I just read about weather warning and I just wanted to ask you: aren’t they exaggerating with all this closures etc?
Every time when there is about 5 cm of snow on the road, we can here national emergency in the radio - school closures, road closures, trains withdrawn etc etc…
Come on - so how it’s possible to live in Sweden or Norway, or Russia for example?
I personally really enjoyed all that panic when I was night trunking to Inverness last winter. It was snowing near to the morning usually, so they were closing A9, but usually I managed to get into it before it was closed down and I had to do my 45 minutes there. Usually after I waked up I seen everything in white with no tracks on the road… And I had an hour or two on the road with all that intact snowy road only for me I was really enjoying that, I even allowed myself to do some drift from time to time… I had only one time a problem, whet it turned up that they closed bareers on the both roadways and I had to go round the bareer on the grass…
So apart of that they wanted to give me road for my own is there any particular reason for that closures? Is that:
really reason to close the road?
Paul is right! If it rains in this country, the traffic slows to a walking pace…if you show 'em a bit of the white stuff it grinds to a halt! Why? I don’t know, but I reckon it’s to do with the fact that the roads are massively overcrowded to start with, all it takes is one driver to panic and there’s hell on!
Being Polish, I would expect that you are vastly more experienced at driving in snow and ice than the average British driver …we just can’t handle it here!
I have no clue, that photo is from google, I just putted “śnieg na drodze” (road on the snow) and it was on someone’s blog. I guess it’s in Poland.
As for being polish: I have a funny story for you.
One day long time ago I was driving a sprinter vans in Scotland. I was driving too fast on the motorway junction and it skidded (it was old good sprinter without all this crappy ESP or ASR or whatever) so I drifted half of the bend. My supervisor seen that so he called me to his office, but instead of shouting on me for risky driving he wanted to know when I learned that. I told him that it’s nothing big, if you have plenty of snow in your country and I told him, that I had an rear axe driving car in Poland - FSO 1500.
He didn’t knew what car is it so I showed him a picture on the internet and my car was parked on snow on that picture.
He was really amazed and he called other drivers to his office and told him “look, this lad from Poland can drive on snow - and I seen an interview with Collin McRae yesterday on TV and he told that only best drivers can drive on snow”.
I was feeling really stupid Everyone were looking strange for me as “what you did to him that he is so nice to you” and propably it would be better if I would just got reprimand for my driving.
Last night just after midnight A1M Southbound Gateshead to Newton Aycliffe.
Black road…some trucks mostly cars running at or below 50 MPH as it was snowing.
I have done 1 winter driving in Norway believe me its an expereience and a half.
Must admit tho you get a new set of winter grip tyres every year. The front steer tyres get extra cuts in them which helps give you more grip.
you dont have black surface roads, most are covered with snow and ice ruts with a small sprinkling of sand or grit in a few places, other than that its time to get the chains on
Some countries just giving up with clearing roads to the black - like Sweden, for example, and people just have to drive on the snow, which, when hardened, is really nice to drive.
Some countries decided to keep the main roads black - which makes no sense, as melted snow will freeze again after some time, but this time into black ice, what is much more danger.
Some countries decided to close half of the country
IMHO the first is the best (and most ecological, as they don’t spread salt) solution.
driving in the snow is easy if you’ve got the right tires but in this country we might only have 1 day of proper snow every year so we make do with standard tires and struggle.
fuse:
load of rubbish there will be no snow this year …have you not heard of global warming or have you been holed up in a cave
Obviously I heard more than you, as I know, that there is snow in unexpected places due to climate change. Didn’t you heard about heavy snow in Barcelona, Israel or Turkey yet?
Mr B:
driving in the snow is easy if you’ve got the right tires but in this country we might only have 1 day of proper snow every year so we make do with standard tires and struggle.
Absolutely!
Not just the tread, winter tyres have a completely different compound, normal tyres act like wood when the temperature gets near to zero.
Just need to put my winter wheels/tyres onto the car now…
Mr B:
driving in the snow is easy if you’ve got the right tires but in this country we might only have 1 day of proper snow every year so we make do with standard tires and struggle.
Absolutely!
Not just the tread, winter tyres have a completely different compound, normal tyres act like wood when the temperature gets near to zero.
Just need to put my winter wheels/tyres onto the car now…
TC
It’s a myth!
Summer tyres aren’t any worse at low temperatures!!! The winter tyres can be even worse!!! As soon as summer tyres will get warm they will have much better results:
Winter tyres are better only on deep snow or on ice. But when I was driving in Poland I was using all-seazon tyres all year long, only if I was going to the mountains, where snow was really deep I was borrowing snow chains.
And my poor old polish fiat was biten in the back bumper 2-3 times every winter, mostly when I was stopping on the red light and guys behind me wasn’t able to stop on time. And that usually were much better cars than mine, with ABS and winter tyres…
it’s called a nanny state for a reason plus most people are too stupid to drive in snow like said bit of rain and they fetch the roads motorways to crawling pace. One reason is they are taught to pass a test not to drive like most other places, was watching something can’t remember wot about sweden driving test where they put them on skid pans and other terrain almost certain it was part of the test. I apologise if i’m incorrect.
Been on the gritter “driver” list with the local council for 3 weeks now, not had a single nights work, heard from my mate at the depot that they prefer to send one gritter out for a whole nights work to do all the roads, than send a few out to cover them quickly before the cold sets in.
And my poor old polish fiat was biten in the back bumper 2-3 times every winter, mostly when I was stopping on the red light and guys behind me wasn’t able to stop on time. And that usually were much better cars than mine, with ABS and winter tyres…
Maybe they have stomped on the brake pedal thinking the ABS will save them and don’t realise that ABS can still lock up or hardly bite at all where its trying not to lock up. Not having enough increased distance doesn’t help.
I also use all season tyres on the cars. There is really no point in having 2 sets as decent all seasons are just as good. If the snow is very deep then you are stuck, end of story. Then you need to start shovelling.
The trucks here are on standard truck tyres. We don’t have special winter tyres that I know of, except maybe on the trucks that spend lots of time in the bush, and even on the ice roads we used standard highway tyres with chains if needed.
The truth with the UK and snow is that people are conditioned to believe that it is more difficult or more dangerous to drive in it. It really isn’t. Once you are proficient in driving then you will do just fine in snow. You just can’t afford to do anything radical. If you drive smoothly then you will be fine.
Canada has snow on the ground for 6 months, and it doesn’t stop people or even slow them down much.
I was really enjoying that, I even allowed myself to do some drift from time to time… I had only one time a problem, whet it turned up that they closed bareers on the both roadways and I had to go round the bareer on the grass…
…we just can’t handle it here! 
Everyone were looking strange for me as “what you did to him that he is so nice to you” and propably it would be better if I would just got reprimand for my driving. 
Yeah 
