Drivers Pay Snow Attention

We all know a bit of snow brings our country to its knees and chaos breaks out as people switch into blind panic mode. Never is this more noticeable than on the roads. All form of rational thought behind the wheel seems to disappear with the appearance of Snow and Ice and unsurprisingly the media is adorned with images of car accidents. Whilst I appreciate the driving conditions can be tricky and many roads go untreated so the risk of accidents will be increased and some cannot be avoided. But sadly, with the increased risk, there is no increase in sensible driving.

Today I drove into work on untreated roads. I had to make a few detours as my car struggled to grip up some hills so I tried to take busy routes that weren’t completely covered in snow. This was difficult at times as my route to work is predominantly back roads, but after an hour’s journey that usually takes me 15-20 minutes I arrived. I was the only one there. I live the furthest from work but made it in without major issue despite knowing that the golf course I work at will be closed and there wouldn’t be anything for me to do there anyway. I waited for a few hours and still no sign of anyone so I came home again. But whilst on the road it became very apparent that many drivers give no regard to the adverse conditions on the road and then blame the weather when they crash.

Scenes like this are familiar during adverse driving conditions but some people still disregard the Snow & Ice.

Is this really a good idea?

There are many cars driving around covered in snow with just the windscreen cleared. I saw some that had the side and back windows still covered and not even all of the snow cleared off of the windscreen.  This is ridiculously dangerous. You need to see as much as possible, even more so in poor conditions. You can’t even see your mirrors in these conditions. Also, with snow on your roof, that can slide down and cover your windscreen so you can’t see a thing causing a danger to yourself and others. People still have lights covered too. Lights are there for a reason. For others to see you as well as for you to see the road ahead if needed. They are no use when they are covered in snow and dangerous when people can’t see your indicators or brake lights. Also, number plates are covered. What makes you think it is acceptable to drive around with effectively no number plate? Number plates are there for a reason and it is illegal to have them obscured or not visible. Clear all snow off of your car before driving. It is dangerous to yourself and others to not do so. We all know our county is obsessed with the weather and I’m sure you can’t wait to show people at work how much snow you had because it is all piled high on your vehicle, but no one at work will see it when it is stuck in a ditch or being recovered after you hit something pretty solid that you didn’t see.

A danger to yourself and others.

I have an annoyance of people who drive around with their fog lights. Section 226 in the Driving in Adverse Conditions section of the Highway code states: “You MUST use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 meters (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves (see Rule 236). Law RVLR regs 25 & 27” Some seem to think that snow means they must use fog lights. Why? Yes there is snow about but you can still see more that 100 meters so turn them off you ignorant idiot.

Fog Lights: Mostly Unnecessary.

Narrow Tyres are best for Snow & Ice.

Another thing that annoys me in winter conditions is the amount of people who seem to think that because they have a 4×4 vehicle that snow and ice doesn’t affect them and therefore will drive around in the same way as normal. Ice will affect any vehicle regardless. Let’s face it, a lot of Chelsea Tractors that School run mums use are barely any better in muddy conditions than your average car and ground clearance isn’t much better so why people think Ice is no issue is beyond me. With this comes the worrying opinion that Wide Tyres are best in snow and ice. Since when? A basic grasp of physics and common sense will tell you this is totally wrong. Yes, I wide tyre is good on tarmac as there is a wider contact point to give more grip, but in ice there is nothing to grip. A narrow tyre means more weight on a smaller contact point allowing the tyre to cut through the ice better. Why do you think Rally Cars use very narrow tyres during Snow Rallies? This of course does not mean you can fit narrow tyres to your car and can continue to drive like an idiot however.

Finally, I noticed a number of people today driving ridiculously fast for the conditions. I drove a steady 30mph on the roads that weren’t too bad but there were still icy patches about and I was considerably slower on the snow covered smaller roads. Even then my car slid about a bit and the last thing I wanted was to skid down some of the hills. Yet there were still people catching me up and worse still sitting on my bumper! I also passed a Van and a Vauxhall Corsa in the opposite direction doing about 60mph. If you skid on ice at a slow speed and hit something then chances are you will walk away unscathed. Skid on Ice at 60mph and that telegraph pole you are heading towards is going to kill you. Are you really that desperate to get into work? Leave the high speed snow driving to the Rally professionals. Even they make mistakes too though.

Leave the high speed Snow & Ice driving to the Professionals.

I know not everyone is perfect, including myself, but if everyone took a bit more care and used a bit more common sense in these conditions, the roads would be a bit safer. I don’t care if you crash your car driving like an idiot. I just don’t want you take me, or anyone else with you when you do.

January 21, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: 4x4, Accident, Cars, Dangerous, Driving, Fog Lights, Highway Code, Ice, Motoring, Motorists, Rally, Roads, Snow, Tyres | Leave A Comment »