be shocked at how many drivers are on the side of the road not knowing how to put them on or don't even have them.

I have found that cars are the worst...they seem to think they bulletproof, one twitch and spinorama....which in turn can hit us.

But mainly...just keep in slow and steady....and try not to slow down or stop going uphill!

 

Like Boudreax says, 4 wheelers are the cause of most winter accidents. Best time to have a dash cam, and when the 4 wheeler (driving like a yahoo) spins in front of you, push them out of the way, don't wreck the truck, and let the dash cam video be your proof.

 

So then it shouldn't be a service failure. If they close road for snow/ice not much u can do except park it. If company doesn't get that then look elsewhere. I'm not sliding in a ditch for them to make a profit.

 

[QUOTE="semi" retired;4200836]Like Boudreax says, 4 wheelers are the cause of most winter accidents. Best time to have a dash cam, and when the 4 wheeler (driving like a yahoo) spins in front of you, push them out of the way, don't wreck the truck, and let the dash cam video be your proof.[/QUOTE]
That what happened to me last winter. I was going up a hill about 10mph spinning like crazy, and this four wheeler in front of me comes to almost a complete stop. I was tempted to push them out of the way. Video from my dash cam and car at the 1:00 mark

 

Where was that filmed at?

 

For the first time in bad winter conditions, get a crowbar, or find out if your companies insurance offers seat removal.

All joking aside, pay attention to what is said above from the experienced drivers. I went across Donner during a very bad storm, chained, slow and steady.

I agree, learn how to chain in a dry parking lot and not in a snow storm getting ready to go over Donner's

 

I will agree with what has been said. Slow and steady. About 35 mph is a good and safe speed. Learn to chain. A lot of drivers will stop and wait it out and others would chain. We would always chain and I felt MUCH better when we were chained up. Keep a LOT of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you. If someone in front of you does spin out, you have time to react. Don't jerk the wheel, just slowly move over to where you can get around them if they end up stopped in the road. If you don't run with your CB on, definitely turn it on when you are driving in the snow and/or ice. Also, on mountains, when you are coming down them, come down slower than you think you need to. I usually would do between 6th and 7th gear, depending on the grade and conditions.

 

Hi mclass, good job. I had to look twice, my daughter has a car like that. I see nobody passed you except the flatbed @ 3:00. Now they were going way too fast. When you see trucks all twisted up in the ditch, it's usually guys like that. In 35+ years, I never put it in the ditch, because I drove like you do.

 

South Central Alabama, I had just watched the weather man and he said it wasnt going to snow. Wrong! I ran right into a freak snow and ice storm.

 

50% chance of snow (It might and it might not, heck,I can make THAT prediction)