corrado is evil in the snow!

[chubbybrown 0]

some people might not believe me,but the pic above is an 'A class' Road

 

whats a gritter ;-)

[Trig 0]

I've had 2x 2CV's, well the first one was my Dad's - lovely green 'Bamboo' model. Second one was mine, red & white with pizza cutters for wheels. Wouldn't start on any sort of hill, facing up or down... and yes, in the winter they were both pretty much useless, you had to crank the engine by hand to start it!

[ben16v 0]

my mate had a dyane given to him for free... the only hitch was he had to pick it up... from switzerland (sp?)

 

he did tho, nutter

[TomB 0]

TomB said

P.S 2CV perchance?

 

PS Railways, TomB.

Funny how a little bad (or hot!) weather causes problems.

However, on the other side of the coin, was impressed the day I went to work in Glasgow from here on one of the coldest mornings of the century in late December 1995.

Air temperature here (a third of the way along the Edinburgh-Glasgow line) was about minus 14C. Train arrived OK and got to Glasgow no problem. No heating, though!. In Glasgow city centre it was like being in Moscow or Warsaw. The snow on the ground was so cold on the pavements it was like walking through dry, grey flour. A record temperature of minus 20C was recorded at the city's airport that morning.

Some trains had to be cancelled because the automatic doors would not work in the low temperatures. Always impressed that my trains made the run, though.

 

Ah...the (dis)advantages of Continuous Welded Rail :roll: Still, it is getting better (slowly). All we need to to now is get the rolling stock out of the hands of the banks (amongst other things).

[wanders off muttering darkly about the evils of rail privatisation] :)

[cata 0]

what helps me in the winter is a built in thermometer which lets me know if the road conditions are lying to me or not, (you know when its minus 5 but everything looks clear but you can still end up with ice patches), and slamming on the brakes when safe to do so to see how well it stops. My cavalier has fat summer tires and since its got the z24 "sports package" :roll: its stiff and low making it a deathtrap in the winter...maybe I'l get insurance for the winter time

...hmmm

[Blair 0]

I seem to live in the only part of the UK that hasn't seen a flake of snow in weeks!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

very nearly crashed a company Touareg today. A 2.5 ton 4x4 and it can't handle a bit of slush because VW fit Bridgestone performance tyres :roll:

 

Yep, which further supports this country's obsession with the bloody things and not using them for their intended purpose....so they come with road tyres!

[Blair 0]

Given the power of marketeers these days, I suspect Touareg's probably ARE being used for their intended purpose...being flogged to upper-middle class mums to drop their cherubs off at school!

[craigowl 0]

Ic3 (from Canada) said

what helps me in the winter is a built in thermometer which lets me know if the road conditions are lying to me or not, (you know when its minus 5 but everything looks clear but you can still end up with ice patches),

 

Our problem in most of the UK is that it is not cold enough!

Much of our snow and ice problems happen with temperatures of, say, plus 2 down to only zero, or so. This means any ice or snow is usually well lubricated with a skin of water and there is "black" ice, too, which is difficult to see. Snow conditions with temperatures of minus 3 or below are far more preferable for driving on than what we get most of the time.

[cata 0]

ouch, that is a lot more dangerous...I wonder if the ground keeps the roads a few degrees warmer than what a thermostat would read...any ideas?

[Blair 0]

I think it's actually colder than ambient temperature, which is why you get ice even when the temperature is reading 2 or 3 degrees...

[craigowl 0]

Blair is correct.

 

On a clear, still night or morning, the difference in temperature bewtween tarmac and the air at a few feet above the ground is often about 2 or 3 degrees. Grass can be up to 6 C or more colder than the air.

 

A fatal crash involving two local 20-year old girls occurred on black ice with positive air temperatures. It appeared, at first glance, to be merely a rainy morning. The judge found that the council had gritted, but they could not be held responsible for an accident if rain partly washes the salt away.

 

I have attended court as a witness in several cases involving injuries or worse to drivers and pedestrians

Please never just leap into your car at this time of year and bat along if there is any possibility whatsoever of sub-zero road temperatures.

 

One must never assume that an accident cannot happen because "they" (our nanny society) would not allow it. Ultimately, the driver is responsible for his/others safety IMO.

 

The two graphs show temperature profiles yesterday and on a warm day in July. The air temperature (at 4ft above ground - the worldwide standard) is in red and the tarmac temperature (on the ground) is in blue.

 

Today, it is particularly icy here. A section of the M9 motorway was closed this morning after a spate of accidents, to allow resalting.

I saw them salting yesterday afternoon, but the dry conditions saw much of the chemical being swept off the carriageway by vehicles as they sped along the stuff.

[Blair 0]

Thanks Craigowl - those graphs are really interesting!

[cata 0]

that's some good info, and I saw it the other way around :roll: