How To Drive On Snow And Ice (1957)

[RDinNHandAZ]

Au contrairé, sir! They are still available here! They are highly spoken of in a couple of automotive forums I have inhabited.

Oh wonder of wonders. I can go back to the driving excitement of my youth. Damn shame I’m here in AZ where we have to shovel about a foot of sunshine almost every day and the temperature hovers above 60º most days of the winter. But when I decide to stay in snow country like the NEK where I lived for 40 years I’ll place and order!
Thank you!

Our daughter went to college in N Philadelphia in the early 90’s and took our beater car, an old Subaru with those sand treads on it. Philly got snow. She became a mythological character at her school for being able to go anywhere in any weather anytime. That woman knows how to drive. BTW Subaru’s were 4WD and at the time one of the few cars that were.

To dLsmith I must say I have lived where you would be home 60 or more days a winter and if someone careened off the road no 2WD vehicle would respond unless they had chains on. You are right that the vast majority of drivers should stay home as their skills are insuficient to the task despite their driven wheel count. Our dirt road up a 10%+ grade was not sanded nor salted at the time. You drove on packed white snow every day. If you weren’t up to the task you did stay home, or developed “the skill”.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

I don't believe that the people in the Northeast forget how to drive in snow, I believe that they never learned how to drive in snow!

Yep. I saw the same when I lived in Colorado (Army, Ft. Carson) and I see the same here in Virginia. People who live in snow country all their lives and never figure it out.

 

[Daren Todd]

I've never owned a 4WD vehicle, never will. If the roads are so bad you need 4WD, keep your ass at home, unless you're LEO, FD or first responder.
If people did that, there would be a lot fewer deaths on the roads in the winter. But then, that's Darwin's Law at work, weeding out the fearless.

I have a 4wd. It's not just road conditions where I've needed it. Field conditions, as well as backing up steep gravel driveways with a loaded trailer when there wasn't a spot to turn around in.

 

[Velma]

If you have the means and live in snow country. Get kids out in a snowy yard with an off road vehicle ATV, UTV, go cart, etc. It’s fun way to teach them to “drive” when it’s slick. Counter steering in a slide becomes a reflex and they won’t panic when it happens in a car.

And get them a set of snow tires for Christmas…you will sleep better.

 

[RCW]

When I took Driver’s Education in high school, I’d had a Driver’s License for some time.

Think I had 15-20,000 miles under my belt in some snowy conditions. Car always started, as it never got cold….

Had driven cars, trucks and tractors for many years before that.

In icy conditions, Driver’s Education teacher would have me demonstrate slides and corrections in vacant parking lots. Sometimes I’d work in a donut…

All was good, and others were given chances after my demonstration

Car was an early K-car, I think. Recall car being RWD, and RWD was what I knew.
Don’t recall if K-cars of the era were RWD or FWD.

4 students and teacher in the car.

Could never do that today, unfortunately. Many new drivers don’t have that practical experience.

 

[Bugzilla46310]

Impressed with the neat cursive writing. Had a 36 Pontiac with the original owners manual. It was more an instruction manual on how to drive also. Remember my first FWD car in 1989. Was amazed with the ease of winter driving.

 

[cthomas]

Those were the days. Now you would probably lose your license doing the same thing...

That and driving an old junker in a friend's parent's muddy field taught my reflexes how to react on slippery surfaces to this day!

My dad advise me to go to the locate empty church parking lot and "play around" to understand what snow does to traction and how the car would respond. The local police officer was not impressed and told me to go home(at least no ticket). Now some communities offer driving school safety(I'm an instructor for it) that teach safer driving(think fire dept. soaking a big circle on pavement with soap and water) and learning how to drive using just the gas(accelerator) pedal with steering wheel "locked" at 30 degrees. But, sometimes all 4WD is good for is it makes the walk back longer.

 

[sheepfarmer]

An exception to the steer where you want to go is if you are on the fwy and hit black ice. I did, and it was very clear that momentum was going to carry my truck off the hwy down hill into a big median strip. As soon as the front wheels hit the edge where there was traction I pretended I was driving my tractor and aimed the nose down hill until I fetched up in a bush, nicely cushioned by the deep snow. The next guy that hit that piece of ice tried to steer back on the freeway and rolled his truck. The trooper that came by was impressed by my driving skills and said I was lucky. I thought so too. Truck not even scratched but I did have to be towed out of the deep snow.