Posts Tagged ‘snow’
Driving on Icy Winter Roads
With latest weather forecasts warning us in the UK that we can expect some snow how prepared are you for some real winter weather?
The long period of cold, snowy weather that we experienced early in 2009 highlighted how unprepared we in the U.K. are for true wintery conditions. Perhaps I shouldn’t generalize because people in the north of the British isles tend to fare better than their soft southern counterparts. Scotland tends to be better prepared than the southern British Isles as they experience some intense winter conditions most years.
One problem that arose early in 2009 was that gritting trucks ran out of road grit. It has been said that this was due to a lack of adequate funding. But it really boils down to inaccurate forecasting. While the south of the United Kingdom can experience some intense winter conditions they tend to be very shortlived. There was not enough grit to last for the prolonged cold snap which lasted for 5 weeks.
But how do they cope in countries like Sweden and Norway where they have snow on the ground for much of the winter?
Driving on compacted, icy, snowy roads is very dangerous. Not only due to the lack of traction and grip but also due to reduced visibility caused by spray and slush kicked up by cars and trucks. Winter tyres can be a good idea.
Although they do grit their roads in Norway and Sweden this is usually concentrated on busy road junctions. Once away from the busy city and town roads you’ll find roads consist of compacted snow and ice. When driving on these roads it is important to travel slowly and not to make any sudden moves.Overaking is not wise when driving in these conditions.
A set of winter tyres can be useful. The tyres contain some added silicone which helps them to remain flexible at low temperatures. They are designed with far heavier tread patterns with fine lateral cuts designed to increase the area of tyre surface in contact with the road.
Another possible option to improve traction is to use snow chains but these are only really useful in snow and not very useful on ice.Another type of tyre to consider are metal studded tyres which can be helpful in icy road conditions.
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