Seriously, F*** all this noise

[Optimist Prime]

I'm glad you're okay. Take it easy on the roads though, I don't want any bad news.

[Hootie]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
Had to take Mrs. DeltAlum to the airport early this morning. It was sleeting at the time. Passed three roll-overs, one of which was a fatal which closed the freeway.

I've driven in cold country all my life. Seems to me there are a couple of important things to remember.

First, everyone who drives a big 4WD whatever needs to realize that they may get going faster, but everyone has 4WS (that's four wheel stop). SUV's and pickups going too fast aren't safe.

Second, moderation and consistancy are the most important thing in snow and ice conditions. If you don't try to start or stop too fast, and you don't get your tires spinning or skidding, you're probably gonna be OK.

I met a guy from Colorado...close to Greeley (starts with an L)...yeah anyways, we were joking about the idiots that drive in the snow that aren't used to it (not you John)! He said he laughs every time he passes some vehicle off the side of the road with a California license plate. So sad! But for some reason his 88 Pontiac did well in the snow! I think it had something to do with the fact that he bought it from some Mexicans that made it into a super low rider Now that'd be a funny site in snow!

[texas*princess]

I'm glad you're ok kitso!

That actually happened to me one time.. except I was in high school and it was on the back road that they were re-paving. The truck I was driving got all crazy like all of a sudden and I was spinning in circles. (To this day I still don't know how I managed to do that?!) It really is nerve-wrecking, that's for sure!

Be safe!

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by Hootie
He said he laughs every time he passes some vehicle off the side of the road with a California license plate.

That's too bad, but the truth is that nothing makes a Coloradan madder than someone in a huge whatever charging through the mountains in the winter. Unfortunately, this seems to be most often the case with Texans -- Californians being a close second.

Mountain driving can be scary at best -- even when the weather seems good. You can't see "black ice" on the roadway, and you can find your arse in a ditch or guardrail or a much more dangerous and unfortunate place in less than the wink of an eye.

More than once I've entered the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 in bright sunshine on one side and emerged into a blizzard 90 seconds later on the other side.

In can be nearly as bad on the plains, except the weather doesn't change quite as quickly.

By the way, in the three roll-overs I mentioned in my post above, one was a 4WD pickup and the two others were SUV's.

While I don't recommend this, about once or twice a winter, if I'm on a very wide road or in a parking lot with no other traffic, I practice fish-tailing and even sometimes a 360 degree skid. I don't know if it helps, but I've never hit anything or anybody in 30 years of driving in the snow and ice.

[GeekyPenguin]

DA, we were also taught to practice fishtailing and skids...for my drivers' ed classes we usually went to the high school parking lot or the community college parking lot. It can really be invaluable to know exactly how your car is going to react to snow/ice, which is why 99% of the time, I'll take my little compact over my mom's SUV - I know what my car is going to do! So many of the weather problems would be avoiding if people would just slow down and look around them a little more.

[Tom Earp]

DeltaAlum! Yes that is called practicing.

Used to run kids off of parking lots who were cutting cats in the snow!

Had a rooie ask me why when I ran them off was I doing the same thing! "Practicing I replied!" Damn was it fun!


Kitso, Remember Bro. It is PU trucks, big guns in the rear window, whip anteeni, and a know how to drive on snow!

You will learn Bubba, you will learn!

Just Cover your ass! Oh and hang on!

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
DA, we were also taught to practice fishtailing and skids...for my drivers' ed classes we usually went to the high school parking lot or the community college parking lot.

Yeah, they didn't teach that in my day, but we sent our son to a new defensive driving school and they did skid pads and the whole nine yards.

The other thing about driving in the snow is to keep OFF the brakes as much as possible. Once you've locked up the wheels -- lost traction -- you've lost control.

This will be the first winter I've even had a front wheel drive car -- always drove two seat roadster sportscars before -- so I hope I don't get overconfident.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Glad your ok, Kitso.

361 times I am amazed that the weather this weekend feels like spring.