for those in the snow belt, be careful

are you not in the snow belt?

 

Hi All,

The white pickup truck 2/3's the way through the 1st video illustrates why the Prius should not be programmed to allow slip in the wheels. He was doing great, till the hill got just a little bit too steep, and he lost the static friction, then he just slid backwards with his tires slipping....

 

same here! i havn't been out since Christmas, except for firewood and beer.

 

that's sweet, i have to walk a mile for the beer, but the firewood is out back.

 

That first video is crazy! People are nuts. I know all the places mentioned in the Fargo video. Other than the size of the pile-up, that's pretty normal. Blizzards, road closings, zero visibility. I just stayed at home in that kind of weather. Blizzards are actually fun if you are safe indoors and not dependent on electricity for heat. Made me feel a little nostalgic, but it also made me glad I left.

 

Vid number one shows why it's a good idea to take a camera with you in your vehicle at all times. Try explaining that mess to your insurance company without the help of that sort of video.

 

So glad this doesnt happen here in AUS...

 

That hill did not look very steep at all
Noticed that no one had black steelies on there cars
How many people did have really winter tires on their car?

 

That's why sanders are the first vehicles out around here.

 

At 8:00 in the video, "This is f*cking madness."

What more can be said?

I'm trying to figure out what conditions created the slipper-er than
cat snot conditions...

When the vehicles slid backwards, sometimes they scraped the snow
away and you can see black pavement.

But what you see, is it an ice covered road surface, of a thin layer of
slush under there?

I suspect the latter. But I guess that would depend on whether the
ground was well frozen before the snow fell.

 

I think the main reason was crappy tires

 

No, you just have a thousand and one things that will kill you waiting behind every tree, shrub, and wave.

It's black ice. The slipperiest thing there is. I don't know how black ice is formed, but its much slipperier even than glare ice, which is bad enough. Then, in this case, there's a thin layer of snow over it, which makes it even worse, if that's possible. Doesn't take much of an incline. I think the upper part of the hill is a little steeper than the lower part, which is why they make it to that point.

 

Reminds me of the ice storm that hit Seattle area in 06.
http://www.palmsprings.tv/videos-portland-ice-storm-[KyfjZlOSq2A].cfm
There was a video of a dump truck spinning 360s that was quite interesting but can't find anymore.

 

It is this kind of situation in a residentual area that caused me to buy
snow tires, Blizzaks, this year for the first time in 40+ years of driving.
My straight to work commute is ~8 miles north/south with a 350 ft
elevation difference, all on urban streets.

My general rule for going to work is, "If it's snowin', I ain't goin." But at
times, I'm at work when the snow starts falling. What to do? I have an
"emergency" alternate route. It is ~5 mi longer and has me going north
then east on the freeways that are usually well salted/cleared to gain the
elevation rise and get me within 3 miles of home with an almost flat
route pretty much due south from there.

Still, I'm always concerned more about the other guy, usually going too
fast for the conditions, even at 15 MPH.

Falstaff had it right;
The better part of valor is
discretion,
in the which better part I have sav'd my life. Shakespeare, Henry IV

http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/better-part-valor-discretion

 

Wow, did this bring back memories. When I first moved to Colorado, I was coming back from the mountains. I was trying to avoid the snowstorm in Denver, so I tried to go through Blackhawk and I found myself in this same situation. I came up to a curve in the road with a bunch of cars on the side of the road and stopped. As soon as I stopped, I slid sideways off the side of the road. Luckily for me there was not a car on the side where I slid. I didn't hit anything and the grass stopped my slide. Some guys pushed me out and I turned around and headed back to I-25. On my way to Denver, I came upon the same situation. Luckily, what I learned from my first experience that night was if you stop, you are dead in the water, so I slowing kept moving through at least 50 cars that were already on the side of the road. There was a guy in front of me and I was waiting for him to stop so he would slide out of my way. He finally did. I must have been only going 1 or 2 mphs at that point, but I never stopped and I was able to maintain control and made it home that night.

So the key is to never stop. If you watch that first video, the A hole in the 4 wheel drive truck almost made it through, but as soon as he stopped, he was dead meat.

And it is black ice. That is scary stuff.

 

wow.

 

You can pry my studded tires from my cold dead hands





The 4x4 crowd are the worst - they think their vehicle is somehow equippped with magic ice traction. I've had the most trouble dealing with idiots driving lifted 4x4's

Those giant tires are dangerous on ice