How well do you do on snow/ice roads?

Shall we put it in the Viewtiful Album? I LOVE IT!

 

Well said, the roads are seldom your biggest worries. It's the interaction with other vehicles, especially the 4wheelers. They tend to come in two versions. 1-Overly causious 2-Overly aggressive. Either one can get you in trouble fast.

 

After 17 years driving daily in the snowbelt I still drive overly cautious, I am not on a time schedule and if it takes a couple more hours to do the run no big deal. We are a liquid asphault supplier and we only fill our own storage in winter and the driver has the final say whether to drive or not, no questions asked, our company would rather us sit than risk an accident, spill or injury which is the way it should be. Just got to keep a close eye on the 4 wheelers and super truckers.

 

Just another day at the office Can't wait. LOL

 

It does'nt matter what company you drive for, or if they have forced dispatch or not, the bottom line is, if the truck crashes when you are driving it, unless you can prove otherwise, will likely be listed as driver error. It is your CDL, you need to protect it with knowledge and good sense, it's a good idea to call your saftey dept. when you don't need them and just ask a few quetions, your driver manager and your safety dept. may have different opinions about bad weather driving. Don't let a dispatcher or DM get you so rattled that you put it in the ditch, make a few phone calls first. drive55cat

 

still a lot of the safety factor - and ones judgement is based on not only their experience - but also where they grew up (what they are used to in a 4 wheeler).

someone who never drove a car on ice and snow is in for a treat with a truck...

having said that - those of us who grew up in areas with 4 distinct seasons know the joys of changing road surfaces.

80% of the safety on snow comes from the drivers choice of speed and ability to maintain smooth fluid motion when turning and braking.

the other 20% is gremlin teritory... the unknown nasties that bite even the most experienced driver in the ###.

 

I think you hit it exactly. I've grown up with 4 seasons, have been though some pretty icy winters and have driven on some really nasty roads. Having experience in that kind weather I think is the key. We had a few guys from South Africa work with us for a little while; when the snow fell, they couldn't keep their trucks out of the ditch. It was nothing they had ever experienced before.

I personally would rather be in a truck in bad weather than in a 4 wheeler; I know others who share that opinion, and I know people who won't even get out of bed in the morning if there's snow on the road (those South African's were like that, and I really don't blame them at all).

you're absolutely right about the unexpected. It can easily bite you, but if you drive in such a way that you give yourself time to react, then things usually go pretty smoothly. Even still the odd nasty sometimes sneaks through and gives you a little scare.

 

last night the rain turned solid up by lake erie and I went over to the hammer lane.. 55 mph - plenty of distance in front of me... a steel hauler pulled up next to me barking his horn and cussing me just in time to look up
at the brake lights ahead. He jacked his brakes and slid into the right side wall - then tapped the car in front of him hard enough to send it into the car in front of it...

all the while I had 50 yards between me and STI truck (sharkey) in front of me...

have no idea where dude was from - but you do not drive like that in northern ohio this time of year...

 

Ice.....driving unless the trailer got different ideas....when I have to fight it to keep it behind me...parking it.

Snow....doesn't stop me.....been known to be the first through the snow, seems this KW can push it's fair share of snow.

I have chains, know how to use them.....winter weather never really stops me unless the Interstate is closed ..... then I look for a way around.

 

In the six years since I started driving commercially, I'm only lost traction once. This happened last winter in Illinois on I-55 south of Springfield. I was riding along one cold, snowy afternoon doing about 40 mph when my trailer started to slide around on a piece of ice. I got off the highway at the next exit and waited a while until IL DOT could scrap the road(or whatever they do in IL, not sure if they treat it down there or not. I couldn't tell that it had been treated.) I do not normally drive in icy conditions and don't mind the snow.