Some winter driving advice

Always be mindful of the blizzard you create. Pick spots to pass that are safer for a blinded driver, like NOT on a narrow bridge.

 

The OP scenario happened to me this morning, heading from OKC to an oil site just east of Watonga. Sometimes getting into the hammer lane was the solution, sometimes the hammer lane was worse or another vehicle was overtaking. Then the correct choice is to straddle the fog line to get tires on dry pavement. At times it was impossible to avoid ice, so the correct choice is to ease off the throttle and coast through the slick part.

Thankfully nobody spun out around me, although there were a few valiant attempts. Pickup drivers in a hurry to get to work seem to believe all those commercials on TV.

 

I have 4x4 myself, but I am the absolute sleep bear stay home next to the wood stove in ice. You wont catch me out there. I actually prefer a loaded semi on ice believe it or not.

 

yep, many moons ago, drive a SINGLE AXLE, M/T with bad tires, let me tell ya,, that fast moving blizzard across the road,, freakin hang on tight. I never lost it, but sure came close.

 

One of the greatest storm events ever, was december of 2000, Oklahoma City. 4AM I-40 westbound about 5 miles east of that City.

90 degrees thunderstorming and all it's glory sideways fat rain in a howling raging wind shoving the tractor and trailer over on it's airride loaded and HOLDING IT there on the lean, against the bags on that side. (Which forced me to hold the horses and steer half of my lane just to keep trailer somewhat behaving)

6 miles later into the eastern part of OKC towards the Central Core it was 27 degrees and falling. ICE storm coming down. wind and all. Trucks run off into the median, some were crying on the radio for anyone with a Cell to call into dispatch.

My FFE Century got seriously slippy in that crap and then started dancing off the road quite a bit. I had to put in full stop to stop wheel inputs in a controlled slow manner a few times which made for interesting sideways view of unnatural interstate highway positions. Looking down the two lanes out of the drivers window comes to mind.

My wife went into the sleeper and hid. There was no way she was going to sit there watching me fight old man ice. Not like that world rotating around us. And put up with my very bad profanity. Some of which she never heard before and quite damning.

I think it was about 20 minutes it went from 90 to 27 and falling in temperature.

To this day and probably to my dying day I will never forget that early morning long before sunrise. WHAT a night that was. We hid out on a little hotel like place in west OKC on top of a hill with truck parking until sunrise. When Mr Drip showed up above 34 degrees it was time to get going again.

 

many moons ago, east bound I80 & I39, ILL. I came over the hill, in my single axle, m/t heading in. freakin looked like a war zone, must have been 15 trucks in the ditch. I throw it in neutral, and held it tight, just about crapped in me drarws . solid sheet of ice.

 

driver, that is what trucking is all about, what we went through, and came out of it without incident. this is real trucking at its best, and takes a professional driver to do this, over and over again. we control our trucks at its best. #### you da man, I love hearing stories like this. not just a job, an adventure every day in trucking.

 

before leaving our yard, In wintery conditions, I always test the trailer brakes, on how much it takes for the tires to grab.

 

The last big #### storm I drove in around Little Rock, took 7 hours to drive to West Memphis. Had to shut down there because both bridges were blocked.

Arkansas finest were blocking almost every ramp between Little Rock and W Memphis. And the shoulders were lined with trucks that had shut down.

 

Tthose were all the smart drivers. shut down