why i wish I still had a Land Rover

On or around Fri, 25 Nov 2005 11:28:02 +0000, MVP enlightened us thusly:

so's this area, or rather the schools are.

If we're really going to have a hard winter with lots of snow and ice, we need a bit of a rethink about how we deal with it. I'm buggered if I'm going to lose more then a few days income 'cos of an inch of snow on the road. I reckon I could have done my school route this morning...

it's just not practical for more than a couple of days to say "we can't get there 'cos of the snow".

Most countries seem to manage, don't see why we can't.

It's all part of being British, to follow these simple rules :-

- act completely surprised when we get any snow even though the weather man has been saying it for the last few days,

- lose all ability to drive safely (not that many had that ability anyway considering some of the stupid driving I've seen in the rain)

- panic and abandon your car when you get the slightest wheel spin so others with better grip can't get past even if they were able to

- still go out in just a T-shirt to pop into the shops then get hypothermia when you're stranded

- have a reactive gritter system rather than the usual proactive system most country's seem to have no problem with,

the list goes on ...

In message , Austin Shackles writes

Don't understand it. As a kid I lived in a rural village in the Pennine Dales and we very rarely missed a day at school in the Winter - and the roads were covered with packed snow.

Ditto here across most of Scotland.

I have a distinct feeling that the average aptitude of any given driver has dropped over the last few years. What has caused this I couldn't say, but I'm going to blame electrickery and the fact that a car is now seen as a right rather than a privilege as it used to be.

P.

Is it also possible that modern cars, with wide low profiles are actually worse in the snow than their narrow tyred forebears?

David

...and Paul S. Brown spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

No snow in Pembrokeshire this morning, then about lunchtime it came down thick and fast, about 2" worth. We all got sent home (whooppee) and a journey that usually takes 20-25 mins took 90. There were no drifts, and no really slippery conditions, it was just that everyone was driving at 2mph, then stopping for no reason, then 2mph again. Gridlock over most of the county. Down here, I think it's because a) no-one has much experience of it, so it's a "new challenge", and b) the weather people these days make so much of a meal of any ususual conditions (it may rain tomorrow, so there's a severe weather warning, and motorists are being advised to stay at home) that panic sets in before you've even got the stuff scraped off the screen.

As Hugh says, in other parts of the UK we don't think about it. I lived for many years in East Yorkshire, and the roads were snowbound for weeks at a time. You learn to deal with it. I never once missed a day's work because of snow. AND I was driving a 2CV. No Land Rovers for me in those days.

... and front wheel drive which doesn't allow you to add weight over the driving wheels.

... and too much salt on the roads. If one can't practice on snow/ice you'll never gain any experience.

I remember riding my Lambretta scooter on packed snow, I fell off.

Not only possible - certain I'd say. Plus they are so highly tuned they have no torque or engine braking, and drivers are forced to learn to drive using the brakes and not the gearbox.

Richard

I used to ride a motorbike 30 miles each way to my signalbox down miles of untreated roads - no problem with brain engaged.

Richard

...and beamendsltd spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

Ditto, including crossing the Humber Bridge. 52 weeks a year. Character-forming.

First car to get through the drifts at Ma and Pa's one year was a 2cv. They are well in the sticks.. definately not a bus route ...well was once when I directed a double decker along from the nearest village past that way when a tree came down on the main road. A fallen the tree was likely to jeopardise my nights drinking with me mates... everyone soon came down off the top deck.... ah them were the days. Shame I had walked two miles to the bus stop though only to drive past Ma and Pa's... their faces as we went by were a picture :0)

Lee D

I've a recollection of viewing clouds between my feet prior to my BMX landing on me... what can I say.. I'm young ...just a mamouth paperound.

Lee D

Because most countries don't allow their drivers to use semi-slick Summer tyres all year round? It amused me to see roads being closed because of no more than 2 inches (5cm) of snow. Feeble. Even my 100E Prefect could handle that!

I've been driving my Land Rover to work these last few days due to the forecast of blizzards. NOTHING! Not one soddin' flake of snow here in Cumbria (southern part at least). Humph!

I think I'll be back on the 125 motorbike next week and use 1/5th the fuel and be paying the equivalent of 17.6p/litre. God gave us brown fat so we could ride bikes through Winter.

Even worse than that; I've took a Ford Focus to try to get to Oxford this morning, (from Pembrokeshire) left at 5am and got back to Pembs at half one after travelling the grand total of 58miles.

Spent most of the 8hours thinking about the Range Rover tucked up in the warm. Got within 5 miles of home and we hadn't had any snow so I thought i'd pop into work to "see the boys". Bad idea. The snow caught up with me and took me another 2 hours to 6miles.

I have learnt that no matter how capable the driver / vehicle combination you can only travel as fast as the worst driver / vehicle.

Can someone explain to me why people leave abandon their vehicles when everyone else is moving?? Are these the same people that rush to the shops to buy all the bread and milk?

Odd

Dave

They're the ones who need "Warning - this product contains nuts" on packs of peanuts.

David wrote

Exactly! It's also why most Defenders will be better on the old skinny standard Avon tyres than the bigger/wider ones we have all put on.

I stick to 750R16s for this reason, I've not off-roaded for a while now but when I did and ended up in sticky stuff I didn't get stuck when fat-tyred trucks did, which surprised them for sure. I posted a request some months ago for taller but skinnier tyres but none seem to be available, only fat ones!

Recently went laning at night-time with a few friends. In one place we came across another group of fellow laners coming in the opposite direction. We had to pull over to the side and wait for nearly half an hour whilst our lead man in a bobtailed RRC helped extract their Disco MkI, 110 and 90 from the mud. They were all on really fat 35" M/T's. Our vehicles, a Cherokee, RRC and my 90 were all on smaller 235/85 R16 (32" approx)tyres. We drove through the same section after them without a hitch! We were as suprised as they were! Must have been the skinnier tyres digging deeper and finding grip.

Stew.