Winter Driving Stories

[nissangirl74]

As I was driving to Greg's mom's for Christmas dinner this afternoon, I was very thankful that I didn't have to shovel snow to get out of my driveway or make sure I had chains on the tires, or a winter weather kit in the car in case we were stranded. Winter in the desert trumps all. I haven't always been so fortunate. I used to live in Tennessee at the base of the Appalachian mountains and have seen my fair share of the white stuff.

I thought I'd start up a thread so we could share some of our funny / scary / unbelievable winter driving stories. Comic relief for some, educational for others.

[nissangirl74]

(MANY) Years ago, I had a 1980 Datsun 210. I was working 2nd shift and our boss came down the line about 7 PM and asked where I lived (about 10 miles away). I told him and he said that if I wanted to go home early, I could. The snow was falling pretty heavily and starting to lay on the roads. I wasn't scared about driving on the roads but I was pretty stoked about going home early so I left. I had brand new tires and I had driven in the snow many times before so I wasn't worried. I had to stop at a stop light and slid MAYBE a tire width, nothing major at all. As I was going around the last curve to my house (a long, sweeping curve), I passed one of the vehicles for the fire department. A 4x4 Bronco. I glanced in the mirror and evidently he didn't have the 4x4 engaged because he slid through that turn completely sideways. I don't know if he did it on purpose or if the truck actually broke loose but I started laughing anyway. How funny was it that a very small, very light 2wd RWD car made it all the way across town without sliding and this huge truck just did.

[asoomal]

When I used to work as a driver for an auto parts store, we, the drivers, would always have a little fun everytime it snowed. Well....as much fun as we could, we drove 1.0L Metros/Fireflys/Sprints/Swifts.

One day I had to deliver a part to a shop that was situated at a cramped complex. No one had bothered to plow any of the snow, I guess they weren't expecting any customers. Anyways, to get to the complex, right off the street there is a slight incline, I'd say around 25-30 degrees incline for 3 meters. In front of me, there were two douche bags driving an H2 with 26" wheels wrapped in rubber bands (there was a badge on the side of the H2 that said "26" Because Size Matters").

They were stuck on that incline.

No matter how hard they tried, they could not make it up that incline, even with 4WD. I guess tires really do make a difference, especially when you have a set of banana peels on some cheezy wheels. It was hilarious watching them struggle and looking at each other confused.

After 5 minutes, they gave up. backed up and stopped to let me pass. I popped the clutch half way and rode the rest of it out (it was fun watching the engine bang the hood, loose engine mounts) and proceeded to tackle the incline that an H2 couldn't conquer. With some clutch, gas, and steering modulation, I made it to the other end of the 3 meter long incline. Seriously, I was shocked to see an H2 struggle like that, yet the Metro/Swift/Firefly/Sprint, whatever I was driving, easily made it across.

The looks on their faces were priceless :P

[Jesda]

Bought a 1990 Maxima in 2005 and crossed the country in the worst winter storm the great plains had seen in a century. The interstate through Wyoming was -completely- covered. You could NOT see the shoulder and the entire road surface was white. My car was the one making fresh tracks.

In South Dakota an ice storm took out the electricity to half the state, making it impossible to fill up. We pulled into a gas station with 1/4 tank left and pondered whether to keep going down I-90 looking for fuel or park here like the others waiting for power to be restored. I decided to press on.

Finally, just as the needle approached empty, I found a station that had its power restored five minutes before we pulled in. I topped off -- all the way -- and thankfully made it home to Missouri.

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A couple years ago I helped my stepsister move to Boulder, CO from St Louis. We packed the Lexus LX with most of her stuff and put the remainder in my stepbrother's 01 Accord coupe. I was rather annoyed as my parents plowed forward in the Lexus without any trouble, leaving us behind. It was also a bit unnerving to see the plow trucks turning around to go back as I pressed forward, making fresh tracks in the crunchy, icy road surface.




If I was to slow down at all below 25mph I would have lost momentum and gotten stuck in the middle of nowhere without wireless service on I-70.


Eventually we made it but I vowed never to make that trip in the winter again. My reward for risking my life was chicken and waffles. It was worth it.


http://jesda.com/2012/02/09/review-2001 ... road-trip/

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In late 2008 I made the same trip, this time in a 1992 Cadillac Seville. Roads were equally treacherous and I ran into temperatures as low as -26F.


A few minutes after I took this picture of the outdoor temp at -22, it dropped to -26.

The heat was doing its job admirably (new heater core was installed less than a year ago), but there was only so much it could do. Frost began to form inside the windshield and on the side windows. Brakes started to feel a bit crunchy, as if the brake lines were filled with chunks of ice. The engine maintained 201F according to the digital readout, but I could tell the car wanted it to be over. Remarkably, the road surface still had reasonable traction.



There was hardly anyone on the road. It was approaching midnight and most big rigs and travelers were in their cabs or in motel rooms, struggling to stay warm.

I pulled into a gas station to fill up. The display on the pump was barely readable because the liquid crystals had nearly frozen. Gas flowed at an agonizingly slow pace. The pumping mechanism whined and groaned like a teenager being asked to wake up on Sunday morning. It was if I was filling my tank with a thick gelatinous substance.

I stood there shaking like a wet dog, waiting eagerly for the tank to fill up. I could feel the boogers and hairs in my nose freeze as wind gusted through. My eyes burned and my fingertips ached. All this in only a couple minutes!

Gasoline itself doesn’t freeze until -40F, so I still had a buffer of 14 degrees before the contents of my fuel tank turned into a solid brick. Various hydrocarbons in gasoline freeze at different temperatures, and its ability to flow will be reduced as it approaches freezing.

The Seville was running on standard 10W-30 motor oil, not a blend or full synthetic. The pour point for standard 10W30 is -20F, so I was already beyond a safe threshold at -26. If I was to stop overnight and sleep, I’d run a risk of not being able to start my car in the morning, so I had no choice but to keep going.

At a lower enough temperature, the waxes and paraffins in motor oil turn into a honey-like gel and the oil ceases to be a useful lubricant. Mobil 1 synthetic has a pour point of of below -40F.

At one point we drove over a tire in the road, I mean right over. Thankfully nothing was damaged and we kept on going.

I really miss that '92 Cadillac. It was heroically dependable in all kinds of extreme conditions.

http://jesda.com/2011/02/11/what-does-26f-feel-like/

[Bubba1]

My story happened during the blizzard of 1996. Here in PA, we got clobbered with mostly ice, but also snow, high winds and frigid temps. I was in my little 240sx, with well worn all season radials. Travellng home on the busiest portion of the Pennsylvania turnpike, the road became a ice skating rink. Turnpike authority closed the dang road while I was on it. I became very aware of the gentle arc to the road for water drainage 'cause if you weren't in the middle lane at the crown of the arch, you were sliding to the side. It took me 9 hours to travel about 20 miles on the turnpike. Navigating around spun out morons that passed me at close to the speed limit. Most of them in BMW's, pickup trucks (with confederate flag rear window stickers + Sunoco nascar bumper stickers covering rust holes, idiots in big SUV's thinking they were impervious to ice because they had AWD, and a few jackknifed tractor trailer rigs, I chuckled when I cruised by each of them at 10 mph (mostly sideways) after confirming they were not injured. It was fun sustaining a miles long slide...well, for the first hour. Then it got kinda challenging. This was before Cell phones became affordable so I had no way to let my wife know where I was. My trip was saved by the makers of Snapple, with their wide mouth bottle. I happily learned my wife had left an empty bottle of diet lemon in the car that I made full use of. I figured I was doing a public service as when I discarded the new contents I had added, as yellow ice is more visible than clear ice.

I eventually got home safely + in one piece, and decided I was gonna buy an SUV, my current 4 Runner. Ironically, we haven't had a storm like that since then.

[WDRacing]

I was driving my wifeunit2000 to work 3 years ago, when we lived in Wichita Falls, TX. They don't get snow often, so they're not ready for it when it comes. I don't want to make this a long drawn out story, so I'll post the highlights.

05 Mitsubishi Endeavor, FWD on all season radials.

Entering the highway behind a slow moving sedan. Most of the traffic is moving slowly, snow is still falling and we have about 6 inches of accumulation. The sedan in front of us reaches the merge point and pulls directly into the left lane. About 100 feet in front of a 18 wheeler that was going about 25mph too fast. The semi jack knifes, then straightens it out. All of this is going on beside me as I just merged next to the f*** truck. The truck driver assesses the situation, lets off of the brakes, crosses the median, crosses 2 lanes of on coming highway and parks in the breakdown lane facing the wrong way. The wifeunit is fairly hysterical at this point.

I continue up the highway in the left lane. The right lane is backed up with people exiting. Ahead of me a person starts to brake, no one in front of them. I start to brake. They decide to put on their blinker and come to a f*** stop in the left lane, because they can't merge in order to get off he highway. I start to slide and realize that I'm going to f*** smash right into this mouth breathing mongoloid. So I drive off the highway and into the median on the left. But I just kept on driving. Went down the median about 75 feet before I could merge back onto the highway. Never even slowed...

Wife...totally freaked out now.

Made it to her work shortly after.

[audtatious]

Drove my coupe in 4"+ on the road. Conti DWS did great and I had no issues. Being lowered I had to watch for other vehicles dropping iceberg's in my path. Worked out quite fine.

Daughter was hoping for some donuts but it was rush hour and too many people around.

[nissangirl74]

Jesda, I read your article and the subsequent one on driving in Alaska during the Winter. Both experiences sound absolutely horrible. I absolutely HATE the cold. I've been in temps around -10* / -15* and I was miserable. Hell, I hate 50*. I can't imagine having to function in that type of climate. I'll take my 115* Summers in a heartbeat compared to the alternative.

[Bubba1]

Jesda, I read your article and the subsequent one on driving in Alaska during the Winter. Both experiences sound absolutely horrible. I absolutely HATE the cold. I've been in temps around -10* / -15* and I was miserable. Hell, I hate 50*. I can't imagine having to function in that type of climate. I'll take my 115* Summers in a heartbeat compared to the alternative.

So I guess a 2 day winter driving school in northern New Hampshire where temps sometimes dip to -20F is out of the question for you..?

[Greenblurr93]

Cliffs notes: Black ice on the highway:





Broken back, almost 28 hrs of paralysis due to nerve damage, $21K in repairs, couple years of P.T. and I was back

[nissangirl74]

Jesda, I read your article and the subsequent one on driving in Alaska during the Winter. Both experiences sound absolutely horrible. I absolutely HATE the cold. I've been in temps around -10* / -15* and I was miserable. Hell, I hate 50*. I can't imagine having to function in that type of climate. I'll take my 115* Summers in a heartbeat compared to the alternative.

So I guess a 2 day winter driving school in northern New Hampshire where temps sometimes dip to -20F is out of the question for you..?

Not necessarily. I sure as hell don't want to live there but I'd attend the driving school. I'd love to have the experience even though my current address ensures I wouldn't ever have to use it. Bad weather doesn't scare me. People who don't know how to drive attempting to drive in these type of conditions scare me.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Here's my "educational" winter driving story.

Two or three years ago I was driving the LS8 home from work. It had snowed during the night, first major snow of the season. The city I worked in had very bad road gooming habits and the roads were piled inches-thick with unplowed snow. The LS8 was still wearing Hankook UHP summer tires that I hadn't bothered to change. They did not like the snow and the snow felt exactly the same about them. Fortunately, I know how to drive, and did just fine. For the first part, anyway.

The part I was worried about was a steep canyon-mouth crossing. Downhill was not too bad, although I was a bit nervous about the Hankook's tendency to understeer in the snow under braking. Fortunately engine-braking means rear-biased stopping power without affecting front-end traction, which is good (just one more reason RWD is superior to FWD in the snow, if we're teaching lessons here).

But going back uphill. That was a bit iffy. Luck was on my side, and this was a 55mph highway. I figured I could carry some speed from the downhill entrance to the canyon mouth crossing and use that to get safely back up the other side (a mile-long steep-grade ascent). At first, this worked in my favor. It was still pretty hairy, and I had no real momentum to waste on maneuvering, but I was climbing the hill successfully.

Then came the problem. The problem was a dumbass in a Civic. The problem was in front of me. The problem was doing about 15mph in a 55mph zone, while going UP A HILL. Terrified of snow, as everyone is the first time it snows in a state where it's winter 8 months of the year. I had no choice; I had to slow down. ALL my hard-earned momentum bled off as I slowed down. I turned on AdvanceTrac to get the most out of the very limited traction available, left the car in 5th to minimize excess torque, and moved right to snake off the road and up the steeply banked offramp that was my salvation.

But it was to no avail. As I got to the onramp, I began to need more thrust. The tires didn't find much traction, and wheelspin quickly turned a banked curve into a slide. I ended up on the shoulder, in mud and snow. Stuck. I could not get out. There was no traction for AdvanceTrac to work with, so it just refused to do anything with the rears. Turning it off just dug me further into the shoulder.

I had to call a damned tow truck to haul me out. A tow truck who had to BLOCK THE ENTIRE OFFRAMP so he could get me free.

All because some pansy-a** Civic driver was so afraid of the snow that he had to drive 15mph on a public road UP HILL in a situation where braking would NEVER be a concern.

The lesson I want you to learn here is twofold:

1: When traction is limited, momentum is everything.
2: If you're afraid to drive in the snow, don't.
Bonus: There's never an excuse for driving 15mph on a public road, and if you disagree you should stay off the roads.

[Jesda]

Jesda, I read your article and the subsequent one on driving in Alaska during the Winter. Both experiences sound absolutely horrible. I absolutely HATE the cold. I've been in temps around -10* / -15* and I was miserable. Hell, I hate 50*. I can't imagine having to function in that type of climate. I'll take my 115* Summers in a heartbeat compared to the alternative.

I hate the cold but I -love- snow! I love making fresh tracks when its nice and powdery.

Thankfully, in St Louis, the snow falls, sits around for a couple days, then melts.

[Rogue One]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZruohbsDHQ[/youtube]

[MinisterofDOOM]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZruohbsDHQ[/youtube]

It looks like that could destroy your rockers in a hurry if you're not REALLY careful about your approach and departure angles.

[frapjap]

Since we're getting something around 8-12" here today, I figured it was time to post up.
My worst snow driving story is similar to MOD's, but worse.

We had made a perilous drive 4.5 hours up to ski in northern VT during a big dump. The roads were pretty empty and the drive was uneventful on the way up, but on the last hill up to the base of the ski area the population picked up. The road was slick and the folks coming down were mostly engine braking and not riding the brakes- like they're supposed to- and were still sliding at a very fast, occasionally uncontrollable pace. I was amazed that there were people who were turning around in other folks driveways were STILL deciding to pull out in front of these downhill sliding, 4,000 lbs vehicles.

So, now that I've set the scene, here comes the good stuff.

At the bottom of the hill, some traffic had collected as some idiot was flooring their way through the accumulated snow in the intersection; maybe 4-6 cars stacked up and waiting behind him. As a Suburban was sliding down the hill, brakes pulsating, some moron in a Prius who was turning around in a persons driveway after not being able to go up the hill decides to pull out in front of this 6,500 lb beast. You can mostly guess what happens next. The Suburban, having zero other options, SLAMS into the jerkoff in the Prius and the two slide down the remainder of the hill in tandem, coming to rest after annihilating the line of traffic formed at the intersection at the bottom of the hill. As we watch this happen, another wonderful series of events begins to take place.
In our lane, about 2 car lengths in front of us, some ***hole in a FWD Escape with RI plates didn't grasp the concept of snow tires. He was barely moving, if at all, on the slick surface. As we were going up the hill with the traction control disabled and closing the gap, his tire smoking front end started to turn towards the middle of the road and then he started coming down the 2 lane road completely sideways.
We pulled off onto the shoulder just in time as he slid past us completely sideways, bounced off the car behind us, and brought more pain to the intersection below. We pushed on, having no other option aside from calling emergency services, but MAN! That was scary.

Things that should have been followed but weren't that day include:
1. Huge vehicles have the right of way, especially when they can't stop as well as they intend to.
2. Prius still sucks. There is no option to turn off the traction control. Your body will probably meet your soul in hell since you gave it up to drive this piece of s*** anyway.
3. If you're stuck trying to go uphill, sometimes turning off the traction control helps get traction since the power to the wheels isn't neutered.
4. If you're driving to a destination that is in the heart of snow country, and participate in a sport that requires snow, get some goddamned snow tires!

[AZhitman]

Flagstaff, AZ. late 80's. Hanging out with GF and her Pops (hard-core, beer-bellied, hairy, badass SOB who worked as a heavy equipment mechanic... the Pops, not the GF ). Heading for dinner at her grandmother's house (Pops drove separately, so he could GTFO - he and her mom were splitsville, and they couldn't be in the same room together for long).

He's driving an early-70's two-ton big-block four-speed dually GMC with bias-ply tires, a service bed and rack, and he's had about a case of beer.

We're behind him in her Mom's '84 Bronco (OJ Simpson Edition), dressed nicely, warm and cozy.

About 2' of snow on the ground, some wet, gloppy frozen mush coming down, and the roads are super-slick. Coming around a sweeping downhill turn coming off the mountain into town, very near the hospital, about 5pm. I'm concentrating like hell, keeping a LOT of distance from him, considering my skills are no match for this freezy gloppy s***.

About 30mph, his truck starts to go sideways to the right. There's no guardrail, just a 2' snowbank and a moderate dropoff. As his truck rotates, she screams, I feather the brakes, and it becomes abundantly clear that the old GMC isn't gonna straighten out. The old man OPENS THE DOOR, jumps out, rolls once, pops to his feet, and strolls to the side of the road like nothing happened.

The old truck, thankfully, didn't flip - It plowed sideways through the snowbank, slid arse-first down the embankment, stalled, and sat there. He left the keys in the ignition, the lights on, and motioned for me to pull over so he could get in the Bronco.

Hops in the back and says, "Let's go see Gramma."

Hope that old dude is still around - He was about as hardcore as they come.

[frapjap]

About 30mph, his truck starts to go sideways to the right. There's no guardrail, just a 2' snowbank and a moderate dropoff. As his truck rotates, she screams, I feather the brakes, and it becomes abundantly clear that the old GMC isn't gonna straighten out. The old man OPENS THE DOOR, jumps out, rolls once, pops to his feet, and strolls to the side of the road like nothing happened.

Hops in the back and says, "Let's go see Gramma."

Hope that old dude is still around - He was about as hardcore as they come.

LMFAO
Was it sliding passenger side out, or did he hope for the best and not have the truck hit him while jumping out of the cab into the slide?

[dre1507]

Greg, that old man might not be of this here Earth. No snow stories here, but had to comment on Greg's story.

[AZhitman]

LMFAO
Was it sliding passenger side out, or did he hope for the best and not have the truck hit him while jumping out of the cab into the slide?

Yep - Sliding away to the right. Bailout was some Hal Needham-style s***.

Needless to say, I kept my hands to myself when that guy was in the same zip code.

[Jesda]

I've enjoyed my time away from the extreme cold this week but after playing on the beach and eating scallops I'm ready to go driving in the foot of snow that's coming to the midwest.

I just hope I get there before the salt trucks and idiot commuters ruin the fun.

[BusyBadger]

I've enjoyed my time away from the extreme cold this week but after playing on the beach and eating scallops I'm ready to go driving in the foot of snow that's coming to the midwest.

I just hope I get there before the salt trucks and idiot commuters ruin the fun.

Looking forward to your post-polar vortex stories. My commute through the Blue Ridges might inspire some stories too. Supposed to start here around midnight...HEY, that's like right now!

[nissangirl74]

Hopefully you are in the Xterra

[BusyBadger]

Probably the Z, with its new "winter" shoes and all. If it gets really hairy (which it won't..it's 6AM and we got nuthin' here so far, don't know about Sam's Gap though) the Juke.

We got rid of the X a couple of months ago, couldn't really justify having it since we didn't really use it except for its real purpose and the one or maybe two snow days a year where it was even remotely necessary. I do miss the cargo space though.

Besides...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXZFuZpMYK0[/youtube]
...makes me wonder what the Juke would have done wearing some proper snowshoes.

[nissangirl74]

Is your Juke AWD?

[BusyBadger]

Yeah. I know, I know...CVT gets "bundled" with the AWD, but it's been fine in the times that over been behind the wheel. Decent pickup on sport mode and I love the way the steering gets tightened up on sport mode. My only real beef so far is the puny gas tank.

Did drive the Z in the other night...no problems, new Michelin AS3 tires were aces, even in the light snow. Which was good, it was -1 up at Sam's Gap, would hate to have been stranded there.