scanny77:
same question but artics. im off to kent tomorrow and from what the radio was saying today, that is the worst hit area so far
oh yes at least an inch of snow.
couple of photos from todays jollies to skeggy
this was the a15 this morning coming out of lincoln, me and the tipper driver had a heart in mouth moment when the car in front decided to stop suddenly in the middle of no where for no apparent reason 
the main roads wern’t to bad its when you get on the roads to the villages, this is the road to batemans brewery in wainfleet, lincs
and then me in my favorite position , in a layby with the night heater blairing
jon
I have a lot of experience of driving in bad weather, as some of you are aware
driving across northern turkey at temperatures of minus 20…so the little bit of snow we get in this country dont bother me…only the other drivers…who want to drive too fast…never leave enough distance when overtaking and cutting in…its the ice thats a problem…and my vehicle has been telling me of black ice for a couple of days…common sense is the ideal…dont leave it too late when braking…and take your time…with a trailer…watch it all the time…especially when braking…and i do use the exhaust brake…but intermittently…on hills…
the only problem i find in the uk…is when washers freeze up and i cant clean my screen…so always carry a bottle of water…and of course… there isnt a garage in the uk that puts out a bucket of water and a brush to clean your windows…screen…mirrors…unlike on the continent…good luck to you all…
decent Screen wash aditive stops the bottle freezing, but the jets normally freeze.
They didnt seem to on the Actros though so i assume it’s got heated jets.
truckyboy:
I have a lot of experience of driving in bad weather, as some of you are aware
driving across northern turkey at temperatures of minus 20…so the little bit of snow we get in this country dont bother me…only the other drivers…who want to drive too fast…never leave enough distance when overtaking and cutting in…its the ice thats a problem…and my vehicle has been telling me of black ice for a couple of days…common sense is the ideal…dont leave it too late when braking…and take your time…with a trailer…watch it all the time…especially when braking…and i do use the exhaust brake…but intermittently…on hills…
the only problem i find in the uk…is when washers freeze up and i cant clean my screen…so always carry a bottle of water…and of course… there isnt a garage in the uk that puts out a bucket of water and a brush to clean your windows…screen…mirrors…unlike on the continent…good luck to you all…
Just a Question about near east:
How is it with loads to there?heard a couple of Days ago that the loads are mostly be done by eastern european Lorries,as well as a British Company,big in that Job’s,are sold away
ive just done teeside to irvine and back, hardlys slept last night worrying about the snow. set off at 3.45 this morning, took just under 5 hours driving to get there, was absolutely bricking it this morning before i set off. 
even though it went ok i dont have the bottle to go any faster, unlike the couple of brain surgeons who passed me on the a69. 
my washers froze about 10 minutes into the trip, freezing fog, just great. 
also i noticed that although it wasnt snowing in scotland there was a very hard frost and it seems as though in that part of the world they actually put some grit on the roads instead of letting them turn into a skating rink like some places down here. i know councils have no legal obligation to grit the roads but its sometimes beyond a joke. anyway, rant over, fingers crossed it’ll be a bit better tomorrow.
I remember one of my best mates getting snowed in down at the Caxton Gibbet in Cambridgeshire when it was a pub, after two days on the ■■■■ he got our boss to have a word with the Landlord that his credit was still good, 
im having a panic
im leaving for scotland in the morning and if im not back new years eve my life won’t be worth living. remember it only takes a inch or 2 and the feds shut the m74
jon
Roads are ‘always’ covered in grit, they’re made of the stuff.
Salt’s the correct term, but only works above 23degF. 
jon, dont panic bud, but take a load of money, water and food with you! 
Jonboy,
Don’t worry when I was running up to the Highlands everyother week I counted more Gritters than lorries on the road 
Mal:
jon, dont panic bud, but take a load of money, water and food with you!
Jon, like Mal said don’t panic, make sure you have plenty of eats and drinks available and keep warm, carry a duvet or sleeping bag as a spare. The worst thing that might happen is you will be parked up for half a day as rain and milder conditions are moving in behind the snow.
Great pic of the Volvo in the layby, good name that, unfortunately no relation
Drive safely.
jonboy:
im having a panicim leaving for Scotland in the morning and if im not back new years eve my life won’t be worth living. remember it only takes a inch or 2 and the feds shut the m74
jon
You’ve got my number. No need to panic
If they shut the M74, its not the 2 inches of snow that they shut it for. Its the muppets who drive into each other and blame it on the 2 inches of snow.
Spardo:
smcaul:
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Smooth and steady in everything you do, dont ease off, brake or accelerate in corners, just keep the same speed going. Do all your speed changing in straight lines if possible.All the above is true, but, you can use the exhaust brake (or 1st position on a retarder) on downgrades if you can leave it on all the time lightly feathering the foot brake at the same time. After all you have to have some means of holding your speed, otherwise you won’t make it round the first bend.
…
Above all, take it easy
Spardo’s last phrase is most important thing to keep in mind when there is probability of slippery roads. Anticipating must be kept in mind, like it always should and gear change should be avoided when turning. Acceleration must also be performed gently.
Next I want to say that I don’t have experience from artics at winter so these “rigid experiences” of mine might be too “rough” for artic.
Like Spardo said, exhaust brake (and even retarder) can be used at winter. Also, on snow you can apply more exhaust brake/retarder power than on ice. What makes this trickery is that “tyre trails” might be icy while there is snow between them. Quite similar situation when compared to first picture jonboy posted. Altought it’s difficult to estimate conditions from pictures, I say that most likely I’d have used exhaust brake and Volvo’s VEB-engine brake at those conditions but I’m not driven artic at winter so I can’t say how much it makes difference.
Another important thing is to keep exhaust brake/retarder on most of the time you are going downhill if you want to use it, just like Spardo said. If you have set it at too high power and you are losing too much speed you can always decrease it’s power even that increasing usually isn’t encourageable. Normal speed decreasing can also be made with exhaust brake/retarder just like on downhills.
On very slippery conditions you can come downhill with retarder if there is something with more grip on the edge of the road like “snow bank” or sand etc. At the top of the hill you engage diff lock, keep tyres of “ditch side” on the “snow bank”, apply the retarder and began slowly coming down the hill.
I still repeat that these are experiences in rigid (towing trailer) and might be too “rough” for artics. Tyres are also limiting factor and if you have “company tyres” (last for a million km and have no grip) it might be better not to use much even an exhaust brake. Lowering lift axle reduces jack-knife effect, etc etc. List could go on but I guess most of you already knew these things.
dennisw1:
Roads are ‘always’ covered in grit, they’re made of the stuff.Salt’s the correct term, but only works above 23degF.
I couldn’t resist commenting this. Salt still works at lower temperatures and in minor doses combined with adequate traffic flow it can be used to dehydrate ice from the road even when temperature of road surface is something like -8 or -10 C.
Kyrbo:
I still repeat that these are experiences in rigid (towing trailer) and might be too “rough” for artics
Everything you say K. is accurate but don’t worry about the above, it all holds good for artics too.
Whatever you drive it must be gently, nothing suddenly, and well within forward vision, but if you come down hill it is no good just letting it roll, you must use all braking power (including exhaust/retarder), otherwise you will only stop in a great big heap .
To those who say don’t use exhaust brakes I would ask, do you knock it out of gear then, because the engine alone is a retarder on your drive axle? Of course not, that would be foolish. You have 2 choices on hills, come down gently using all means, or park up at the top 'till spring.
Salut, David.
i would avoid the engine brake dave, ive known the scania ones effect the motor on a wet road and lock the drive axle when running empty, anybody had this? never mind snow and ice. i might be wrong, but personally i wouldnt use them. the engine on it’s own wont behave like a retarder if you keep in a higher gear and keep the revs low.
gently does it youre 100% right, and i will repeat my own saying, forward planning and observation, it’s a lot easier to stop, even when youve got very little friction as in ice and snow, if youve got a long time to stop the motor in. its also a lot easier to negotiate something youre coming up to if you have a long time to plan it, in short, slowly does it!
parking up till spring i think is a ■■■■ good idea!
i tried applying mainly common sense this week ie switching off that switch that cuts the exhaust brake in with the foot brake, braking before bends (unfamiliar territory on wednesday) and taking it very easy round them. very gentle on everything really. i always watch ahead anyway so no problems there. the car drivers werent impressed but then again, how many of them will understand the physics of an artic? sod them, they are in a hurry whereas i want to get there in one piece so they can wait or get past me
scanny77:
the car drivers werent impressed but then again, how many of them will understand the physics of an artic?
How many of them understand anything about driving other than the basics they learnt during thier lessons?
Mal:
i would avoid the engine brake dave, :
So would I Mal, don’t confuse that with the comparatively gentle braking of the exhaust or 1st position electronic retarder. If you are going to come downhill on snow you have to use something to slow you down, high gear isn’t an option. That is of course unless it’s dead straight, you can see for miles on the level at the bottom, there are absolutely no side accesses, and you don’t mind doing 100 mph before slowing down naturally .
I had a dash switch on my F89 which kept the exhaust on all the time, switched it on at the top of the Blanc, both ways, on countless winter trips and gently lowered myself down with that and the foot brake through all the twists and turns on packed snow in perfect safety. And, I have never used a snow chain in my life. But you must leave it on all the time, the sudden use half way down could be disastrous.
Salut, David.
i now fully get what youre saying dave, and i wont try and teach me granny how to ■■■■ eggs anyway!