You read about these accidents but never think it'll happen to you.

Got home from shooting earlier today and parked my car on our snow covered driveway which is on an upward incline of about 12 degrees.

I put it in first gear and put the handbrake firmly on.

Next minute, as I was unloading from the rear pasenger door, the bloody thing just started moving and slid, wheels locked, into the road. I just managed to slow it to a stop before it hit my neighbour's front wall, opposite our house 8O.

It's not a small car either – it's a Hyundai Tucson SUV!

Had I been unloading from the back, I may well have been dragged under and Brian Harvey'd.

Be careful you lot – this snow and ice changes everything.

You could have just deployed your belly and bounced it back 🙂

Our Megane slid into the garage door last night! And so have several neighbours' cars. Very slowly, fortunately, no damage to the car and the garage only has a bit of added "character".
A mate trashed his Focus in his street, as he tried to go left and the car went straight on 😥

This time of year traction control and stability protection come into their own – little orange light flashing the whole time since the road was pretty much sheet ice.

Spent 20 minutes playing on an empty stretch. 🙂

it's a Hyundai Tucson SUV!

you are an urban off road hairdresser and I claim my five pounds! 😀

…and you are a div so I claim a fiver too.

You alright then DS? If you are doing nowt on Christmas Eve it's sherry, mince pies and polite chit chat at our house.

Flaperon – Member

This time of year traction control and stability protection come into their own – little orange light flashing the whole time since the road was pretty much sheet ice.

Spent 20 minutes playing on an empty stretch.

I was having real trouble today 'cause the TC was stopping me getting up hills, would only rev to 2k max 🙁 I was keeping the revs low, but no power at all getting to the wheels so just sitting there on an uphill stretch

Only when the TC packed up and all the warning lights came on that I could get anywhere. Just have to find the fuse now and pull it out!

HtS – I'm okay ta. Must admit to being a trifle shocked by the event. Mrs. S saw the whole thing and may have done a small Mr. Hanky in her pants.

Thanks for the invite for xmas eve but we've already arranged something. I do hope we'll be getting out on the bikes betwixt xmas and new year?

Have a good un anyway.

Came home earlier to find yet another car stuck in the street, only this one had tried to drive round an idiot that had double parked on the ice (on a hill)

As I got close I realised it was resting against our car! By some huge stroke of luck her front wheel was resting against our front wheel. Someone had told her that her 106 was rear wheel drive and she didn't want to beleive me when I said she needed to move her sacking from the rear wheels to the front wheels. Moved my car onto the pavement, told her to roll down the hill without touching the pedals, but she kept braking which meant she ran out of momentum and had to drive back up the camber of the road. Result: She slid into the next car which I then had to push her off. 🙄

>you are an urban off road hairdresser and I claim my five pounds

+1 😆

What is wrong with the Tucson?

Why all the hairdresser jibes?

My Tucson is ace. Apart from when it tries to murder me.

>you are an urban off road hairdresser and I claim my five pounds

+2 😀

DS. Black bike in Cooksons for a bit of TLC. Will have it back on Tuesday so i'm up for a ride or too.

In defense of the mighty Tucson… it has done many a muddy trip with bikes thrown in the back.

derek_starship – Member

What is wrong with the Tucson?

Really? Chelsea tractor and not even a real one.

Yup, thats a car Barbie would drive 🙂

Just love the way the photo shows it in an off-road situation.

I may well have been dragged under and Brian Harvey'd.

Love that! 😆

That Tuscon's got a face only it's mother could love

That looks like on off road Hackney cab.

We had better stop taking the micky now – he may get so upset he will commit suicide by running himself over.

That picture is the first and last time one of them left tarmac.

Wonder if they got a Defender to tow it to the photoshoot?

There are some proper tools on the roads, but the merest hint of cold and the **** count triples…
The type of fools that believe that ABS and Traction control work properly on Ice…
Myself and some others tried to help some goon get his jag up a hill, started pushing and he gunned the shit out of it, polishing the ice and getting nowhere fast, another bloke helping asked him if it was an automatic, nope. Eventually we all gave up on him, telling him to use 2nd and less right foot didn't seem to compute…

urban off road hairdresser

+1

My Golf has bigger wheels than that supposed "off roader"…

If you actually want to shift stuff buy a bloody estate.
The term "SUV" has a lot to answer for….

My Golf has bigger wheels than that supposed "off roader"…

And that makes you better? how?

I was stuck out in the snow today, took shelter in a bus stop and watched the cars driving past. Some very interesting driving habits.

This sort of weather…

*most* normal FWD cars would be taking it very easy. Anything RWD would be taking it *extremely* easy, all the BMW's were mincing along.

Anything with 4WD would be absolutely caning it. Possibly faster than they would if it weren't snowing. Bizarre, their tyres don't grip any better than a normal cars, when it comes to braking 4WD has no advantage and yet because they could accelerate quicker, stick your foot down. cocks.

(This is no dig at derek, just an observation)

I have to turn my TC off to get anywhere in this weather, I turn it off anyway because it does the brake distribution stability and the rest of the bollocks, last time it all kicked in i had no control and almost ended up the wrong way round on the road

I was mincing down a steep and now snow covered road back from a ride today in my old Mondeo estate, the wheels broke loose on a downhill corner and we started drifting casually into the path of the rather shocked looking car coming up the road. Luckily the lessons learned at a skid-pan session 10 years ago kicked in and I gently turned the wheel and waited for the tyres to catch up with the traction. Cue last minute graceful swerve away from approaching car and back on with the mincing. Oh, and lots of relieved giggling…

Skid pan sessions. The fun birthday present that actually lasts 🙂

"This time of year traction control and stability protection come into their own – little orange light flashing the whole time since the road was pretty much sheet ice."

Really? They normally hinder progress in the snow as they cut too much power, and the systems can't keep up with the extra workload. So they kill all the power, which is actually what you need to have fun/get you out of danger.

The only reason BMW's struggle is because the majority are bought by d!ck heads who cant drive in the first instance, and probably dont even realise their car is rwd. rwd in snow can work but you have to keep moving and accept that the rear isnt going to go the same direction as the front.

Just before getting into bed last night I glimpsed out of the bedroom window to find my car 8 feet down the drive from where I had left it. 2 days of ice buildup under the hail surface layer and a few degrees incline was enough to move it it seems

rwd in snow can work but you have to keep moving and accept that the rear isnt going to go the same direction as the front.

Even in the middle class heartlands of south Manchester yesterday, this much was evident as Mrs North and I were out in her hairdresser car MX-5.

Not that I gave it the odd blip of throttle. That would be childish, wouldn't it? 😀

Samuri-Large 4×4's with deep treaded M&S tyres grip a LOT better than a normal car in the snow and compacted snow, even under braking, but people do seem to think they're invincible with them and forget they have increased mass too, which can lead them very much into danger. As can driving a 4×4 with road going tyres. As can driving a 4×4 with tyres that have such shallow sidewalls that you can't drop the pressure a little without dinging an alloy 🙂 We had so much snow it took me an hour to drive 8 miles and I had to stop twice to clear wiper "seating" area and headlights – it was lovely.

At the end of the day it's about knowing your car and knowing when not to bother going out. If it had continued to lay down compacted snow all night as it looked like it would I'd have left the car at home and biked it in offroad. As it is my nose heavy FWD seems to plough fine through just about anything that isn't ice, the new tyres I got just before winter certainly help too. Wish my GT4 was roadworthy at the moment 🙁

Yesterday my site's car park was like a massive sheet of ice, where the snow had frozen and then been rained on and frozen again. I had my 90 in low range with diff lock on to get down the steep access road and was a little slidey. When I hit the car park, diff lock off, high range, and floored it1 Spinny slidey fun!

My bosses Octavia VRS couldn't make it up the road after work, I had to tow him out!

Mind you, his heater works a hell of a ot better than mine….

Nice and toasty in my ex-military winterised 110 Defender, heated screen on, the 7 interior radiators turned on, arctic spec heater blowing away, the only car apart from the V8 Defender round the corner to get up our very steep hill.

Slight overkill there rusty? 😀

yep! wound the window down a bit to help with global warming, just too hot even with driving in my underpants and string vest.

Really? They normally hinder progress in the snow as they cut too much power, and the systems can't keep up with the extra workload. So they kill all the power, which is actually what you need to have fun/get you out of danger.

My traction control (Ford Focus) seems to be coping admirably. The light has come on a few times as the wheels have started to slip and it did a good job of keeping my straight.

Isn't snow and ice pretty much what it was made for? Seems odd to switch it off in these conditions:

Your vehicle may be equipped with a Traction Control™ system. This system helps you maintain the stability and steerability of your vehicle, especially on slippery road surfaces such as snow- or ice-covered roads and gravel roads. The system will allow your vehicle to make better use of available traction in these conditions.

During Traction Control™ operation, the traction control active light will illuminate, you may hear an electric motor type of sound coming from the engine compartment and the engine will not “rev-up” when you push further on the accelerator. This is normal system behavior and should be no reason for concern.

At speeds below 53 mph (85 km/h), both the engine and the brake system will be used to control wheel spin; at speeds above 53 mph (85 km/h), only engine torque reduction is used. When the Traction Control™ system is switched off, the braking system will still be used to control wheel spin at speeds below 25 mph (40 km/h).

— Ford Focus Owner's Manual

+10 for the string vest, sock and sandals too I trust?

The best traction control is your right foot and the correct gearing, but modern ones do cope very well. ABS, thats a whole other bag of worms.

One icy road in Cambridge, with downward slope towards River Cam

One car sized hole in railings at end of said road:

Road now closed….