cruise control in ice or snow

I'm a recent transplant from the desert to the mountains. The word I've had is that cruise control is a Very Bad Thing on slippery roads.

Mike

Slippery or dry I think that cruise control is not a good driving practice. It functions to move the drivers attention further away from the car and road. Might as well go to the back and get a sandwich like they say.

Regards,

Boris Mohar

Got Knock? - see: Viatrack Printed Circuit Designs (among other things)

void _-void-_ in the obvious place

I like cruise control (helps to avoid tickets!) but I generally avoid using it in my FWD car in ice/snow.

Going uphill with a FWD car, if the cruise applies more power on a slippery surface, torque steer can send you right for the ditch - or maybe oncoming traffic. I've had experiences like this with my FWD car.

I'd expect that RWD on a slippery surface could cause the back end to break away, which would be bad, but I've never actually had that happen.

A significant difference is that my FWD car has 210hp and most of my RWD cars have had very modest engines (mostly 114hp Volvo wagons).

My FWD is not a Volvo. It Volvo does a better job of managine torque steer, you may have no problems. I'm not sure you can test for this well enough on dry roads, though, as my FWD car has no noticeable torque steer on dry roads.

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Yes, I got the first 850 in '93 to drive in ice & snow in the coal region of Pennsylvania to replace a 4WD Subaru. It worked great. It had TRACS, cruise control, and ABS. The cruise would kick off the first sign of slippage. It was amazing. In fact it was a little annoying because many times it would not be necessary, but better safe than sorry. TRACS got me going a number of times when the roads had turned to a sheet of ice. It works both forward and reverse. Several times I had pulled into a diagonal parking place and had to back up hill on glare ice. Also, the ABS worked like a charm. You must apply your brakes gently, otherwise you can get 4-wheel lock up and ABS doesn't have a clue that anything is wrong. It operates of differences in wheel speed, not lack of wheel speed.

The same advice applies to any car really, don't do it! Cruise control is nice if the road is wide open and the weather is clear but using it in adverse conditions is begging for trouble. When the road is slippery you want to have all the manual control over the car you possibly can.

Can't comment on how things go in your yankee weather but I have a '97

850 and when the roads are slick from rain, I find the cruise control cuts off at the first sign of slipperiness. Nice safety factor I think.

Chuck Fiedler Nothing but Volvo since 1974

here in colorado, the other day i passed under one of the electronic overhead signs that stated "icy / slippery roads ahead, dis-engage cruise control" ... some of the "smarter" cars may be ok, but a majority probabaly are not....i avoid it in rain / ice / snow.....

I still use the cruise under most conditions because it allows me to keep my eyes on the road and not have to look at the speedometer. Since I don't have to use the throttle, I can allow my foot to hover over the brake pedal. On my Volvos cruise always disengages itself if there is slippage or skidding, well before I can tap the brake even though my foot is hovering.

That is two things that surprised me on my Volvos.

1) the cruise senses slippage and disengages 2) TRACS works in reverse

We have to watch the police with faulty cameras and set cameras which are set just above the limit so we get booked and now they dont even have to show the reading its all hearsay .Mostly they like to set the camera 3 klms about the limit which is 1.8 miles an hour .So when I was falsely pulled over by a plod on the grounds my son had his arm on the window sill and out the rear window I challenged the cop who backed off .I taped him .Now how do you get your arm on the sill out the window when the window doesn't come down the last 5 inches and the 740 AND the window was closed with the switch blocking it off in the front .I said to him its hard to avoid accidents as I MUST watch my speedo all the time instead of the road as I ought . We dont have any signs here regarding cruise control so thanks for the input ,I wonder how many have lost control due to faulty cruise control such as I had or had electrical interference such as I have experienced ,which made my car speed up . I do miss the cruise control but love my Volvo its black with an original wing thats why plod pulled me up as it looks sinister like a drug dealer with grey hair and a hat driving a Volvo :)

Hi John

Actually, you are wrong!

You don't get pinged for doing 3 over at all here. You must excess the limit by at least 7 km/h and then the ticket says, for a speed that has 4 km/h taken off it. For example, 67 km/h in a 60 zone may see you done for

63 km/h. This not true for speeds 100 km/h and above, where the 10 percent law applies.

Cheers

Hammo

I am in Victoria and here its deadly .YES ITS 3 KLM OVER THE LIMIT .A young fellow was caught doing 131 according to the police man but 133 was said to be the recorded speed he was done for 135 as a final reading so he loses his licence and pays up it was a 110 area so he deserved the penalty but why the play with 131 133 and 135 ? My wife and her sisters have been caught for 63 often times but speed they must .I do know what I am talking about I won the first case in Victoria against a policeman charging me with doing 93 in a 60 zone .He caught every one at 93 trucks motorcycles and cars .He was demoted and taken out of traffic operations .At the time I was booked I was doing less than 50 klm ph as I was starting off .He also put down the wrong place ,.9 of a klm away from where he was and the wrong streets .He refused to show me the reading and was hiding behind a post box .93 is normal 1klm over the tolerance so you lose your licence and pay up .I always carry a tape with me for this reason .I had one clown book me for doing 100 klm and hour in a 100 zone he was standing in the 60 zone I mentioned this when talking to him he was standing next to the pole marking the speed ,he was in the 60 zone I was in the 100 zone he was on tape admitting he took my reading from behind the post .He decided to back down when I pointed out to him it was all on tape .I am not a smart alex but I drove professionally for millions of Klms and take my driving seriously .SPEED KILLS SO DOES STUPIDITY .

"Hamish Alker-Jones" wrote in message news:C03CEBDE.1AAF9% snipped-for-privacy@aapt.net.au.ben...

Hi John

I'm not accusing you of being a "smart alex", just that unless those that have been contracted to undertake the speed camera enforcement (i.e. Not Police) here in Victoria, Au, it is a requirement that the driver do 7 km/h over the speed first. The infringement notice will say that the alleged speed was a paltry 3 km/h over the limit, however, look closer at how they have derived this number.

I am not familiar with the story you have quoted regarding the variances in the recorded vs documented speed for the driver that was allegedly observed traveling 131 or so km/h. It should be pointed out that in Victoria, 110 km/h zone infringements attract a double whammy as it is the speed you are caught doing plus ten, as all infringements are taken from the state limit of 100 km/h. So being caught at 131 or 135, it is all academic.

If you wouldn't mind sending me the details of how you defeated the system, I'd be happy to read them.

Your final point of stupidity kills, I agree with. I disagree with the blanket statement that speed kills, I'm in favour of inappropriate speed kills.

Cheers

Hammo

It is 3 klms tolerance here and regards how I "defeated the system "was because the policeman booked everyone at exactly 33 klm over the speed limit enough to get a loss of licence and enough to allow for the 3 klms tolerance .As well he was point 9 of a klm from where he sated he was ,wrong streets and behind a postal box ,proving he was where I stated he was .He was aggressive and foul mouthed putting his foot on my bumper and screwing it .I have driven millions of klms with no points gained inspite of the occasional idiot .I always carry a tape with me as the police often do also and if they dont tell me why should I tell them that they are being recorded .I have respect for decent policemen who really try to make a difference .I dont speed and dont drink .So when I am falsely accused I wont tolerate a liar .I found out how corrupt the police can be when I drove cabs and refused to deliver drugs on a drug run and took them to the head of the drug squad who later did 15 years for other drug crimes .Life was hell for 18 months the drug dealer got a fine of $AU 100.00 AND LAUGHED the whole court case .He went on television later and named the cops he had paid off .What happened to him was illegal ,but just, after the criminal cops got him .I am not anti police but when I see cars passing me at stupid speeds and police screaming past to go to Macdonald's to pick up their lunch I get annoyed .As you may be aware police are not doing any thing about bashings here so the records look good and thugs are carrying machetes, knives and such ,doing what they want when they want .I fell sorry for the decent men in the police force who want to clean up the mess but are unable to because of magistrates who dont have a clue .The real world is the hired fellows are using faulty equipment often and are set for quotas not for life saving speed detection .Many cars are unroadworthy ,but no checks .I rarely see a policeman .Are you aware that one in three drivers on a Saturday night are under the influence of some drug or drink .Yet its rare to see police on patrol or road checks .That cost money ,cameras make money .Finally SPEED DOES KILL, NO MATTER IF ITS IN A POLCE CAR OR A PRIVATE CAR .I dont worry about the cameras because I go just under the limit and spend time making sure my car is 110 % road worthy . Driving a Volvo is part of my safety concept .

"Hamish Alker-Jones" wrote in message news:C03DA7CB.1AC29% snipped-for-privacy@aapt.net.au.ben...