Southern style snow and ice driving

A driver this morning slid on ice so took out a fire hydrant on the main street water line. Hydrant about 4 feet from road surface. It along with many other older water main hydrants were installed without any shut off valves. So, the town had to wait ~ 4 hours for the break to be fixed by installing a cut off valve. Took another ~ 3 hours to refill the water tower that drained.

Now tonight at about 2000h another vehicle has damaged the same main somewhere else. We may not get this one fixed before 1200h tomorrow. Cannot imagine all the ice on the road around this latest break,

3 Likes

that sucks if you go out be careful driving ,stay safe and good luck.

1 Like

Sometimes I think the Amish might have the right idea about lifestyle.

Yes. Take care when out driving. There are idiots out there who think they know better.

I always remember being in a long queue of traffic travelling at 50mph (in a 60mph zone). Smart Alek in his posh car decided to overtake everybody???
Sure enough he met traffic approaching. With nowhere to go our queue passed him as his car was a crumpled heap in a ditch.

David

As a kid learning to drive in NE Ohio - Dad took me out in his Chrysler 300 to a nearby shopping center in the evening after the first significant snow fall of the season. His #1 instruction was - don’t hit any light poles - otherwise do any maneuver you want to hand see what happens with little to not effective traction. I did everything I could think of in accelerating, turning, braking and the various combinations of each in a frozen paved surface with very little chance of hitting anything. A great way to learn car control.

Southern drivers rarely have such an experience, and it shows! The fact is with ‘parking lot beautification’ in placing planters and curbs all over the lots there are very few open parking lots in the North that permit anyone the opportunity to really learn car control.

4 Likes

I always took driving in the winter on snow and ice like this. I drove like I had an egg underneath the go pedal and I was carrying my grandmother with an open crockpot of chicken and dumpling’s to church for the weekly potluck. Must have worked 300K miles of snow and ice driving in 4 years.

2 Likes

We encounter some of that with the first winter weather of the season. However, we have a nearby military base with an annually replenished supply of folks who have never driven on snow, and an Interstate leading to an international border. Between them, every storm can count on some folks in ditches, etc.

Not to mention the locals who forget that while they do have four wheel go, they still only have four wheel stop…

2 Likes

When it comes to ice on the roadways - momentum and gravity are undefeated.

At least when you are dealing with tires WITHOUT studs.

2 Likes

There are reports that north bound I-75 in south Georgia was so congested with accidents that some persons were stranded up to 16 hours.

2 Likes

I read about this kind of situation all of the time, and I cannot imagine being trapped in my car for such a length of time.

Rich

I’ve driven in the Atlanta area during a rainy day and I normally just parked my truck for the day. An ice storm let alone snow in Atlanta it would be break out the popcorn on a curve and laugh at the carnage. Sorry for the grim humor there but they tend to drive like their qualifying for a Nascar race on a normal day let alone in adverse conditions.

2 Likes

Quite true. They have no consideration for other road users.

David

When I was first transferred to Baltimore but Akron was still home. I left Baltimore to go back to Akron. The first leg of the trip in the snow to Frederick, MD took two hours instead of one. Got stopped at Frederick by the State Police, I-70 (I-76 as it was called in 1971) was clogged with jackknifed Semis between Frederick and Hagerstown - after sitting there for FOUR hours the Westbound traffic was detoured over US40 between Frederick and Hagerstown - a much hillier route with several sharp turns - it took nearly two hours for the 30 miles and then back on the Interstate to Breezewood and then West on the PA Turnpike.

When the authorities shut down a route you are stuck until an alternate route is opened.

1 Like

In 97 Thanksgiving eve I was the leader of what became the last convoy over Donner pass for 3 days. Donner that night was getting her legendary cement snow not in inches per hour but feet per hour on the summit. When I hit Donner it was 3 feet an hour at the summit at the chain control checkpoint were everyone including cars and 4x4 trucks were being required to chain up trucks were already subjected to chains. They were requiring maximum iron on the tires that night studded tires weren’t enough for the CHP. I had a set of doubles on my front drives set of singles on my back drives 1 set of singles crossed chained one on the front one on the back on the trailer and saw I had a spare set. I was like screw it threw them on my steers. CHP officers go you’re leading a convoy of 50 total you’re in the front with another truck running tail end Charlie and DON’T LEAVE ANYONE BEHIND AT ALL. Leave the car if you have to but not the people was the direct orders. I was plowing snow at the summit with my bumper. Donner was closed like I said for 3 days total shutdown.

The CHP and DOT needed rotary plows to get the road reopened after that storm.

1 Like

Biggest issue with southern drivers may not be their skill but lack of all season tires. Edmunds did a test on a runway strip of almost 4000 feet testing summer, winter and all season tires in snow.

Not a surprise the winter tires were best but the all seasons were pretty good. The summer tires were worthless. Couldn’t accelerate past 50 on nearly a mile strip let alone try to safely stop the thing.

When I lived in Texas I had summer tires on my Saab. Drove to Denver in winter to visit my brother. Whoa that was a scene. Even though I lived all but my two years in Texas in cold climates with lots of winter driving experience it didn’t help with the summer tires. I was sliding all over the place. Got all seasons the week I got home.

3 Likes

And that’s why I put snow tires on every year. Live in upstate NY where average annual snowfall runs about 10 feet.

2 Likes

That is why I spend January and February in Florida.

1 Like

But you didn’t have to bring the cold and snow down south with you.

1 Like

Here in North Carolina, most people can’t drive on dry pavement, much less on rain, snow, or ice! I think in the Driver’s Handbook on page 147, “if the weather is bad, speed up. If you start to slide, HIT THE BRAKES!”

3 Likes

Welcome back Flagman515

David