My First Semi Blizzard/Snowstorm Experience.

[Hawkjr]

if anyone is traveling in the mid atlantic/east coast today or last night know about this big snow storm.. In my 4 1/2 months here at Schneider driving solo i have run up on snow covered roads a few times.. Slush and some ice patches.. WELL THEN CAME LAST NIGHT!! i have to admit, i won't really scared or nervous.. but VERY cautious.. But last night was a hell of a night.. I had never driven a car let alone a truck in this type of snow!!

And then to top it off all, i went down one of the worst stretches of road to go down in winter weather (Rt. US 29 from Charlottesville to Lynchburg).. at one point it was snowing so hard and the winds kicking in i could barely see the road.. but doing 25 - 35 mph most of the ride i was able to make it to my first stop safe.. Except for when i got off on the on ramp i got stuck on the hill for a min with a car behind me, i told the car to come around me so i could rock back a little bit to get back into the tire tracks, i put my Lock Diff on put it in third a gave it some gas and she pulled right on out.. Not bad for a Rook with 6 months total driving exp Ah?? considering the road i went down hadn't been plowed and didn't even had fresh tracks to get to the wal mart but the guys had plowed me a fresh track to get out once i was done...

I had left my first stop and was going to try to make it to my second stop cause i started home time today only to get a message from dispatch telling everyone on our account to shut down due to the conditions (due to one of our guys having a roll over)... after i seen the rest of the road from my first stop i said what the hell and went to a wal mart down the street and took a nice 3 hour nap until the road improved a little.. And boy was that a good choice.. The roads was basically clear, as i call it Black Cotton..

From a Rook to any other Rooks, If its snow, hell rock with it, Just two words.. SLOW DOWN!! i had some super truckers blow past me but i paid them no mind and kept trucking... But again for 8 inches of snow covered roads that was hardly plowed, to getting stuck, and getting blinded from time to time, hell i think this 21 year old 6 month rook did a pretty damn good job in his first experience in a snow storm.. .what y'all think?? sorry for it being so long..

[ohiomohawk]

The exit ramps especially the clover leaf ramps can be real dangerous because they don't get plowed until the highways are clear.

I was told to pretend you have a carton of eggs on brake and gas pedal when the roads get bad.

[Mr. Ford95]

We still haven't had Rt. 20 and Rt. 3 cleared. No VDOT trucks have been seen since last night. A local yokel farmer brought out his tractor and a construction crew with a motor grader have been doing what they can for us to somewhat get things cleared. It was pretty bad last night is right. I was up most of the night clearing off a tent that covers my dog's cage so it didn't collapse it and keeping tabs on whether the power would hold or not. The blowing snow was rough, first time I've ever experienced that in my life. Glad I wasn't driving at all, I would have definetly shutdown as quickly as possible.

[Windwalker]

The exit ramps especially the clover leaf ramps can be real dangerous because they don't get plowed until the highways are clear.

Actually, it really does not matter if they are plowed or not. The fact of it is... While traffic is on the highway, they go faster, and the show is often picked up by the tires and backwash of the vehicle, and with a little wind, it's blown off the road. It doesn't get a chance to pack down. But when you get to ramps, the traffic is moving slower. Instead of lifting the snow, it gets compacted under the tires. The more traffic you have, the slicker it gets. Each vehicle "polishes" the surface.

I've been behind a plow, and when I got off the highway behind him, the fifth wheel wouldn't turn. The tractor and trailer stayed in-line, just like a straight truck all the way around the ramp. Between a little bit of inertia and the pull from the drives sliding sideways, I had enough pull to make the top. As soon as I got onto surface where traffic moved faster, the going got a whole lot better.

About the only way to clear a ramp is to salt it. They do not put the plows all the way down to the road surface. They have wha's called a "shoe" that keep the blade anywhere from a quarter inch to an inch and a half above the road surface. On the road, the backwash from the blade can take more snow off the road, but on the ramps, they don't go fast enough to have that effect.

Two places to watch, when driving, are on ramps (obviously), and when you have trees on either side of the road. With blowing wind, and a snow-covered road, you can often make the tractor go in the track you want, and the trailer should follow somewhere within 53 feet of either side of that.

I was told to pretend you have a carton of eggs on brake and gas pedal when the roads get bad.

Even better, pretend you have eggs LOOSE ON THE FLOOR and drive like you don't want them to roll. It can get slick enough that ANY AMOUNT OF CENTRIFICAL FORCE can take you off the side of the pavement. An added benefit of going slow, if you do start to go off, you can generally stop before you go very far off, and you tend not to do as much damage.

[Kevin0915]

In my 4 1/2 months here at Schneider driving solo ... i won't really scared or nervous..

i'm calling bullchit on this one. sorry dude...but my first real big snow storm i drove thru....i was nervous as hell. not so nervous i felt conditions dictated i get off the road, mind you. but if you wernt nervous, then you were totally comfortable and relaxed....and still being a 'green' driver (like me) and being comfortable on a condition that nips even veteran drivers....is dangerous. sorry, just calling it like i see it.

[Snowman7]

i'm calling bullchit on this one. sorry dude...but my first real big snow storm i drove thru....i was nervous as hell. not so nervous i felt conditions dictated i get off the road, mind you. but if you wernt nervous, then you were totally comfortable and relaxed....and still being a 'green' driver (like me) and being comfortable on a condition that nips even veteran drivers....is dangerous. sorry, just calling it like i see it.

I might have to agree with Kevin on this one. I've been driving snow covered roads for 30 years, accident free. You could call it nervous, I call it respect for mother nature. If you weren't scared then you are way overconfident and dont understand all the danger involved. In other words naive might be a fair description. You might be in for an attention getter to change your attitude. Things happen very fast. Like Dr. Phil says "ya just dont know what ya dont know". But, good job driver, keep up the good work.

BTW Hawk. I've had my tractor sideways twice. Once because of too much throttle with empties, drives spun out, and once because of too little throttle, again with empties, drives locked up. Both times I saved it but it'll make ya pucker up big time my friend.

[Hawkjr]

bullchit ah?? well you guys have a right to your opinion.. i'm not going to blow smoke up your *****.. type of guy that i am.. one of the reason i could of not been that nervous was that i was kinda of heavy and i expected the road to be in a bad conditon.. so i prepared myself all night for what i was planning to encounter.. i was scared $h!tless at one point when the wind kicked up and the snow was blowing all over the place and i couldn't see $h!t.. but once that set aside i was good, i did get kind of nervous going down certain hills on US 29 but beside that.. it won't much to it but slowing down... I'm not claiming to be a super trucker or anything but like i said, wasn't that nervous nor scared, only in certain situation... Take my word on it

[Jumbo]

Just take your time and prepare yourself the best you can. Just get yourself home in one piece.

[b00m]

Just take your time and prepare yourself the best you can. Just get yourself home in one piece.

YUP ,that's the key in this one.Slow down and anticipate what you are doing and dont rush.

I caught the storm from Washington dc to vineland nj Sunday night.I choose to drive over night knowing that there wasn't a lot of traffic ,even though the storm was going on.The morning commute was terrible and i was glad i was out of there by then.As i got closer to the destination,last 3 miles, i wasn't sure if i had to make a right on a ramp or not.It was so covered in snow that i couldn't make the difference between the road or anything else.As i was going about 5 miles or less i pulled right in the last second,like a dumba$% and then guess what: my tractor jackknifed about 50 degrees and stopped.Thank God I went slow and didn't do any damage.But that just scared me enough to consider how things can go wrong and how fast.

[Snowman7]

bullchit ah?? well you guys have a right to your opinion.. i'm not going to blow smoke up your *****.. type of guy that i am.. one of the reason i could of not been that nervous was that i was kinda of heavy and i expected the road to be in a bad conditon.. so i prepared myself all night for what i was planning to encounter.. i was scared $h!tless at one point when the wind kicked up and the snow was blowing all over the place and i couldn't see $h!t.. but once that set aside i was good, i did get kind of nervous going down certain hills on US 29 but beside that.. it won't much to it but slowing down... I'm not claiming to be a super trucker or anything but like i said, wasn't that nervous nor scared, only in certain situation... Take my word on it

Hawk I believe you when you say you weren't nervous. You probably had pretty good footing. Could have been the temperature, the type of snow, the weight of your load, the condition of your tires but for whatever reason you had good grip. It wasnt as bad as you thought it would be so you were relaxed. But it wont always be like that. Just dont let over confidence do you in. Once again, good job driver!

[Kevin0915]

i was scared $h!tless at one point .... i did get kind of nervous going down certain hills ...

you just said you were scared and nervous.....so now dont say 'i wasnt scared or nervous'. sorry....just busting your balls a bit, cause come on...i've been solo for just about as long, and after talking with fellow truckers, as long as you're heavy...keep the wheels rolling....and give yourself plenty of distance to stop and leave yourself outs.....you wont ever have problems (cept for black ice)....

but to BS everyone, saying "i'm not scared".....that is a little bit of crap.

[golfhobo]

I think they call it "begginer's luck" or something like that!

Not raggin' on ya, Hawk! I believe you were well "prepared" for it. But, like Snowman said.... don't expect the same results NEXT time! Driving on/in snow and ice conditions will make the BEST of drivers nervous. The extra weight of your rig works good in some conditions, but will be harder to handle in others. Your job is to know which conditions are which.

From your account, you did the right things. Drive slow. Stay in a gear that will control the truck. Think ahead. The object is to GET there alive!

Oh, BTW.... it was ONLY about 6 inches!

[solo379]

There was a lot of good advise! But "going slow", might be a dangerous thing. If you have to slow down way lower than the most trucks do, stay to the right, use your flashers, and if it's a big area storm, get of the road ASAP. It might save you from a lot of trouble, and even somebody's life.

[Windwalker]

From your account, you did the right things. Drive slow. Stay in a gear that will control the truck. Think ahead.

By all means, do not try to drive normal highway speeds, however...

If you come to a hill, and you see one or more trucks standing still on the way up, chances are that they (one or more) have "spun-out".(I've come up on this in WY, NY, and in NC. I"m sure there have been many other locations where it has happened as well.) Some hills will require "inertia" to get you over the top. That may mean a slight increase in speed, then feather the throttle on the way up. If you hit the top doing 15 mph, that's fine. You've made the top. It "should" give you a much better chance of controlling your descent down the other side. But, if conditions are such that you will not be able to start out going up the hill, don't expect the truck to be able to PULL itself up. It will require "riding the inertia" to get over.

One more note on the "spun-out"... If you see them half way up the grade, and they are not in a position that you will be able to get past, don't start up. Stay at the bottom where you will be able to get a running start when there is a clear path. If you come up behind them and stop, you'll be in the same boat as they are. Chances are, they will be talking about it on the CB as well.

[Hawkjr]

I think they call it "begginer's luck" or something like that!

Not raggin' on ya, Hawk! I believe you were well "prepared" for it. But, like Snowman said.... don't expect the same results NEXT time! Driving on/in snow and ice conditions will make the BEST of drivers nervous. The extra weight of your rig works good in some conditions, but will be harder to handle in others. Your job is to know which conditions are which.

From your account, you did the right things. Drive slow. Stay in a gear that will control the truck. Think ahead. The object is to GET there alive!

Oh, BTW.... it was ONLY about 6 inches!

i love you hobo!!! no homo!! but it probably was beginner's luck, but it was more than 6 INCHES!! more like 8 or 9!!

[Kevin0915]

ill tell you something about my first big storm experience. I was in a suburb of chicago, think it was Glendale Heights. I got there with an hour or so left in my clock, and i knew the word on the street was 'a big storm was coming. sleet changing to snow'. Naturally everyone says 2-3" if sleet with 8-10" of snow on top. The drop worked me in (somehow i found some extra hours...lol) and drove across the street, docked it and then drove back to where i parked. I could hear the sleet falling, and knew i would be in for a nice drive the next morning. I get a pre-plan to run down to Morris, and then take a load that had to be in Detroit (Livonia) to a Wal-Mart there by 9p. I was going to get there about 745p when i pulled off the interstate near Livonia. Traffic was backed up, and 3/4ths the off ramp was backed up. Took me 20-30 min just to get down the off ramp and make the turn left. Then i see why the traffic was backed up. I see an 18-wheeler up just past the overpass with its flashers on. I figure 'oh he must have hit someone'. I get a little closer, and see a salt shaker pulling away from the front of his rig, he had just dumped some salt in front of the truck, and the driver was shoveling it under his tires. I was thinking "oh this will be nice....he must have been MT". WRONG !!!! I get abreast of him, going up a slight grade, and come to a stop for the light. I know why he was stuck now.....he wasnt MT...he was loaded, and the snow which the city didnt bother to plow all day, made it impossible to get moving. I was furious that they city didnt bother to plow...and seriously....they DIDNT plow. So i called 911, to tell them that they need to get someone at the bottom of the hill to keep 18 wheelers from going up this road, till it gets plowed. I thought i was going to get stuck, but i was able to rock it back and forth, and get over to the left to find some fresh snow and the concrete curb to give myself some traction. I found it, and got moving. and once i got moving, i didnt stop......kept it at a crawl, then when my light turned, i made my left turn. took me an hour, to drive a mile. Lucky for me, i still made an on time delivery....but just because you are loaded, dont mean you've got it easy. Now, ill be careful not to take a load up a slight grade in town when the streets arent plowed.

[dobry4u]

once i got moving, i didnt stop......kept it at a crawl, then when my light turned, i made my left turn.

That is pretty key for not getting stuck! Detwa has no $$$ to spend on road maintenance. All their money goes to keeping their mayors "stylin"

[Snowman7]

Oh, BTW.... it was ONLY about 6 inches!

i love you hobo!!! no homo!! but it probably was beginner's luck, but it was more than 6 INCHES!! more like 8 or 9!!

Hey we still talkin about snow here? If not maybe ya'll should be using PM's!

[ct77]

YouTube - happy jack snow

Road wasnt bad only light ice, but 50mph wind from the side made things fun

[roady91]

Driving in a snow storm ain't no fun. I can still remember my first storm - was nervous as hell, but after some time you get used to it. You just find out how the truck behaves under these kinds of road conditions and have to act and react accordingly. Can't believe that anyone driving through a snow storm for the first time is not nervous or at least - as snowman7 said - has respect for mother nature!