Time for a bump i reckon 
Iâve been waiting for the weather questions hehehehehe! 
dont bother.
if theres more then a inch of snow the country coms to a stand still 
the best thing is forward observtion give yourself plenty of room ,back off the vehicle in front ( i know some div will jump in the space you leave 
).
but above all take your time
jon
If itâs slippy underfoot you should do the following
Allow MUCH more space between you and the vehicle in front at least TEN times your normal SAFE braking distance ( I donât mean ten times the gap you normally leave i.e. a â â â paper 'tween you and wagon in front!)
Keep it smooth
Stay off the brakes unless you REALLY need them
If you need to brake GENTLY does it
If it locks up get OFF THE BRAKES donât give it gas and donât start twirling the wheel.If youâre lucky when you get some grip back as long as the steering wheels are pointing in the right sort of direction youâll recover it
Keep your SPEED in check.Itâs better to get there late and in one piece than sample hospital food!
DO NOT use engine brakes,retarders etc JUST BRAKES
Use a higher gear than normal to keep the revs down and minimise the chances of losing grip through through wheelspin
Try and keep moving.
Hills? Ah, now it gets interesting
Got your seat belt on? Good,cos you might need it! 
Have they been gritted?
NO? Well going up give it a bash if you donât have any alternative.Try and give yourself a run at the hill in question.It would be helpful at this point to make sure there are no other vehicles going up the hill in front of you! Failing that if you know the hill is coming up leave as big a gap as you can 'tween you and the one in front it might make the difference.If you can get to the top without a gear change BRILL! If not make your change SMOOTHLY donât hike the revs up into the red band!
Going down? Hmm,is there no other way? Depends on the gradient and its length really and whether its snow or ice.Ice is just a no no in my book.Park up till the gritter arrives! Snow you can do as long as its not to steep.Stop and weigh it up first if you can.Donât be brave if it scares you forget it the goods will get there a bit later and youâll go home to your family a bit later but you WILL go home! If your going for it then just take your time and donât let the speed build up.Leave a LARGE gap
Keep some stuff in the cab if you tramp in case you get stuck i.e. food and water and make sure that night heater works! If youâre home every day itâs worthwhile having an emergency bag with some tins or whatever plus water and invest in a GOOD sleeping bag just in case.In this country youâre very unlikely to be stuck for 12 hours + so you wonât really need much.A hat of some sort will help keep you warmer,we lose most of our body heat through our heads (some more than others!).
Safe driving! (Can we not get a wee Jack Frost smilie?)
So guys what are your best tips for surviving the winter driving. ie what special skills or tips should we have to control a skid in a rigid or and artic, 
what are the doâs and donts we need to be aware of??
over to youâŚ
Where to startâŚ
Most important one for icy conditions, especially in an articâŚturn your exhaust brake/retarder OFF!!!
If you donât, you will be braking unevenly from the drive axle, and thatâs a major cause of jack-knife. And take it from me, as someone whoâs had a major one of these (not on ice, caused by a wagon fault, long storyâŚ), that is NOT something youâll enjoy⌠
Thatâs set the ball rollingâŚsomeone elseâs turnâŚ
Be smooth.
Itâs good for the truck & in winter its good for you.
leave plenty of space for the vehicle in front and use progressive braking or cadence braking ,in my car on ice i try to use the gearbox to slow down rather than the brakes total opposite to the tuition we were all taught!! oh yes and low-low gear going down hill!!
or cadence braking ,
Unless you have ABS!!! Cadence braking just confuses it and means it canât do itâs jobâŚand it can cadence brake far better than ANY driverâŚ
i try to use the gearbox to slow down rather than the brakes
LETHAL IN AN ARTIC!!! Means all your braking is coming from the drive-wheelsâŚsee note on jack-knife above!!!
Bones:
what special skills or tips should we have to control a skid in a ridgid or and artic
As the guy who ran the skid control course I went on said - the best way to get out of a skid is not to get into it in the first place. Keep your speed down, look out for potentially slippery surfaces (bridges, places shaded from the sun, etc.), and keep your driving smooth. Either brake or steer; donât try to do both ath the same time.
If you get into a skid, then in a car, you steer into the skid then re-apply the steering more gently. For rigids, itâs probably the same. For artics, who knows? 
Get yourself on a skid control course if you can afford it; theyâre very useful, and might save your (or someone elseâs) life.
stay indoors
I used to run near-polar conditions in Quebec (they get snow like you couldnât even imagine up thereâŚ), and the best general advice I can give you is to not panic or do anything erratic. Learn how to react slowly but precisely to slides. Donât jam on the brake when cars spin in front of you (they are usually in the ditch before you get to that point, anywaysâŚ).
Lucy:
or cadence braking ,
Unless you have ABS!!! Cadence braking just confuses it and means it canât do itâs jobâŚand it can cadence brake far better than ANY driverâŚ
i try to use the gearbox to slow down rather than the brakes
LETHAL IN AN ARTIC!!! Means all your braking is coming from the drive-wheelsâŚsee note on jack-knife above!!!
(what about non abs rigids then?) the gearbox braking was in my car! not an artic!
Get out in the snow and ice on a motorbike, 
That will teach you all to know about accelerating, braking and steering smoothly, It will also prepare you with some new observation skills as you need eyes in your arse
Wheelnut Iâll second that, done some biking in snow and ice mind Iâve fallen off once or twice.
Mr Fibble is there a skid pan for artics? If there is I would like to have a go. Just about to drive through my first winter in an artic and would like to know about controlling them before I need to know . If you know what I mean.
Wheel Nut:
Get out in the snow and ice on a motorbike,
been there and done that. with a couple of very slow speed offâs to show for it. certainly good for the concentration skills but not much fun!!
knight:
Just about to drive through my first winter in an artic and would like to know about controlling them before I need to know . If you know what I mean.
Snap, hence the reason for the post ,trying to pull toghether a decent list for all us newbies to refer to . Most of it is common sense but i would not have known about the brake retarder, ,thanks.
Sounds a good ideaâŚ
Iâve got yearâs of âgirl-racerâ experience, a skid pan day, and a rally day, but I havenât got a clue what youâre supposed to do when an artic goes sque-iffâŚ
I presume turning into the trailer and throttling it might bring it straight, but also increase your speed⌠and in a different direction too⌠
How about holding on and praying⌠
Keep the info coming guysâŚ
Luv
Chrisie⌠
Ragtop:
How about holding on and prayingâŚ
lol
I presume turning into the trailer and throttling it might bring it straight, but also increase your speed⌠and in a different direction tooâŚ
TrueâŚwhich is why itâs not a good idea to try this it!
If you are unfortunate enough to go into a jack-knife, the first thing to do is accept that there isnât a great deal you can do to correct it - if itâs coming 'round itâs coming 'round, and the best you can hope to achieve is a bit of damage-limitationâŚ
Donât try and steer out of it, and donât touch the throttle or brakesâŚall these things are likely to make matters worse, potentially causing the whole lot to simply come 'round the other way, or simply increase the velocity with which you impact whatever stops you, be that the trailer colliding with the unit or (as in my case) the whole lot embedding itself in the nearest solid bank.
Try and steer as straight as you can, and ease off everythingâŚthis reduces any added force on top of whatever caused the jack-knife in the first place. Basically, face the fact that you wonât regain control and try and bring the whole shebang to as gentle and dignified an end as possible.
In reality, mind, if this happens to you at speed, you are far more likely to find yourself - as I did - thinking âWhat theâŚ[zb]? Oh [zb]!â, by which time itâs all over⌠and you havenât moved a muscle!
I suddenly found myself going from 56mph south down the M40 to to 0mph facing northâŚand trust me, there wasnât time to do much other than wish Iâd fastened the CB in better after it flew out of itâs slot and clouted me on the head!
But with a slower speed scenario - on ice coming up to a junction, for example, the idea given above may just help avoid damaging too many other vehicles on the way 'roundâŚ