[Closed] Anyone else been having "fun" on the roads?

I pre-puckered before getting on the bike in anticipation of having a horrible crash, but it was a pucker in vain.

and would that have been 'user error' or an unforeseeable event?

3 hours to travel 10 miles from Bracknell to Farnborough.

A9 was "interesting" yesterday. Lots of light-steering-wheel moments.

Works car park was fun 8)

Other than that no, driving like miss daisy everywhere

and would that have been 'user error' or an unforeseeable event?

Perhaps it would be a christmas troll 😀

I had some interesting (but entirely self inflicted) fun in the works car park this morning - an acre of flat white expanse was too good an opportunity to pass up! 🙂
Was getting the car squirrely on the way out of the car park this afternoon as well, don't think the guy behind apreciated it much.

I'm so childish!

I'd go for user error personally.

Driving home from work early on Sunday morning, car coming the other way round a (for him) left hand bend lost it and spun, with his back end swinging across the road into my path. Fortunately there was a long bus stop that I could steer left into which meant he missed me by about a foot. He got that bend wrong, but thereafter he did a good job keeping his car on the road.

Glad you're Ok. Our road from Kirkton to Dumfries has been shut by police after two crashes. I can't get my car up and out of our drive so not been driving at all!

Three hours from client site in Newbury to Theale (my office), zero chance of getting over the nearby hill to where I live, so settling in for the night 🙁

Thanks Simon.

🙁 indeed fu_manchu.

Couple of folk at my work last night didn't even bother trying to get home when we finished - 10 inches on the roads higher up. I go the other direction so was ok, but it ain't fun.

last night's trip to Tesco was good. watching all the cars trying desperately to get up the hills, only to slow to a halt, then start travelling sideways! I flick on the 4WD and trundle past. 🙂

Smug? Moi? 😉

The looks we were getting from the neighbours who'd all come out to watch the slidey slidey on the hill as we drove past as if it were a dry road was quite something.

I like my little Tonka toy, it's only a Hyundai Tuscon, but it's better than most for getting about.

And on a forum somwhere else in the interweb there is an expert driving instructor telling everyone about the idiot in front of him not driving in a manner suitable for the conditions...

I'm a HGV driver.

Welcome to my world. 😕

AWD is awesome in this weather, perfectly sensible, until you want to have fun 😀

M_F - I'm going for the "it was the safest option available" option on this one. To drive any slower would have brought with it other dangers. Never been caught between a rock and a hard place? Worst traffic conditions I've ever driven in, but far from the worst road conditions.

Last mile into work is almost entirely solid inch thick ice 😉

Left the car at home, had some fun a few years back in it, nearly lost the car so didn't bother this time.

Its one of those sensordrive gear boxes, i know the snow mode has been updated but don't really trust it, maybe tomorrow.

I've completely avoided making two motorway journeys after witnessing other drivers on 30mph-limit roads yesterday morning. People doing c40mph in worsening conditions. You just know that the motorways would be littered with idiots who beleive their ACT/TCS or whatever the ****ing things called will save them. Or of course that they are a driving God and ice or part snow patches wont apply to them.

The conditions were so bad you had to drive faster?

Ps. I drive an all wheel drive Subaru with four winter tyres and I drove slowly at all times. 8)

I (perhaps unwisely) decided to take my new-found car park drifting prowess to the streets. Which was going pretty well until I kissed the apex a bit too tightly on a spicy right hander and took a nice chunk out of a verge.

Was pretty funny until we got to where we were going and discovered the impact had launched my mates bike off the rack...

Ps. I drive an all wheel drive Subaru with four winter tyres and I drove slowly at all times

Whooa freudian slip. I meant, err this weekend. Not literally all the time. Shame 🙁

The A9 was indeed pretty interesting on sunday.

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M_F - to drive at a speed that was appropriate for the conditions when everyone else was going way faster than that would have been a more dangerous option. I do not expect you to understand this though.

Am I mad to think I can get from mid Wales to Essex tomorrow via the m54 m6 m1 and m25? Heading to Chelmsford way for a wedding on weds.

Did you not stop to consider what going faster would mean in terms of extra emissions and the knock-on effect for climate change, Goan?

No.

(Sorry, but how could I resist? It's been a long day at work etc...)

well and truly puckered on the motorbike in Oxford yesterday, no such fun today as we were just in the landrover laughing at the little people.

Bought these for such situations.
[url= http://www.snowchains.co.uk/main/weisssock_4x4.htm ]http://www.snowchains.co.uk/main/weisssock_4x4.htm[/url]

5hrs to do 32miles, Amersham to Milton Keynes.

I also had a crash up the "BUM" TOO.

"well and truly puckered on the motorbike in Oxford yesterday, no such fun today as we were just in the landrover laughing at the little people. "

Motorbike and snow is not a good mix. Did it once when I was 17 as I thought it would be great. It wasn't...

Heading home from Perth was fun. The Quattro system is a truly wonderful thing.

slw,thats what i had today.some white merc van overtook on dual carriageway heading south from Inverness and passed me whilst cutting thru untouched snow on a climb.I dont mind driving in it but these days its the worry of folk sliding across the road into you that bothers me.

a few years ago in whiteout conditions an L200 hit the front of a lorry next to me as i pulled off the A9 into a slip road and the guy luckily only split his head wide open. we put a jacket of his around his head and told him it didnt look too bad.the mess of what sprayed out the back of his truck is still at the side of the road 2 years on.this all happened with each vehicle approaching each other about 45mph.

Took me an hour to travel 8 miles, stopping twice to clear the snow from under my wiper blade seating area and to clear my headlights that were practically useless. No scary moments though, know my car well and keep a LONG distance behind people when it snows.

Did enjoy the "tweak the handbrake and slide perfectly into the parking space" in an empty area of Tescos enormous car park though :).

I made it round M25 & down M3 from Harrow to Ligh****er okish then it just went pear shaped. Luckily I had the bike on board, so I abandoned the car and rode home. Just rode back and picked it up without drama. The moral of the story is always carry your bike 😀

for a cycling forum it's amazing how easily the urge to "have fun" driving a car in the snow is stronger than that of worrying about other road users, cyclists in particular.
but i guess it doesn't really matter as it's just a bit of fun and nobody ever gets hurt. 🙂

for a cycling forum it's amazing how easily the urge to "have fun" driving a car in the snow is stronger than that of worrying about other road users, cyclists in particular.

Most people aren't stupid enough to "have fun" while there's a risk of taking out other people/cars/cyclists, I'd hope. And just because you're on a cycling forum doesn't mean people are automatically "anti-car". Some are, but most cyclists are also drivers, and many cyclists are also petrolheads, just petrolheads more aware of their impact on others and more careful where they play.

Did a straw poll today and I was the only one of 7 of us to admit to deliberately heading out to large open car parks to slip/slide and handbrake turn around for entertainment!

I used the old 'it'll help me know how to control it if I do skid in real life' excuse as they all looked blankly at me.

Remember getting chased off the (empty)car park at Timex in Dundee by security for having fun getting it sideways!

M_F - to drive at a speed that was appropriate for the conditions when everyone else was going way faster than that would have been a more dangerous option. I do not expect you to understand this though.

Didn't think you'd understand. I was correct in that assumption. Let me explain it to you.

So you drive faster than you know to be safe 'because everyone else is'?

Did a straw poll today and I was the only one of 7 of us to admit to deliberately heading out to large open car parks to slip/slide and handbrake turn around for entertainment!

Going to be honest here. I think its an ideal time to learn how your car behaves and how quickly it looses traction based on steering input and accelerator/brake variation.

Yes- you cant do if theres other cars close by but with common sense it far outweighs anyone saying 'its reckless' etc 🙂

I remember the first time I did it, I was amazed/slightly scared by how quickly the front end let go/understeer dramatically.

There is more that one source of danger on a snowy road.

And I understand that people drive too fast and to drive more slowly may cause other people to have to brake, but you still put yourself and others in danger by driving at that speed - proved by the fact you almost lost control of the car. Are you saying you made an incorrect judgement to drive faster because you thought it presented less danger than driving at a speed you thought to be safe?

+1 for that - I'm not daft enough to deliberately slide it around on a road with other traffic/pedestrians etc around but sliding it round the car park yesterday was great fun, harmless (big open space, no-one else there, no kerbs or other obstacles) and it allowed me to get a feel for how my big FWD car handled in snow and ice while under power/braking etc.

Predictably safe driving in my old Discovery with AT tyres just running a little less air.
Why everyone thinks I should be going fast? It four wheel drive yes, but it's four wheel stopping like every other car 😕

Yep. Then if it ever happened on a road your first reaction wouldnt be PANIC and freeze up. As in Finland where drivers learn car control first.

No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that I chose to drive at that speed because it was the safest option, but even the safest option is dangerous sometimes.

I did not have chance to have any 'fun' driving as my driving test got cancelled due to the weather 👿

I have found that snow helps you to

practice what happens in a FWD car when it goes sideways
turn round in small areas without having to do a 3 point turn.

However I did get stuck yesterday during the course of my work. I had to attend an incident and went down an unfamiliar road. I'd checked it on a map and a satellite image but it didn't reveal how steep both sides of the valley I was driving into was. By the time I thought of going back I wasn't able to. I couldn't get out either side after slithering down a tight lane.

I have never been happier to see a V8 engine. A 4l one in an old Range rover. The guy (Charlie - thanks!) attached a rope to my car and pulled me up a 300yd long snow covered 1in3 track without a hint of wheelspin from his vehicle. Truly impressive. Got his address so he'll be sent something in the post as a huuuuge thankyou.

I'm saying that I chose to drive at that speed because it was the safest option, but even the safest option is dangerous sometimes.

Nor can it be disproven. Go for it - give it a go.

I have never been happier to see a V8 engine. A 4l one in an old Range rover. The guy (Charlie - thanks!) attached a rope to my car and pulled me up a 300yd long snow covered 1in3 track without a hint of wheelspin from his vehicle. Truly impressive. Got his address so he'll be sent something in the post as a huuuuge thankyou.

Good old classic rangerovers, used to love ours.

I can't just like you can't.

What would a driving instructor tell a student to do in those circumstances?...

On the way back down the M1 on Sunday night we stopped at London Gateway services to swap over driving duties. The empty carpark was sheet ice/snow.

My missus seemed to think it was most unreasonable that I immediately started playing about. She didn't seem to understand that:-

I'm male, in a torquey RWD car, in an empty, icy, carpark. It's in my genes to start trying to do donuts!

Absolutely NOT something for the public road though.

Tell them to stay at home.

My thoughts exactly Goan but I didn't even bother suggesting that to you as you would have said it was such an important journey.

So what would a driving instructor tell them to do if they were already in the middle of a journey and found themselves suddenly in those conditions?

Tell them to choose the safest option and makes sure they had the skills to correct and skids that will occur.

I'm male, in a torquey RWD car, in an empty, icy, carpark. It's in my genes to start trying to do donuts!

In a world of mens face creams, man bags, testosterone draining dull MPV's and self satisfying smug STW road safety morons it's great to hear that!!!

Although I have to take exception at the male thing, as my wife would probably have done it too.

Agreed not on a public road though. My car park fun has certainly helped my driving recently as I've been caught in 2 freakish blizzards with very sketchy road conditions. I have kept my speed down but I do know how the car feels and reacts to my inputs if something untoward happens.

Still want a V8 rangie though. 😀

Tell them to choose the safest option and makes sure they had the skills to correct and skids that will occur.

This was the exit from the Trafford Centre yesterday.
[img] [/img]

[i]In a world of mens face creams, man bags, testosterone draining dull MPV's and self satisfying smug STW road safety morons it's great to hear that!!![/i]

Oh yeah!

It should be a crime for a heterosexual man NOT to attempt a handbrake turn when it snows.

M_F - explain that comment will you. Tell me what decisions were bad and why, then tell me what I should have done better.

You chose to drive in conditions you knew to be unsafe. You chose to drive at a speed that was too quick for the conditions. You almost lost control of your own car putting you and any passengers at risk. You caused the articulated lorry driver behind to panic which could have caused even more danger to other road users.

And all because you thought it safer to keep up with other road users you knew to be going too quickly rather than drive at a speed you knew to be safe.

I was on my way home and conditions deteriorated.

Why was my speed too fast for the traffic conditions?

Hitting the same patch of ice is what caused the lorry driver to be faced with the same problem that I was.

Explain why my decision to drive at that speed was less safe than driving slower? You've already said that you cant.

Then finish answering the above question - What would you have done differently?

I know you're trolling BTW - I'm just bored as I'm snowed in.

Why was my speed too fast for the traffic conditions?

Didn't you see the ice?

I remain quite astounded that an ex-driving instructor would defend driving more quickly than the road conditions dictate just to keep up with other road users.

What would I have done differently? Drive at a speed I felt was safe for the road conditions, not at a speed to keep up with other road users I felt were driving too quickly.

I'm off out later for a good drive and shall be having fun in the farms and quarries. 😀

Thing is you cant have road conditions without traffic conditions.

I told you that you wouldn't understand. I wouldn't expect any soft southern shandy drinker to understand.

I've explained already why driving at a speed to suit road conditions would have been more dangerous than my chosen option.

I put it to you that your chosen option of driving at 20mph when all around are driving at 60-70mph is more dangerous than my option. It's all about balancing the risks you see.

You ASSUMED driving at a safe speed would have been more dangerous. You PROVED that driving at a dangerous speed was dangerous.

You balanced risks and still put yourself and others in danger.

I think we need to accept that it's ICY. It gets slippery, sometimes the car will slip in ice. You need the skills to handle it, if you come out the other side you did well, if you don't then you've not. There's little else that can be argued in the absence of field testing facilities.

And you assumed that it would have been less dangerous - this in the absence of all of the information and based on a different experiential and skills set.

Can you prove that the speed I was driving at was dangerous?

Anyway I've made my point. So will leave you to get yourself dizzy by going round in circles for the rest of the day.

Can you prove that the speed I was driving at was dangerous?

Not trolling here Goan, but why was [i]everyone [/i]driving too fast?

Such collectively bad judgement seems unlikely. I drove South from Newtonmore on Sunday on the A9 in pretty atrocious conditions and all the drivers behaved impeccably. There was a long queue in front and a long queue behind, everyone driving patiently in convoy, all keeping a safe distance allowing for drivers to pull off to clear windscreens and wipers, allowing them back into the queue. There were no stupid attempts to overtake on snow-bound dual carriageways. Everyone in that queue drove with common sense and with a concern for, and awareness of, others at speeds between 15 and 30mph until things began to clear south of Dunkeld.

The traffic going north appeared to be doing the same. I always expect to see one or two idiots in such conditions, but to contend that the entire driving population on a particular road is behaving negligently seems somehow implausible.

how do you think the other cars around you would respond to seeing a vehicle fishtailing in front of them?

I'm not sure he can be blamed for how others react?

Such collectively bad judgement seems unlikely.

Seriously, are you seriously saying that? Do you live in a parallel universe?

Car starting to fishtail does not equal almost losing control of the car. Years of being a boy racer and kart racer has seen to that.

You ASSUMED driving at a safe speed would have been more dangerous. You PROVED that driving at a dangerous speed was dangerous.

Impressive trolling m_f. Now if you can just relate this to the assumption and proofs of climate change then you should have a perfect storm 🙄

I'm not sure he can be blamed for how others react?

Car starting to fishtail does not equal almost losing control of the car. Years of being a boy racer and kart racer has seen to that.

And you haven't answered - what effect do you think your fishtailing car would have on the responses of other road users.

Do you live in a parallel universe?

No. Why?

Stuartie_C - It was Glasgow. Conditions were interesting in that they didn't look that bad, but there were actually truly horrendous - lots of black ice. Add that to the fact that Glasgow had been at a standstill all day due to the M8 and M73 being closed. It is thee worst combination of road and traffic conditions that I've ever been in and it was taking ALL of my concentration and skill to keep the thing going straight and stop some nugget from crashing into us.

M_F - I think they were too busy trying to keep control of their own vehicles to concentrate on mine.

OK.

Sounds very different to the A9 conditions - deep snow lying on an already frozen base and a near-blizzard. Much more [i]obviously [/i]dangerous.

I'll sit back and enjoy the discussion now. 😀