Simon:
I wasn’t that far behind you, Northbound on the A19.
Your hero was just about to be pulled off the central reserve.
When I was going up, where he would have passed you, the outside lane was ok, a bit slushy with a few ice cobbles.
Where he came off there was a lot of ice cobbling, (where snow had been compressed into ice, the plow hadn’t shifted it and the salt hadn’t melted it).
I’d just come off the boat after fighting snow in Germany, so my snow driving skills were getting refreshed there .
I was overtaking in the outside lane, but saw the ice cobbles getting worse so eased back into the granny lane.
A mile or so after your hero I could see the suicide lane was merely slushy again, so pulled out and speeded up a bit, to pass all the 20mph grannies.
I felt quite happy at 40 - 50. It still took over 4 hours from Hull to Newcastle with no dramas.
You felt that the tipper drivers were going too fast. Don’t forget, they have at least 3 advantages over you.
6 x 4 or 8 x 4 wagons so better traction on the drives
Lots of experience driving in slippery conditions.
Better trucks for driving in poor traction conditions all together, by design.
With that in mind, where they really driving so poorly?
What experience do you base your judgement on?
what experience do i base my judgement on■■? ok then.i may not be a “rope and sheet,shap to carlisle took 5 days” man(no disrespect to old timers,purely comedic purposes only so dont have a pop".a driving career spanning thirteen accident free years,covering aprrox 3000 kms week in,week out,mainly car transporters driving the latest design 11 plus car transporter at sixteen foot high and gaps you couldnt get your fingers in between cars,damage free may i add,central london in a artic car transporter(not for the faint hearted),and for the past two years a hell of a lot of scotland including the snowy/icy far north highlands,where they do tend to get a wee bit of snow in the colder months.
oh and i am a fully time served hgv mechanic,with ten years in the trade under me belt,and ive got me cpc.apart from also knowing i have never ended up the wrong side of the middle barrier,like those i witnessed last week who have"experience",i suppose THATS what i base my judgement on.as far driving poorly naaa,just driving i thought absolutley dangerous in said conditions!
If your scared of the snow stop in the inside lane but dont moan about other drivers passing you who have obviously more experience in snow and ice. Yeah youve got 13 years accident free and all the rest of it but what smow driving have you done that makes you qualified to say how others are driving? Now myself i passed everything on the road tuesday as it was nothing to worry about why? My experience of driving in snow and ice is 12 years swiss, austrian italian alps sweden, norway, finland where there can be snow and ice on the roads for 4/5 months of the year. Oh and i also hold a PSV, ADR, DGSA, CPC national and international and a fully qualified heavy diesel mechanic which none of those qualifications qualify me to tell people how to drive in snow. If you dont know your or your vehicles capabilities leave others alone who do
I was going up the A9 in the early hrs of Tuesday morning.It was snowing quite hard but no major problems.I was sitting at 45-50,when I caught up with 2 trucks and a car doing about 30-35mph just before the d/c at Drumochter.The first truck was a Tayside snowplough,no beacons, neither spreading or ploughing.Once on the d/c I waited for the other two to pass him,but they were quite happy to sit behind him.
So I pulled out into the soft stuff and passed them all,no drama.Immeadiately I was past they both followed me.The truck gradually dropped back,but the car sat on my back doors all the way up to the Slochd,about 50 miles,where the snow stopped,then he was gone,
I don’t think it’s a question of being a hero,but of being confident and also reading the conditions.As others have said,do everything gently,as if there is a glass of water on the dash and you don’t want to spill any.
As for the truck on the centre barrier,how do you know it was his speed that caused it?Did you actually see it happen?Many a time on the A9,I have seen a line of vehicles being overtaken by a truck or coach and some muppet in a car pulls out because they don’t want to be passed,or they suddenly became a traffic cop and decided that this “crazy” driver needs slowing down
A word of warning though.When I drove for Stagecoach in the early 90s,one of the boys was going to Edinburgh.Usual scenario,inside lane crawling at 20mph,outside lane covered with snow.so he started overtaking and a car driver reported him to the police,because his wheels threw up slush onto the cars windscreen which caused his wipers to stop working,making him lose control Cost the coach driver £400 plus a one month ban
Simon:
I wasn’t that far behind you, Northbound on the A19.
Your hero was just about to be pulled off the central reserve.
When I was going up, where he would have passed you, the outside lane was ok, a bit slushy with a few ice cobbles.
Where he came off there was a lot of ice cobbling, (where snow had been compressed into ice, the plow hadn’t shifted it and the salt hadn’t melted it).
I’d just come off the boat after fighting snow in Germany, so my snow driving skills were getting refreshed there .
I was overtaking in the outside lane, but saw the ice cobbles getting worse so eased back into the granny lane.
A mile or so after your hero I could see the suicide lane was merely slushy again, so pulled out and speeded up a bit, to pass all the 20mph grannies.
I felt quite happy at 40 - 50. It still took over 4 hours from Hull to Newcastle with no dramas.
You felt that the tipper drivers were going too fast. Don’t forget, they have at least 3 advantages over you.
6 x 4 or 8 x 4 wagons so better traction on the drives
Lots of experience driving in slippery conditions.
Better trucks for driving in poor traction conditions all together, by design.
With that in mind, where they really driving so poorly?
What experience do you base your judgement on?
what experience do i base my judgement on■■? ok then.i may not be a “rope and sheet,shap to carlisle took 5 days” man(no disrespect to old timers,purely comedic purposes only so dont have a pop".a driving career spanning thirteen accident free years,covering aprrox 3000 kms week in,week out,mainly car transporters driving the latest design 11 plus car transporter at sixteen foot high and gaps you couldnt get your fingers in between cars,damage free may i add,central london in a artic car transporter(not for the faint hearted),and for the past two years a hell of a lot of scotland including the snowy/icy far north highlands,where they do tend to get a wee bit of snow in the colder months.
oh and i am a fully time served hgv mechanic,with ten years in the trade under me belt,and ive got me cpc.apart from also knowing i have never ended up the wrong side of the middle barrier,like those i witnessed last week who have"experience",i suppose THATS what i base my judgement on.as far driving poorly naaa,just driving i thought absolutley dangerous in said conditions!
If your scared of the snow stop in the inside lane but dont moan about other drivers passing you who have obviously more experience in snow and ice. Yeah youve got 13 years accident free and all the rest of it but what smow driving have you done that makes you qualified to say how others are driving? Now myself i passed everything on the road tuesday as it was nothing to worry about why? My experience of driving in snow and ice is 12 years swiss, austrian italian alps sweden, norway, finland where there can be snow and ice on the roads for 4/5 months of the year. Oh and i also hold a PSV, ADR, DGSA, CPC national and international and a fully qualified heavy diesel mechanic which none of those qualifications qualify me to tell people how to drive in snow. If you dont know your or your vehicles capabilities leave others alone who do
obviously i do know my vehicles capabilities.thats how come it didnt end up sideways acroos the a1,or stuck on top of the central reserve.no i didnt see it happen but his tyre/skid marks in the outside lane,acrooss the grass etc,give the game away slightly.
Simon:
I wasn’t that far behind you, Northbound on the A19.
Your hero was just about to be pulled off the central reserve.
When I was going up, where he would have passed you, the outside lane was ok, a bit slushy with a few ice cobbles.
Where he came off there was a lot of ice cobbling, (where snow had been compressed into ice, the plow hadn’t shifted it and the salt hadn’t melted it).
I’d just come off the boat after fighting snow in Germany, so my snow driving skills were getting refreshed there .
I was overtaking in the outside lane, but saw the ice cobbles getting worse so eased back into the granny lane.
A mile or so after your hero I could see the suicide lane was merely slushy again, so pulled out and speeded up a bit, to pass all the 20mph grannies.
I felt quite happy at 40 - 50. It still took over 4 hours from Hull to Newcastle with no dramas.
You felt that the tipper drivers were going too fast. Don’t forget, they have at least 3 advantages over you.
6 x 4 or 8 x 4 wagons so better traction on the drives
Lots of experience driving in slippery conditions.
Better trucks for driving in poor traction conditions all together, by design.
With that in mind, where they really driving so poorly?
What experience do you base your judgement on?
what experience do i base my judgement on■■? ok then.i may not be a “rope and sheet,shap to carlisle took 5 days” man(no disrespect to old timers,purely comedic purposes only so dont have a pop".a driving career spanning thirteen accident free years,covering aprrox 3000 kms week in,week out,mainly car transporters driving the latest design 11 plus car transporter at sixteen foot high and gaps you couldnt get your fingers in between cars,damage free may i add,central london in a artic car transporter(not for the faint hearted),and for the past two years a hell of a lot of scotland including the snowy/icy far north highlands,where they do tend to get a wee bit of snow in the colder months.
oh and i am a fully time served hgv mechanic,with ten years in the trade under me belt,and ive got me cpc.apart from also knowing i have never ended up the wrong side of the middle barrier,like those i witnessed last week who have"experience",i suppose THATS what i base my judgement on.as far driving poorly naaa,just driving i thought absolutley dangerous in said conditions!
If your scared of the snow stop in the inside lane but dont moan about other drivers passing you who have obviously more experience in snow and ice. Yeah youve got 13 years accident free and all the rest of it but what smow driving have you done that makes you qualified to say how others are driving? Now myself i passed everything on the road tuesday as it was nothing to worry about why? My experience of driving in snow and ice is 12 years swiss, austrian italian alps sweden, norway, finland where there can be snow and ice on the roads for 4/5 months of the year. Oh and i also hold a PSV, ADR, DGSA, CPC national and international and a fully qualified heavy diesel mechanic which none of those qualifications qualify me to tell people how to drive in snow. If you dont know your or your vehicles capabilities leave others alone who do
obviously i do know my vehicles capabilities.thats how come it didnt end up sideways acroos the a1,or stuck on top of the central reserve.no i didnt see it happen but his tyre/skid marks in the outside lane,acrooss the grass etc,give the game away slightly.
What i asked you was what is your snow driving experience? youve said scottish highlands is that it? To be honest with you if thats it its not a great deal. So you cant really comment if other drivers are dangerous or not. Come with me on a norwegian job i’ll show you snow driving. With your comments though you better bring a case full of clean Ys
Highlander:
I was going up the A9 in the early hrs of Tuesday morning.It was snowing quite hard but no major problems.I was sitting at 45-50,when I caught up with 2 trucks and a car doing about 30-35mph just before the d/c at Drumochter.The first truck was a Tayside snowplough,no beacons, neither spreading or ploughing.Once on the d/c I waited for the other two to pass him,but they were quite happy to sit behind him.
So I pulled out into the soft stuff and passed them all,no drama.Immeadiately I was past they both followed me.The truck gradually dropped back,but the car sat on my back doors all the way up to the Slochd,about 50 miles,where the snow stopped,then he was gone,
I don’t think it’s a question of being a hero,but of being confident and also reading the conditions.As others have said,do everything gently,as if there is a glass of water on the dash and you don’t want to spill any.
As for the truck on the centre barrier,how do you know it was his speed that caused it?Did you actually see it happen?Many a time on the A9,I have seen a line of vehicles being overtaken by a truck or coach and some muppet in a car pulls out because they don’t want to be passed,or they suddenly became a traffic cop and decided that this “crazy” driver needs slowing down
A word of warning though.When I drove for Stagecoach in the early 90s,one of the boys was going to Edinburgh.Usual scenario,inside lane crawling at 20mph,outside lane covered with snow.so he started overtaking and a car driver reported him to the police,because his wheels threw up slush onto the cars windscreen which caused his wipers to stop working,making him lose control Cost the coach driver £400 plus a one month ban
It seems some are from the PC brigade on here…everyone that passes you is an idiot…not the case, only experience driving in these condition here and abroad helps.
I think everyone should be sent up Ullapool / Lochinver / Kinlochbervie after there experience up the A9 just for training. see what a covering off snow is instead of a few mm’s
I have over 27 years experience and still learn or ask about new things every year, think some know it ALL
Not having a pop at anyone here
But I have to say that even the highest Highlands do not have the snowfall that they get on Alpine passes, or in Scandinavia or over here. Having spent quite some considerable time driving in snow, freezing rain and other adverse conditions, I would suspect that I do have more confidence and am better prepared.
This is not saying I am better, but simply by being confident enough and experienced enough to travel at normal roads speeds in what would really constitute a flurry does not make me worse, or stupid, or reckless.
As for the other qualifications, well so do I, and was owner operator on international work for several years before I came out here. It is a simple case of having learned things differently and being more confident.
I don’t want to be a hero - I just want to get home in one piece. I make my own decisions on the road and you can make yours. Don’t critisise my decision and I won’t call you a ■■■■■■ when you overtake me (or vice versa).
Yes, the A465 had a bit of snow on it the other night, and yes I do worry about running off the road and down the 300ft drop by the side of the road, but that’s just me. There’s worse abroad and worse things happen at sea. In the meatime, I’ll do it my way and you do it yours and no-one needs to be upset.
Have a cup of tea - no - go on - no really - go on - no, no, go on really have one. OK - just chill then
I had to do a trailer swap in Habay, but the snow was so deep I ended up having to go up to Berchem as at least the amount of trucks had kept the parking area clear. But before that I had parked in Spontin and 3 trucks had to be towed up the hill because they didnt have a clue how to drive in snow or slippery conditions.
The problem is we dont have enough snow experience to teach anyone in the UK. a couple of inches and all hell breaks loose. And that goes for the blokes in the gritters too.
I remember the first time I got caught in the snow - a couple of years ago (old timer, I know) - managed the motorway no problem, then got to the last hill to our yard. Halfway up grip runs out and I grind to a halt - two lanes going up so not a major problem. Silly me - what about the diff lock? Put it on and away we go - NOT!! Start working out possible plans - yard is about 1 mile away, other side of hill. Home is only another 2 miles beyond that (car will do it no problem, 4X4). No way am I going to get up the hill in the lorry. Melt tyres, burn good sized clear patch on tarmac, but still going nowhere. Decide not to be a numpty anymore and lift mid-axle, engage diff lock and pull away up hill, then to depot. Anyone can do it if they remember
Highlander:
I was going up the A9 in the early hrs of Tuesday morning.It was snowing quite hard but no major problems.I was sitting at 45-50,when I caught up with 2 trucks and a car doing about 30-35mph just before the d/c at Drumochter.The first truck was a Tayside snowplough,no beacons, neither spreading or ploughing.Once on the d/c I waited for the other two to pass him,but they were quite happy to sit behind him.
So I pulled out into the soft stuff and passed them all,no drama.Immeadiately I was past they both followed me.The truck gradually dropped back,but the car sat on my back doors all the way up to the Slochd,about 50 miles,where the snow stopped,then he was gone,
I don’t think it’s a question of being a hero,but of being confident and also reading the conditions.As others have said,do everything gently,as if there is a glass of water on the dash and you don’t want to spill any.
As for the truck on the centre barrier,how do you know it was his speed that caused it?Did you actually see it happen?Many a time on the A9,I have seen a line of vehicles being overtaken by a truck or coach and some muppet in a car pulls out because they don’t want to be passed,or they suddenly became a traffic cop and decided that this “crazy” driver needs slowing down
A word of warning though.When I drove for Stagecoach in the early 90s,one of the boys was going to Edinburgh.Usual scenario,inside lane crawling at 20mph,outside lane covered with snow.so he started overtaking and a car driver reported him to the police,because his wheels threw up slush onto the cars windscreen which caused his wipers to stop working,making him lose control Cost the coach driver £400 plus a one month ban
It seems some are from the PC brigade on here…everyone that passes you is an idiot…not the case, only experience driving in these condition here and abroad helps.
I think everyone should be sent up Ullapool / Lochinver / Kinlochbervie after there experience up the A9 just for training. see what a covering off snow is instead of a few mm’s
I have over 27 years experience and still learn or ask about new things every year, think some know it ALL
im certainly not pc,and i dont think EVERYONE is an idiot,just those that dont drive according to the road conditions which was proved with two trucks biting the dust.i certainly dont know it all and will always listen to good advice.incidently,the a9 and highlands is the mainstay of my weekly working area,including the back roads.
Simon:
I wasn’t that far behind you, Northbound on the A19.
Your hero was just about to be pulled off the central reserve.
When I was going up, where he would have passed you, the outside lane was ok, a bit slushy with a few ice cobbles.
Where he came off there was a lot of ice cobbling, (where snow had been compressed into ice, the plow hadn’t shifted it and the salt hadn’t melted it).
I’d just come off the boat after fighting snow in Germany, so my snow driving skills were getting refreshed there .
I was overtaking in the outside lane, but saw the ice cobbles getting worse so eased back into the granny lane.
A mile or so after your hero I could see the suicide lane was merely slushy again, so pulled out and speeded up a bit, to pass all the 20mph grannies.
I felt quite happy at 40 - 50. It still took over 4 hours from Hull to Newcastle with no dramas.
You felt that the tipper drivers were going too fast. Don’t forget, they have at least 3 advantages over you.
6 x 4 or 8 x 4 wagons so better traction on the drives
Lots of experience driving in slippery conditions.
Better trucks for driving in poor traction conditions all together, by design.
With that in mind, where they really driving so poorly?
What experience do you base your judgement on?
what experience do i base my judgement on■■? ok then.i may not be a “rope and sheet,shap to carlisle took 5 days” man(no disrespect to old timers,purely comedic purposes only so dont have a pop".a driving career spanning thirteen accident free years,covering aprrox 3000 kms week in,week out,mainly car transporters driving the latest design 11 plus car transporter at sixteen foot high and gaps you couldnt get your fingers in between cars,damage free may i add,central london in a artic car transporter(not for the faint hearted),and for the past two years a hell of a lot of scotland including the snowy/icy far north highlands,where they do tend to get a wee bit of snow in the colder months.
oh and i am a fully time served hgv mechanic,with ten years in the trade under me belt,and ive got me cpc.apart from also knowing i have never ended up the wrong side of the middle barrier,like those i witnessed last week who have"experience",i suppose THATS what i base my judgement on.as far driving poorly naaa,just driving i thought absolutley dangerous in said conditions!
If your scared of the snow stop in the inside lane but dont moan about other drivers passing you who have obviously more experience in snow and ice. Yeah youve got 13 years accident free and all the rest of it but what smow driving have you done that makes you qualified to say how others are driving? Now myself i passed everything on the road tuesday as it was nothing to worry about why? My experience of driving in snow and ice is 12 years swiss, austrian italian alps sweden, norway, finland where there can be snow and ice on the roads for 4/5 months of the year. Oh and i also hold a PSV, ADR, DGSA, CPC national and international and a fully qualified heavy diesel mechanic which none of those qualifications qualify me to tell people how to drive in snow. If you dont know your or your vehicles capabilities leave others alone who do
obviously i do know my vehicles capabilities.thats how come it didnt end up sideways acroos the a1,or stuck on top of the central reserve.no i didnt see it happen but his tyre/skid marks in the outside lane,acrooss the grass etc,give the game away slightly.
What i asked you was what is your snow driving experience? youve said scottish highlands is that it? To be honest with you if thats it its not a great deal. So you cant really comment if other drivers are dangerous or not. Come with me on a norwegian job i’ll show you snow driving. With your comments though you better bring a case full of clean Ys
Take them over Hemsedal to Bergen then they know what [zb] roads are
or up past Trondhiem
i hate the snow. i’ve had a funny old week with it, tuesday was going from teesport to workington early hours and was a whiteout going through darlington. got to scotch corner where the a66 had been closed. i was pleased to be honest. had to re-route via the a69 which was ok. apart from going through warwick bridge where i got pelted with snowballs off the schoolkids waiting for their buses.
wednesday went to annfield plain where it snows in the summer. the main roads were fine but the industrial estate i was at was a sheet of ice. i absolutely crawled through it with me backside nipping.
thursday it took over 2 hours to get from teesport to newcastle. the roads weren’t too bad (even for me) just the volume of traffic. the only dodgy bits were at peterlee and where the 1231 loops round to join the a1, that was canny slippy and was spinning a bit going up the hill round the loop. worst thing was im a sunderland fan and being in newcastle surrounded by mags the day roy keane jacked in.
roll on the summer
tuesday was going from teesport to workington early hours
I did that too. Only I got away the previous night and tucked my self into the last layby before Brough on 9hrs and 2minutes, hence solving the problem of shut snowgates in the morning.
tuesday was going from teesport to workington early hours
I did that too. Only I got away the previous night and tucked my self into the last layby before Brough on 9hrs and 2minutes, hence solving the problem of shut snowgates in the morning.
aye but i was tucked up in bed with the electric blanket on when you were in the tin box
humbug:
i hate the snow. i’ve had a funny old week with it, tuesday was going from teesport to workington early hours and was a whiteout going through darlington. got to scotch corner where the a66 had been closed. i was pleased to be honest. had to re-route via the a69 which was ok. apart from going through warwick bridge where i got pelted with snowballs off the schoolkids waiting for their buses.
wednesday went to annfield plain where it snows in the summer. the main roads were fine but the industrial estate i was at was a sheet of ice. i absolutely crawled through it with me backside nipping.
thursday it took over 2 hours to get from teesport to newcastle. the roads weren’t too bad (even for me) just the volume of traffic. the only dodgy bits were at peterlee and where the 1231 loops round to join the a1, that was canny slippy and was spinning a bit going up the hill round the loop. worst thing was im a sunderland fan and being in newcastle surrounded by mags the day roy keane jacked in.
roll on the summer
i was enjoying your post till i got to the sunderland bit!!!.king kev rules lol. .climbing the hill from the 1231 to the a1 was stoodstill from savacentre at the bottom.i had to put my diff lock in just to get going again.roll on march,summer here i come!!.
mutlley:
another testosterone how big is “yours” mud throwing contest on trucknet.
a driver should always drive accordingly to his conditions and load.
worry about what your doing and not someone else.
i did not turn this into a"i slept in a cardboard box,side of motorway for 27 hours a day"contest.i was asked non specifically what experience i had to make the comments in my original thread.the cheek.i answer with the distain in which i was asked.simple.
point two-thats exactly what i was doing.
point three-i do worry about other people cos they might a)take me out with them and b)caused me delays/detours/lateness.
how would you feel if it was your loved ones in a car taken out by a truck not being driven within its capabilities.you made my points for me thanks.
tuesday was going from teesport to workington early hours
I did that too. Only I got away the previous night and tucked my self into the last layby before Brough on 9hrs and 2minutes, hence solving the problem of shut snowgates in the morning.
aye but i was tucked up in bed with the electric blanket on when you were in the tin box
It’s very peaceful in my tin box. It’s chaos in my house.
.
