A car for winter driving?

[Robson Valley]

"If it warms up to melt. . . . . . ."
Lotsa fun, huh? I love to see the police car take a couple of hits.
Nobody is immune.
Think that's Montreal but could be many intersections in just about any city/town.

There are 3 or 4 intersections in the city where I am right now that I will avoid at all cost.
Even it that means driving a mile out of my way. You get stuck there, all you can do is turn around if the
traffic behind you has the intelligence to understand ( don't count on it.)

 

[santaman2000]

We do not know the nationality of the bus driver. Could be straight from UK!!

(joking!)

At least the busdriver did not get shot!

The few bus drivers I saw in Toronto came from Haiti, or another French speaking Caribbean island.

I am unsure if busses and lorries have dedicated wintertyres?
I do not thin so.
I know that they do not have studded tyres in Norway, Sweden.
I will ask when I go to Norway soon.

The buses were only two of the vehicles. Near the end you can see even the snow plow losing it.

 

[Robson Valley]

I can only imagine that the snow texture & quality in Vancouver BC is a lot like most over the whole UK.
It's driving on wet grease if you're dumb enough to get up for the challenge.
I lived in the Lower Mainland for 3 years, I've tried it. = just stay home. wait. it will melt and your car
will be un dented.

Must be a lot harder in the UK to even consider snows for the few days that they might be useful.
I've got farm family up in NYorks. They seem to take the whole winter thing in stride.

 

[bearbait]

Yep. Canadian winter tires work amazingly well

Really enjoyed the vid. Many chuckles. Many thanks.

 

[Janne]

When you lose traction, you lose it. Summer tyres, winter tyres, studded tyres. It is a weird feeling sitting and 'being a passenger'.

The fact that different weather and road condition demand different ways of driving makes me wonder how self driving cars will cope.

 

[snappingturtle]

When you lose traction, you lose it. Summer tyres, winter tyres, studded tyres. It is a weird feeling sitting and 'being a passenger'.

The fact that different weather and road condition demand different ways of driving makes me wonder how self driving cars will cope.

Fair point about self drive cars, I guess they have tested that? wonder how that went?

 

[Janne]

I saw a clip a few days ago in an online newspaper, headline "driverless car saved ....(whatever)"

It showed that the driverless car braked when another vehicle crossed it path, maybe 20 meters away.
Big deal.

I would love to see one of those cars on a practice track on lake ice in Sweden.
We have those on many lakes, good practice and great fun!

 

[Robson Valley]

I'm waiting for driverless car racing. All the people stand around with beer & popcorn and cheer them on.

 

[juttle]

I'm waiting for driverless car racing. All the people stand around with beer & popcorn and cheer them on.

We’ve already got it, it’s called Scalextric!

 

[dwardo]

Fair point about self drive cars, I guess they have tested that? wonder how that went?

Diversless cars won't be stupid enough to try driving in the first place.

 

[snappingturtle]

Diversless cars won't be stupid enough to try driving in the first place.

That's because they don't have a boss especting you to get to work no matter what

 

[Janne]

Diversless cars won't be stupid enough to try driving in the first place.

You mean driving on ice, snow and sleet?
You really think people living in countries where those conditions are a yearly fact are stupid?

Stupid to drive on cleared lake ice, to hone your winter driving skills?

 

[Robson Valley]

If the overnight snowfall is up to the headlights, you get extra time to get to work.
It is not bottomless.

Doing 110kph on a snow-covered twisting mountain highway is no big deal.
You may want to change your shorts when we get home.
I won't use 4x4 unless I'm passing 2-6 slow vehicles, climbing a hill.
We call them hills. 7,000'+ is a mountain.

OK so here's a winter driving quiz: Big wide fat flotation wheels & tires or skinny rims?

 

[Janne]

110 km/h in a US made car ( or a Defender) would fill my shorts even if the twisting road was on a flat and it was summertime.

 

[Robson Valley]

110kph is coasting in the Burb. I've never floored it to find out what the 454 can really do. Maybe 140 kph to pass a bunch of snails in summer.
Climbing out of side valleys in the winter, the line-up often is doing no more than 70 kph and they are scared spitless.
I'll drop below 70, shift into 4x4 and pedal it up the hill in the passing lane. Traction is poor, the lane will be a mix of dirty snow, sand and stones.
Yes, of course your windshield/windscreen gets broken. Replace like worn out tires.

The semis have pull outs so they can chain up for the hills, most make it,
some jack-knife so you always have to expect that around every dang corner.

 

[ammo]

Toyota Landcruiser 80, with all terrain tyres. I am pretty much covered. For anything.
Get a 4x4, with good tyres, and your set.

 

[santaman2000]

That's because they don't have a boss especting you to get to work no matter what

 

[santaman2000]

A Canadian late for the train

 

[Robson Valley]

All Terrain tyres are not real snow tyres in any way, shape or form. For UK conditions, I'm sure they perform very well.
For western Canada, they are illegal in winter because they are under-performers.

4-wheel drive is an improvement but it gets a lot of idiots into more trouble as they get stuck worse than otherwise.

Real snow tyres = tires, show the triple-peak mountain symbol and/or the snowflake on the sidewall.
Rubber composition, sipe design and walnut shell traction compound make the difference.
They are the law here. Nice winter mountain driving for me.

 

[daveO]

My wife has an audi allroad that has automatic everything and I hate it. Auto lights, auto wipers, electric handbrake, auto ignition, stop start technology, the world's most complicated heating system, basically anything that was simple enough to do by hand is auto. Half the time I cant even get the bloody thing to start. It's the most frustrating car I've ever driven so I can't imagine how bad auto driving cars are going to be. It's nice to get into the defender after driving the audi and being faced with a couple of levers and a key.