Right then, I've seen several instances today of people spinning wheels and sliding about on the snow and of course some snow has arrived in London so the news is full of stories about a wintery apocalypse 🙄 – so who'd like to offer up some tips on driving on snow*?

(* hopefully this will be an opportunity for Goan to post about something other than climate change.)

It's pretty simple – keep thing smooth and plan what you are going to do well in advance. That's pretty all there is to it.

A video of how not to do it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeO4IVeH23s

loads of revs, handbrake every corner, pretend your finnish…

warton for president !

high gears, low revs and very smooth, also really really make sure you leave yourself plenty of space in front of you

I love to watch low-powered cars with skinny tyres leaving X5s standing. The meek SHALL inheirit the earth!

Put as little input into the controls as is possible as if you're trying not to use them at all

i'm with warton – make the most of it! hand brake turns, skids, wheel spins. mint!

You have all forgotten the most important rule…

Wipe a small porthole in the windscreen then get in and start driving…

It's pretty simple – keep thing smooth and plan what you are going to do well in advance. That's pretty all there is to it.

Correct

-and pay attention to feedback from the wheel and the car's response.

NB. Do not suddenly let off the gas if the car begins to slide.

Of course, the above should be true for all driving, but most people seem incapable of looking beyond the end of the bonnet, use the accelerator and brake as On/Off switches and insist on stopping about 1cm from the car in front.

If you are sliding towards something and not slowing down, get off the brakes and steer!

If you get stuck on a hill in a fwd car, and can't do a 3 point turn as the back of the car slides down the hill during the manoeuvre, as you get sideways, put the car in first and spin the front wheels so they lose grip and slide downhill before the rear wheels. (I found this method after getting stuck on a long steep hill and being faced with a long reverse a couple of years ago) Use it this morning aswell which meant I was able to join the main road in the traditional forward direction, unlike the neighbours who reversed onto the main road on a blind bend.

If you have a 4×4, don't be silly…normal cars will get stuck going up a hill early enough to be able to get down safely. A 4×4 will climb further, but when you turn round you have little more control than the 2wd cars that turned round 1/2 mile back. As soon as you touch the brakes you'll over-ride any benefit of descending in 4×4 under engine braking, (assuming you remember to select 4×4/any diff locks) and be unable to stop or even be able to stop picking up speed.

Finally, clear the snow from your lights! The amount of people I saw this morning with invisible lights 😯

loads of revs, handbrake every corner, pretend your finnish…

Yes inddedy!

Get the bugger sliding on YOUR terms. Look dangerous and ragged and everyone keeps out of your way! 😉

rear wheel drive car is very important for these conditions, and london is scary in the snow, 3 cars spinning toward junction sticks in my mind last time was up there last in conditions like these, they all missed each other and then sat there confused as to why it happened!

If you're trying to back out of a steep driveway near my house in a big Jap 4×4 , make sure you put the bloody thing in 4 wheel drive you useless muppet.

Interestingly, in the NE USA, on the first day of snow there are crashes everywhere. The snow remains for months.

You'd think that people would learn from the previous years' experiences…

Don't bother queueing like all the other fools. Cut in, drive between the cars and make 3 lanes on a road where there should only be two. You cant see the lines on the road anyway so you can do what you like.
BE07UFX, a white van belonging to MSL tyres of benfleet demonstrated it perfectly on the a127 this morning.

Another good tip i picked up is to drive at 5 mph, but stay within 1 inch of the car in front.
Thats a goodun

Clear snow from your car with a broom. That way you can get it off the bonnet and lights and all the windows. As mentioned above, many crazies in Reading this morning with a pillbox slot of glass to peer through but little else.

Drive a turbocharged 4×4…. 😈

For those with front wheel drive cars, try driving backwards….

rear wheel drive car is very important for these conditions, and london is scary in the snow, 3 cars spinning toward junction sticks in my mind last time was up there last in conditions like these, they all missed each other and then sat there confused as to why it happened!

Not many cars are rear wheel drive any more are they? Not the sort of thing you can change when it starts to snow.

Nowt wrong with front wheel drive if you drive according to the conditions of the road.

a pillbox slot of glass to peer through

Perhaps they think the war is still on – Achtung Tommy !

If the news this morning was to be believed, this was the M25 earlier.

Note the excellent ground clearance and narrow tyres for cutting through the crust.

comprare with:

ps. A 2CV Sahara would probably be the ideal car for the snow.

Take with you:-
A shovel
Blanket or Sleeping bag
Hot drink in a Thermos
Some food
Torch

A shovel
Blanket or Sleeping bag
Hot drink in a Thermos
Some food
Torch

I'm only going to the Metro Centre.

Based on my observations this morning:
Totter unsteadily on your entirely inappropriate shoes out to the car.
Scrape a small slit of clear space in the windscreen. Don't bother with the side windows, they don't matter.
Sit there revving the crap out of the engine for 10 minutes, the rest of the street needed waking up and the emissions will help warm the air.
Spin a small hole in the snow with your wheels as you try and pull out at 3000rpm and 1st gear.
Head off down the street at 3mph while trying to program the sat nav, clear the inside windows of condensation and talk on the phone to your boss explaining why you're going to be late for work.
Get halfway along the street then remember to turn your foglights on – there's a whole centimetre of snow so you probably need them.

Drac – Member

A shovel
Blanket or Sleeping bag
Hot drink in a Thermos
Some food
Torch

I'm only going to the Metro Centre.

just a warm jumper and a gun then.

plus:

Distress flares
.303 Lee Enfield
.38 Smith & Wesson
Avalanche beacon
Snow shoes
Ice axe

& a car coat

Nowt wrong with front wheel drive if you drive according to the conditions of the road.

Other than a rear wheel drive has a separate axle controlling steering and power so you have more options. But most RWDs have unloaded rear ends so not much downforce for the drivetrain.

Invest in a set of winter tyres.

Invest in a set of winter tyres.

And use them about 3 days of the year.

just a warm jumper and a gun then.

Nobody has a jumper in the NE

Nobody has a jumper in the NE
Drac is a fairly normal person however.

Distress flares
.303 Lee Enfield
.38 Smith & Wesson
Avalanche beacon
Snow shoes
Ice axe

Don't forget a candle. If you get stuck overnight by 5cm of snow on the motorway a candle will provide light and a bit of warmth.

And use them about 3 days of the year.

They're not just for use in the snow.

ok, so how many days of winter weather (not just snow) do most of us get? We're discussing it on here because it is so rare.

Don't forget a candle. If you get stuck overnight by 5cm of snow on the motorway a candle will provide light and a bit of warmth.

the rifle will be used to bring down some local game/obese scally and the blubber from said game will be used to make a lamp, ignited by sparking from the car battery.

I look forward to digging my car out of trouble with my Lidl folding spade….

rear wheel drive is far more fun in the snow! was what meant , find empty car park and play.!

I saw 5 cars abandoned this morning. All were BMW's with RWD. No traction you see 🙂 Really enjoyed the guy in the Evo 7 who braked hard and a whole roof load of snow slid on to his windscreen. I got a few brownie points by getting off my bike and helping him clear it off.

I love snow :-))

Wonder what the shiny stuff is all over the ground and consider it to be perfect conditions for driving right up the backside of the teetering cyclist in front (give him comething to concentrate his attention, eh?) and then thrash past a bus wheels spinning and sliding towards a lollipop lady.

And the cyclist just rolled by, smug as you like… 😀

Heavy snow across the south east of England last night forced Big Brother presenter Davina McCall to eat her own foot.