Snow And Ice Driving

there are drivers that press on past their abilities
others that shut down before it is a problem
the trick honed by experience is to be neither

 

I like this quote I read somewhere.

" A superior driver uses his superior knowledge to AVOID situations that require superior skill."

 

If the conditions are so bad that chains are required, get out the chains and use them to tie your truck to a post and park it.

 

yeah, I never worked for a company in all my years that wanted us to chain. Heck, I never drove for a company that had chains. We were always told to park it if you cannot go on, and call us when you do park, and call us when you start again. I do realize however that there are drivers out there that cannot park and wait it out. If memory serves me, one is not allowed to stay at the mountain areas to wait it out, you must chain up and go? Is that still what happens, you must chain and go, or get what a ticket or something?

I go as far as I can safely, I play no games with all the 4 wheelers demonstrating thier twirling skills. When it got bad enough, I pulled over and made the call. Never, and I mean never, was I ever insulted, humiliated or berated for making the decision to pull over and wait it out.

 

Great post! IMO, chains are not intended to turn us into "Super Trucker" for all conditions... they're only there to help us get to a safe parking spot until the conditions become safe again.

On a related note, this just happened yesterday (1/2/2015) during a snow squall...

12 Injured in 35-Car Pileup on I-93 in New Hampshire

“One of the crashes involved a tractor-trailer that caught fire after a vehicle went underneath it. Aerial footage of the crashes showed boxes strewn about and crumpled cars.”

More info @ http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/50-Car-Pileup-Reported-on-I-93-in-New-Hampshire-287337161.html

 

OMG... wyldhorses said something I could agree on...

 

It's really all about your comfort level... like a poster above said, What one driver could move in another might shut down.

If speeds have dropped and the visibility is bad, then just pull over and call it a night/day. That load can wait.

 

I always used the Interstate "minimum" speed limit to my advantage. In most states the minimum is 40 to 45 mph. If I am forced to drive under that to keep my rig under control safely, I am parking. I am far from a 'wuss'...but the stress is simply just not worth it.

I have never been disciplined for using this motto---but I have gotten the "Well Johnny is in that storm and he's still running" scenario...to which my reply was always "I'm not Johnny".

When in the mountains, I would pay attention to chatter on the idiot box (C.B.), and if they are saying "you'll be out of the heavy stuff in ## miles"...I will trudge on at whatever speed it takes to get out of it...but if the storm is long and wide, I am parking until the sand/salt/plow trucks do their thing.

 

Nobody can force you to drive and if you're not comfortable you'll be dangerous. However, you can't control the weather and it's not always predictable. Sooner or later you'll find yourself in a storm many miles from a good place to stop.

Many good threads on here about winter driving. Here's a few...

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...s-from-new-drivers/221679-winter-driving.html
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...er-weather-advice-veteran-drivers-please.html
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...836-newbies-its-almost-winter-heres-some.html
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...ers/158093-winter-driving-little-nervous.html