Whats the best advice when driving in snow?

Question

Is it high gears or low gears? i can't remember.

Answer 1

Use the highest gear possible without stalling. The science behind this is that starting out in a lower gear, the wheels spin very fast, so you won't get as much traction.

With a higher gear, the wheels turn slower so you will get more grip.

If you start skidding in snow, don't brake hard because you will skid even more. Ease your foot off the accelerater and try to ride it out - don't turn the wheel too much either.

Driving in snow and ice just takes practice. Good luck!

Answer 2

First thing to do is to slow down. Most drivers are stupid idiots anyway and try to drive at the same speed in a blizzard that they do on dry pavement, and then wonder why they end up in a ditch or wrapped around a telephone pole.

I have found that when driving up a snow covered hill if you have an automatic transmission the best thing to do is to put it in L or the lowest gear you have and creep up the hill like a snail. Usually the problem in this situation is that if you attempt to go up a snow-covered hill the the car will fishtail and spin out of control when the transmission shifts.

Unfortunately, most drivers are too stupid when it comes to driving in snow and don't seem to get it.

Answer 3

How about snow tyres? I don't mean Town and Country.
High gear. A higher gear than normal - try starting in 2nd. instead of 1st. I think it has to do with torque - but even Jeremy Clarkson doesn't understand what that means. Has to do with power transferred to the wheels. I heard you had 2 inches of snow in the UK, so I suppose life has ground to a halt. Sorry - I have lived in Switzerland for over 30 years.

Answer 4

Its not about high gears or low gears. Its about being in the right gear at the right time. Drive slower, turn a little sooner if its quite slick and the best of all... follow a sanding truck.

Answer 5

I'm not suprised there are so many accidents when I read some of the replies.

For a start, snow varies according to temperature, and the most dangerous snow is the warmer, wet, sloppy stuff. With colder snow, you get far more control and grip.

Everything depends on the vehicle.

If it is four-wheel drive, the chances are you will be able to get moving without too much difficulty, even using low gears. With just front-wheel drive, you need to use a very delicate throttle, because the moment the wheels spin, you have no steering control whatsoever. If you have a rear-drive car (now quite rare) you need to have the right tyres fitted, or you are going nowhere when you get to the first hill. (The exception to that rule are rear-engine cars, but not ones with very wide-wheels like a Porsche.
Old Beetles were good on snow).

Choice of gears is not THAT important, but use of throttle IS. Too much and you spin the wheels in almost any gear.

A small amount of wheel-spin doesn't matter, but always remember to back off if you want to steer a front-drive car.

The biggest problem is actually stopping; especially down-hill, and if a road has frozen to shiny ice, you have a problem. Snow is also very slippery of course, and if going down-hill, it is always a good idea to drive with the nearside wheels almost in the gutter, where grit and small stones tend to collect. That extra bit of bite can be a life-saver in an emergency.

Now for something contentious,,,,steering in to a skid. That CAN be fatal, because skids always happen in straight-lines, and that can mean driving head-first into lamp-post or solid object. YOU ONLY STEER IN IF YOU HAVE A CLEAR EXIT. In fact, it is probably SAFER to allow a car to spin rather than to steer into a disaster situation, because spinning a car around on snow is the quickest way to stop it, due to the fact that the forward momentum is changed into centrifugal energy.

Braking is critical, because it should be done gently and smoothly, with any gaps between you and the car in front at least doubled, and preferrably tripled. Noit only does this allow more braking space, it also allows steering space if that is a better option when an accident is about to happen.

Most cars now have ABS brakes, which do not allow wheels to lock under braking, but in spite of that, they will under about 20mph or so. A locked wheel has less braking force than an unlocked one, and this is why ABS was developed. Also, locked front wheels cannot steer.

For those who do not have ABS brakes, there is a method of allowing steering and braking, called "cadence braking," where the right foot pumps the brake pedal up and down rapidly; thus allowing the front wheels to lock and unlock, and therefore steer and brake at the same time. It sound difficult, but it isn't really, and IT WORKS.

Always make sure that you can see where you're going. Glass mists up much easier in snow, so make sure that the windscreen has heat going to it, and that the wiper-blades are clear of frozen, compacted snow. If necessary, get out and bang them on and off the windscreen, to break up the ice.

Lights also get covered in snow, so periodically clear the snow from them at nightime, or you end up with light going everywhere, which can be blinding to yourself and other drivers.

If the snow is deep enough to drift, that is both a hazard and a safety feature, because there is nothing stops a car quicker than a snowdrift, and usually without damage unless it is frozen solid.

It's better to plough into deep snow than hit something else on the road, and it will not hurt you unless there's a large boulder lurking underneath it.

Unfortunately, we don't get enough snow these days, and so most people have little experience of it.

For those of us who learned how to cope 40 years ago, when snow could be 15ft deep where I live, it was something you had to learn how to do. As a 17 year-old, I used to find deserted car-parks and practiced whenever I could. The biggest problem to-day is cars fitted with tyre which are far too wide, which are absolutely hopeless on snow. I used to have a set of narrow, knobbly winter-tyres, which were superb.

Now I drive a very large truck, and I quite like snow.....but only when everyone else is in bed and safely off the roads. I still find it fun and quite a challenge.

One final tip if the snow persists and you live among hills. The BEST THING IN THE WORLD for getting grip on snow, are woodchips. So if you can't get going, get that bag of garden woodchips out of the boot, and scatter them in front of the driving-wheels.

You'll get going again!

Answer 6

You need the highest gear possible under the conditions. It doesn not mean that you have to crawl everywhere in 5th gear. You may only be able to reach 10 or 20 MPH so you would be better off using 2nd or 3rd gear respectively, so that your wheels take less revolutions.

Answer 7

First, make sure you have chains or snow tires on your car. High gear, slow speed, avoid sudden braking...ease into stops. And don't travel by car unless it's absolutely necessary. Don't worry, the snow won't last long.

Answer 8

Iss climb fast decend slow, Use High gear to stop wheels skidding, and maek control easy but if front wheel drife go downhill in neutral.
If ou haf hill ant no skid chains or snow tyres attack it, lots of revs cos you need momentum to cover slippy bits, get speed agen when is grip. In mi cuntery snow is problem cos cannot se ruts, but soon get like drife snow, is fun powerslite ant that but it hurt wen crash.

Answer 9

High gear, low rpm and slow. Whatever you do, try not to spin the wheels. Go very slow around corners.

Answer 10

Low gear, drive slow, but the best advice would be to pull over unless you have decent visability....