Yep, sometimes a little more snow is better for the tire to bite into.
Last night we ended up getting about 3/4 inch of accumalated sleet, slick melting mess, I made it into work without any issues but many didn't. It helps to be among the first on the roads before it really gets packed.
basilisk
Ayup. It seems that it's usually the 4x4's that end up up-side-down in the ditch.
Toronto has a very large fleet and a well equipped snow clearing program and like ANY city with a budget for snow clearing, they balance their yearly monies allocation mainly on the yearly average snowfall rate from previous years. Sometimes, they get caught short, but not often.
And, as far as the military goes, several years ago, the mayor of Toronto, a boob named Mel Lastman, called the military in to help with snow removal. That was ONE time and hasn't been done since.
Nothing like a little bit of mis-information with the addition of some open ended information to mess up the flow of facts, eh Josepi?
Having driven in the South for almost 50 years, I have my list of things to do if I must be on the road in freezing rain/sleet/snow.
I was caught in snow/freezing rain on my way through Mississippi some years ago and my only option was 4. I eventually caught up with all the cars that passed me - they were either in the median or in the ditch. I stopped occasionally to clear the windows and thaw the wiper blades (McDonald's coffee isn't great, but it's always hot). The trip took almost twice as long as usual but we arrived safely. As someone else has mentioned, all wheel drive doesn't help you steer or stop. This trip was in a front wheel drive Toyota Camry - probably not anyone's first choice for a bad weather vehicle.
Today I've been outside to measure the snow - 3.5 inches around midnight, measured a bit less this morning after being melted/weighed down by the sleet & freezing rain - either amount is less than other areas around Atlanta. Other than replacing my rain boots Sunday afternoon, everything we needed for several days of isolation was already at the house (at least I found the leak in the boots before the snow started ;-)
John
Is Hoseppi out on a weekend pass again? Has he learned to post like a human yet?....I take that back... I see that he hasn't. ... Didn't need to, I already had, but it feels nice to be immature sometimes.
Indeed, Lastman's request for military help was an isolated one, and he did it purely so he wouldn't have serious cost overruns on his removal budget. Not too stupid, if you ask me... I wonder how that worked out for him.
All the 16 years I lived in Toronto (Beaches. nice and close to my gig at RL Hearn Generating Station) I never had an issue with snow... the Toyota Landcruisers ( a '73 and a '76) helped only a couple of times.
One reason that southern weather is always more horrific is because CNN world headquarters is in Atlanta.
Same reason the New York weather was a world news event when they started having their normal winter storms a week or two ago.
RonB
ABS seems to help a bit with steering, and when you have a centre differential type of AWD, engine braking is helpful in corners.... assuming you have a feel for the car. One has to be pretty careless to lose control of an Impreza (specifically the automatic transmission) with a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta R's. Even so, If I were to leave my street full-bore and turn the wheel hard over while standing on the gas, I WILL end up on somebody's lawn. (Maybe even the same one..)
True, true, true.
"Buloney?" I guess you'd have a good nose for it, huh?
There are, indeed, different types of snow. The soft, packed stuff to which he referred is easy to drive on and has as good or better traction than many gravel roads.
The pavement isn't "warm" in the middle of the night, in the middle of winter. If it snows in the middle of the day when the sun has warmed up the pavement, or early in the season when the ground temperature is still high, yes, ice can form underneath. But after a few weeks of continued cold weather, the ground is as cold as the air. That's why one has to dig foundation footings below the "frost line" in the north.
In VT they use pure salt until it gets too cold for even that to work. Then they use nothing and drive on the snow. That only happened a couple of times in the 15 years I lived there.
I would tell my wife, "I have a four wheel drive, so I can go anywhere. It's an off-road truck so I can even go off the road." It took here a while to understand what I was saying. ;-)
I took her to work today. They only delayed until 11:00AM. She was pissed that they didn't cancel altogether, but there really wasn't any reason. While there is some ice hanging from the trees and on the grass, the roads are just wet (typical of snowfalls here).
There is a lot more damage if they don't use it.
Only if it _STAYS_ snow...
It's somewhat of an anomaly but that the weather isn't as severe as that up north, it is that very thing that can make for far worse driving conditions. Compound that w/ the lack of removal equipment, etc., etc., etc., ... and it's not at all surprising it causes such havoc.
I've certainly seen more than any fair share of vehicles on sides of roads, in ditches, etc., in places like Detroit, Cleveland, Denver and environs as well as in VA and TN while lived there to know that there's no lack of problems in winter conditions irrespective of the blowhards who claim to have never been inconvenienced and can on their own mush over the Sierra Nevada... :)
At the moment we're getting a dusting out of the promised near-blizzard conditions two-day snow...a last little push as the system moves east; the sky is lightening noticeably so when this is the "wring out" as the drier air encroaches. Didn't need blizzard but surely could have used some real moisture on the winter wheat that's in very poor condition...this won't amount to a tenth of an inch in moisture when all's said and done... :(
Further N and E had decent accumulations I hear but as so often the case didn't make it far enough south west enough...
--
Don't forget to "watch for ice on bridges". They do freeze faster than the ground. We were up in Atlanta Saturday, and there were reports of ice on the "Spaghetti Junction" (I-85 to I-285 junction, mostly spindly aerial ramps - way up there) ramps. I didn't see how, since it was well above freezing (lower 40s) and sunny. There were a lot of accidents around the city, though.
CONELRAD? I suppose it would be a perfect time for those wily Rooskies to attack!
Given that I'm a carpetbagger here, count me in with the "Make tracks" crowd. I can always buy beer and PopTarts and have a party somewhere else.
"RonB" wrote
Sooo...., this is some kinda retribution, karma, punishment thing???
Hopefully this isn't picking nits, but AWD and 4x4 do help you slow down... assuming you already know how to drive in snow.
Those of us who learned to drive in snow (literally, like when they used to require drivers' education to get a license) were taught to down shift to slow down to keep the wheels from locking up... even with an automatic trans. If you have engine power going to all wheels, then engine braking is also applied to those wheels and it does help. It helps with braking and with fishtailing.
Of course, we were also taught those other safe snow driving habits like, going slower and leaving more room between cars. And of course, ice is ice and renders all knowledge and skill useless. :-)
------------------------------------------ I'm reminded of 12/26/1989, the day I left Ohio headed for SoCal in a VW Rabbit, 4 cyl diesel with a 5 speed manual box.
Had built a plywood box on roof racks to carry as much as possible with me (Think the opening song/scene of the Beverly Hillbillies).
Drove west on US-30 about 30 miles then south on I-71 headed toward Columbus, Ohio and I-70 west toward St Louis.
Both I-71 & I-70 had very wide grassy medians.
Have never seen so many busses, 18 wheelers and cars in the median strip of an interstate in my life as that morning.
Spent most of the morning shifting back and forth between 3rd and 4th gear.
5th gear was out of the question.It wasn't until some time west of Indianapolis that the weather broke, it stopped snowing, and the median started to clear.
Aw, you'll get tired of that shit after a while. Besides, there ain't nothing like seeing a trash can sail by at seventy miles an hour! If you consume enough beer, you can make a swell game of it - much like a bull fight.
Family I know evacuated in anticipation of Hurricane Rita. They headed for San Antonio. The family started out from Cypress (deep northwest of Houston, about 80 miles from the Gulf). After twelve hours on the road they were about 30 miles closer to the Alamo City, having to contend with all the other (presumed) Yankees on the road.
Ended up riding out the hurricane in their car. At least they thought it was the hurricane, if you consider two hours of rain squalls a storm.
All the years we lived in Jamestown, NY area, always got where I "had to" go, with no 4WD, rarely chains. Good mud/snow treads & extra weight in the trunk. My main "problem" is 4WD idiots. They think they're bulletproof. I've also seen people with 2WD and experience walk right artound 4WD who didn't know how to drive. SWMBO says for me to stay home here in TX with our 1 1/2" of snow. She's not worried about me getting wherever & back, just what some other idiot will do. Filled backup 30lb. bottle for the trailer on Fri. and we're just staying cozy. Propane staytion is only about 1/4mi. from us, we've got enough groceries unless it decides to stick around a couple more days, so we're good.
Speaking of cinders, Jamestown used cinders for many years until they upgraded coal electric plant so now all they have is "fly ash", which is totally useless.
Norm
Since you confirmed what I posted I am glad you demonstrated the "shit-for brains" syndrome, eh Upscale?
And, as far as the military goes, several years ago, the mayor of Toronto, a boob named Mel Lastman, called the military in to help with snow removal. That was ONE time and hasn't been done since.
Nothing like a little bit of mis-information with the addition of some open ended information to mess up the flow of facts, eh Josepi?
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