Snow And Ice Driving

snow is one thing. Ice is a completely different animal. Without snow on the road , look at the back of your mirrors and mirror arms. ice ice is acculating , beware. In snow my company recommends increasing following distance to 14 seconds or more. I vote more where possible.

In the end though , you will not know what you are capable of until you make an attempt.

Key thing is go slow, increase following distance, if YOU make the determination it isnt safe for YOU to drive, shut it down.

trip planning in winter especially requires weather checks too for planned route. adjust as needed.

 

Oh, you will hear a lot of people say to watch for spray from you drives as if that is an indication the road isn't slippery. In the vid below there was still spray but I could tell it was getting slick before I came to this.

 

Just don't end up like this guy.

 

my first job driving was from NC to Monteal to Ontario Canada.

first thing I learned was when to shut it down, regardless of what anybody said.

if they had a problem fire me and I can sue.lol

yo can drive in 10" of snow on flat ground.

2" in the mtns can kill you, if aren't carefull.

 

There's an old saying something like...

"You can go downhill too slow forever,
but you'll only go downhill too fast once."

 

a lot depends on your comfort level, an uncomfortable driver is more apt to overreact to a bad situation when on slick roads and make it worse. If the road conditions make you overly nervous than shut down. Period. I myself don't mind almost any conditions except freezing rain, at the point that roads are frozen with a layer of water making them a skate rink, I'm done, Period.
Because to continue is to take a chance that my own nervousness will turn mine, and OTHERS situation into a really bad day. Know your self, take your time, after you gain experience you will learn your limits.
b

 

If dispatch from one of teh big companies calls and tries to pressure you - and they will at some point - just use the word safety a bunch. Like so:

"Sorry, Dispatcher. It's not safe to continue. I'm pulling off until the plows come through."
-But that load is hot! You need to get it there! That's our biggest customer!
"And I will. Just as soon as the roads are safe enough to continue so I can get it there in one piece."
-Driver, I'm calling your manager.
"Please do. I'll be happy to tell him I have a safety issue out here, just like I told you."

Don't let them bully you. It's your life. It's your CDL and your CSA. You won't have a problem getting another job if you shut down in a storm. You'll only have a problem if you let someone push you into continuing and you have an accident. Ya?

 

just ask on the Quaalcom or whichever you have, "are telling me to drive in unsafe conditions?".

they will never put that in writing. those records are saved and admissible in court as evidence when called up. as in when they fire you for a service failure.

I used to do it all the time,back when I drove for bigger guys with sat. com systems.

if they say call me. well we know where that's going to go.lol.

I just say no.

 

Werner won't fire you over this they'll just find a swap to meet you.I bet a lot of Werner drivers shut down if they feel it's not safe.But if the roads are passable as least try.Also get rid of the word FORCE,no company can force drivers to do anything.Werner of all companies won't but in the future if any company does and you refuse which then results in losing your job,you don't hesitate you seek legal action.

 

i used to haul some contract freight for vitran and conway ltl from chicago and indy back to omaha and they would cry like babys if i was late and they didnt care about the weather .
on one trip for conway in a storm across iowa i took pictures of their company trucks in the ditch ...they quit crying after that .
another time on a vitran trip one of the co. trucks passed me in a storm in western ill on 80 and gave me crap about going to slow for his liking ... i ignored him ...about 20 miles down the road he wrapped up in the median so i waved and called vitran to tell em id be late and sure enuf the they started crying ...till i told him about his own truck in the ditch ...all he could stammer out was OOOH ! lol...i pulled off at princeton and went to bed and never heard a word about it .