Snow

[ianess]

What is it with the motorists in this country that they can't cope with half an inch of snow? This morning we had a half hour heavy snowfall which caused unbelievable chaos, roads closed, HGV's stuck because of mummy on the school run panicking, Councils panicking and closing schools.........and 2 hours later the roads were clear, the sun was shining, and everything was back to normal.

How on earth do other countries cope but we can't?

[zara 4]

I know. a tiny smidgen of snow and the country comes to a standstill.

[funkymoped]

didnt you know that "all vehicles" in every other country in the world, must by law (united nations. rule 2263) be fitted with snow tyres at all times. they must also be selective 4 wheel drive, with sensors fitted that activate 4 wheel drive if the temperature drops below 2*C. Britain was given 65 years to bring its vehicles up to international standard (c1985) with the option of extending a further 50 years if required.

hope this helps... :-)

[stanleyman]

It's a fear of the unknown, we've not had any really bad snow for must be at least twenty years. People should stay at home if they can't handle it and wait for it to clear.

[Toureman]

I cannot believe your statement that "All vehicles in every country in the world must by law be fitted with snow tyres at all times!"

I for one am not going to get my motorbike fitted with snow tyres and 4 wheel drive! Why don't the police give most people in the uk an on the spot fine for this, they give it for everything else they can find?

I should think having snow tyres and 4 wheel drive in Egypt would be a bit ridiculous!

[qapmoc]

Have you ever tried driving across the desert, its a bit of a pain with 2 wheel drive and normal tyres?.
But anyway funkymoped was just winding you up, you should not believe stuff just because it sounds legalistic, and in fact UN rule 2263 actually relates to the maximum allowed length for a beard in high level meetings.

[stanleyman]

Does this mean Reliant Robins can at last be outlawed unless they fit a drive to the spare? UN2263 does actually exist and does mention snow tyres and beards!

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/tribunal/fulltext/2263.htm

[zara 4]

Heres one for you,years ago we had loads of snow one year and at the time we had a 3 wheeler well when no other cars could get out without sliding and buses were taken off the road guess what was driving about no sliding and chugging about reliably? Yep the reliant,great little cars.

[KebabMeister]

Motorists have to have snow tyres fitted in winter... but then we get a lot of snow between November and March/April.

[stanleyman]

I remember a Reliant beating me away from the lights once, I had a deisel Astra van. I had to hire a car during the snow one year for work and being a tight fisted so and so I hired the cheapest I could get which was a Peugeot deisel engined FSO based on the Fiat chassis.

With rear wheel drive like the Reliant and with my tools in the back it just kept on going like a tractor (just as comfortable). I thought I would splash out a few years later and bought the wife one, true. It actually drove quite well once the Poland made tyres were changed.

[sddsddean]

I used to drive my truck to Austria, where of course they get tons of snow. As they know they are going to get it, they are ready and 'prepare' for winter in October. Marker poles are put down the sides of roads and the highway workers do almost nothing else except snow clearing. As they know they are going to get it, they can invest in machines and materials. Over here, you might get it for a day or two. One week I was driving on the motorway in Southern Germany at 50mph on 2" of snow, but as everyone else was, it was not a problem. Later that week I got off the boat at Dover and came up the hill where about 1/4" of sleet was on the road. Everyone was crawling along and I got loads of 'horns' off the car drivers as I went by at 50 mph with no problems. Most people just don't know how to drive on snow!

[madein1978]

Because Britain wouldn't be Britain if we didn't go off half cocked when something like the Snow happens! I know, its ridiculous, We're expected to stay together when these Olympics happen, but we can't cope when a few flakes of snow happen! People can't seem to drive in it either, I remember seeing a woman in a Peugeot 206 one morning in the snow, she was coming up to a junction in the road too fast and slammed on the brakes expecting to stop, but off she slid across the road nearly into a house!! Just as well I saw what was going to happen and held back, she'd have been into me otherwise! I'm afraid ABS is not going to stop you in this kind of weather.

[alzheimer]

Quite agree..the UK , being an island does not get much in the way of snow, so people panic and just can't cope. They continue to travel too fast and forget the old maxim..."see snow, go slow" We have had almost 18" of the stuff in the past 3 days in this area and still the silly sods drive like maniacs. Incidentally, before I could afford a "real car" I too drove a Reliant...it saved my life on one occasion.I was traveling south over the Scotland/England border in thick fog in a blizzard one snowy winter's night. It was high up over the hills and a very bad bend loomed up ....the chevrons at the side of the road had been knocked down by a previous vehicle ploughing over and down into a chasm. If I had been in a "normal car" I maybe couldn't have corrected in time. The single front wheel of the Reliant turned on the proverbial sixpence and I was safe ...if shaken! My husband (an ex RAF pilot) said it was like flying a kite, driving that thing, but I loved my Reliant...wouldn't do it now...too vulnerable with all the traffic...I'm talking 40 years ago!

[Toureman]

I have driven in North Norway for three winters, in Landrovers with 4 wheel drive and fitted with studded snow tyres. On many occasions I would drive at the same speeds as I would in England in the middle of summer even though the road was just sheet ice!

I would think I was doing quite well then I would see a spot in my rear view mirror which was catching me very quickly and as it passed it would be some old woman in an old SAAB or VOLVO with only 2 wheel drive!

The Norwegians prefer driving in winter because the roads are smoother!

The snow which is very regularly snow ploughed turns to ice, this ice breaks up the road surface so in summer there are a lot of potholes, in winter the ploughed snow turns to ice and the roads are mooth again.

All motorists from countries that get these conditions have a spare set of wheels fitted with studded tyres, they fit them for the winter period thats why there are no problems. It would be totally useless doing this here as you only need to travel a few miles and then when you leave the snow areas you would have to change all four wheels because the studded tyres would skid all over the place on clear roads.

In this country in snow it does not matter how good a driver you might be it only takes one truck driver or one useless car driver to block the road then everyone has to stop, the snow keeps falling no one can move you all spend the night in a barn!

[bob57]

I don't know what the problem is I've been away down south all week and hardly saw any snow at all the only place that I thought was going to be bad was norwich but that shower only lasted 5 minutes it was not until I reached aberdeen that I saw the snow on my car after it sat my works yard since monday

[zara 4]

Oh we had more than 5 minutes here in norwich bob57 but no way near what they forecast.

[bob57]

sorry zara 4 it felt like 5 minutes but remember I was only passing through

[KebabMeister]

We had 60cms last night in Munich, some areas are reporting 90cm of snow! It's completely crazy, the most snow I've ever seen :) Some cars have as much snow on the roof as it is high.

[zara 4]

Its not a prob bob57 we had your 5 minutes then nothing then it came down constently for quite a while

[zara 4]

Good job we know what you talking about mdoo 98!