Hell freezing over

[8thJinx]

When I was a teenager in Maryland I hit black ice once on a 50ft raised road bed with trees and swamps below each side. My car did two 360's going down the road and stopped once it was off the ice. I turned 100 that day and have driven like that since. Every last thing they said in Drivers Ed came true in 10 seconds and there was nothing you could do to stop it. I got an A in Drivers Ed three years earlier when I was 15, and the practical driving part of the class was during the spring in sunny weather.

That happened to me in college in the Adirondacks one winter night in the 80's.  I had a Jeep full of girls and skis, driving back from Lake Placid.  I came over the crest of a hill at about 40 mph, and saw a sheen in the asphalt as far as the headlights could light up.  Took my foot off the gas and tried to stay straight as long as I could.  Once I started to drift into the slo-mo 360's, the girls started squealing.  I was doing all the right stuff, trying to counter turn, not using brakes.  I was a bit scared until I realized we weren't going to flip over.  Just kept doing these slow-rate 360's for about a quarter mile down the hill.  Came to rest with a bump at the bottom, against a cable guard rail.  Only damage was one dent in the passenger side fender that I pulled away from the tire, and a chewed up plastic fender flare.  Put it in gear, and kept driving home.

[FBKampfer]

When I was twenty, I worked out in the Columbia River Gorge. We had had a rainy fall, and I had been racing the firebird a lot, since I didn't lose half the rubber on my tires drifting the corners when it rained. I was planning on another little road rally after work.

Forcast changed while I was at work, and I had about a half inch of freezing rain, and then sleet on top of it. I was crawling along at 20mph, went into a turn, and made the mistake of breaking partway through. Lost traction, the road stopped turning, but I didn't. Slid sideways down a hill, and then the car decided to roll over at the bottom and into the ditch, pinning both doors, and the rear hatch in place. Had to exit through the front windshield.

diddlyed up the side panels, a door, and the me-sized hole in the windshield. They determined that the windshield put the car over the edge of totaled.

I got out without a scratch, but coming up on four years later, I still hate driving in winter. I can do it fine, I just dropped off a mustang at my friends house through freezing rain and sleet, but I hate doing it. Small mistakes can turn deadly in a heartbeat, and you're at the mercy of fate as far as how exactly the car behaves sometimes. My accident could have been a lot worse if I'd breaked through a turn half a mile sooner; I had been following railroad tracks 50ft down in a gully for most of that drive.


I've noticed I'm really resentful of the weather after that event though  .

[Skuzzy]

That is why I stay at home on those days.

I have seen cars/trucks, literally, blown off the road by gusts of wind hitting them in the side.  Nothing they could do but ride it out and hope for the best.

Not worth the risk.

[Bizman]

One of my scariest winter moments in the car was when I lost control at 100 km/h (~70 mph). The road was icy along the centre line and wet on the ditch side, so the left side of the car had less friction than the right one. I had just passed by a slower car when I started using the entire width of the road. Luckily no one was coming from the opposite direction. After a few curves I drew off on the other side of the road, made a flip in the air and ended up lying on the left side of the car in the ditch, rear window smashed.

It was so slippery that the tow car started sliding when it tried to pull me off the ditch. They had to ask for help from a truck from the same company to keep from ending into the same dike. I finally got to my destination where they took my car for inspection. A piece of plastic attached with duck tape replaced the rear window and I drove like that for the next couple of weeks until they had time to repair the car.

[MiloMorai]

100kph is 61mph.

So who has tried ice racing? Years ago there was a track at Val de Bois that let people take their cars out on. Gave it a go with my GT6+. No I didn't end up in a snow bank.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-FLHdE75A4

[Hajo]

Living in the Great Lakes Snowbelt we are used to it.  I've driven in bad weather for 52 years and never an accident. (crosses fingers).  There are certain rules we follow in bad weather.  Some of us were required to be at work so we HAD to go.  Some of us were driving to work at 2AM if needed.  Up north we practice good SA in real life in this weather.  Brakes....minimal use.  Let your vehicle naturally slow down well before hand.  Then Tap the brakes.  If you make the mistake of mashing your brakes and locking them up you have no control whatsoever of your vehicle.  Tap Tap Tap will slow your vehicle and keep it under control.  You get stupid you could be sideways going into a ditch or another car.  Patience.  Plan ahead.  drive a familiar route to where you are going.  You don't have to set records going from point A to point B just get there.  Leave early if you can.

Now.....I must admit I enjoy watching film of people in the south driving in winter weather.  I've never seen people more stupid in my life.  They do however make me laugh.  If you don't have an idea how to drive in icy and snowy conditions do yourself and others a favor, stay off the roads.  Someone mentioned 4X4 vehicles.  Some drivers of these vehicles have no common sense.  I see a lot of them on their side and even upside down on the Ohio Turnpike and Interstates 90, 71 and 77.  Clue. Ya they go great.  Because of the job I worked I've owned two of them.  However they have the same problem stopping and turning as any other vehicle on the road.

Just be careful folks.  And for you AH'ers, apply strict and common sense SA...for real.

Also driving in icy and snowy weather transmissions have a differing effect.  If on a bridge that is a curve with an auto transmission let your foot off the accelerator.  Take note.  Try to sense your vehicles rear end traction.  You don't want to downshift into a gear that will cause your vehicles rear tires to lose traction, or don't match your speed.  If in a manual transmission just use the clutch and cruise through the bend without any input to the drivetrain of your vehicle.  Same as I explained above with an auto transmission.  You don't want positive or negative input to your rear end.  You want Zero input.  This is important.  Keeps the back of your car from passing the front.  (this of course is for rear wheel driven vehicles)

[morfiend]

Hajo,

  Come across the lake and I'll show you some real snow!

  I'll take you where I grew up,up on Georgian Bay,you just learn to adjust your driving or you end up in the ditch!


  Good tires,plenty of washer fluid and always carry a first aid kit and some food and water.WE also pack a few blankets and a couple of heat candles! If you dont know what a heat candle is it's just a home made candle that you add several wicks and mix some saw dust into the wax.  It can be the difference between life and death when it's -30 C!  It all fits in a small gym bag and we always carry a few blankets all year round.


   

[Zimme83]

The tale of two extremes:

[zack1234]

I read somewhere that the weather has been odd for 20,000 years and this is why people have gone all over the world.

Apparently the weather is reverting back to how it should be.

It always rains in Northern England yet we run out of water in the Summer, this is down to the French owning our water companies, you could not make it up

The Germans own the power companies.

[OldNitro]

Drove over to Cabelas in Olympia(Lacy) WA to buy a new rifle scope yesterday..
52deg, mixed clouds/sunshine, intermittent heavy rain, and a little windy..

The Olympic peninsula may have a reputation for raining a lot..
But the weather never gets too extreme, and the summers are GLORIOUS!

We just have the most dangerous fault line in the world, right off the coast!
And a string of volcanoes connected to it, on our doorstep..

Ah well, goes to show, there is no such thing as paradise!

 

[NatCigg]

Anyone trying to use a short period of cold weather as an argument in the climate change debate only proves that he have no idea what he is talking about.

Globally we're still ~1 C above average:
(Image removed from quote.)

Any good scientist would avoid believing in hypotheses.  The more positive and arrogant the chicken little, only proves he have no idea what he is talking about.

[Arlo]

See Rule #14

[Zimme83]

And when you can support your hypothesis with a ton of data you can assume that the hypothesis is valid, especially when other scientists test it and come to the same conclusions.

And since every major player like NASA, ESA etc have delivered a ton of data and it all shows that global warming is happening there is no reason to dismiss the theory. Scientifically speaking its uncontroversial. How we are going to deal with it are not..

[Copprhed]

This thread has gone political.

Having said that, hypothesis is the starting point for scientific investigation. No hypothesis = no investigation. Politicians bought off by lobbyists are the loudest, most ignorant, most arrogant voices around.

Yes! Also, the hypothesis has been around for a long time and the proof of climate change is insurmountable, and the cause for that climate change is absolutely evident within the time frame that it has occurred. the only other rapid changes have been due to natural catastrophes like meteor strikes or cataclysmic volcanic eruptions. We have had neither of these in the time of the change, but we have had massive amounts of carbon released due to gasoline, coal and other human stupidity.

[OldNitro]

See Rule #14