Slip, sliddin' away

[Windwalker]

For all those new drivers facing their first winter, the snow and slippery roads are beginning to move in. The norther tier of states have already gotten a dose of it, and currently, there's a system moving into the I-81 area.

In every area that gets hit with it, snow and ice are more of a hazard early in the season because the biggest problem you'll face, after your own ability (or lack of it) to deal with it, is 4-wheelers that are still driving by "Summer Standards". They forget that you can not control the vehicle on snow and ice, the same as they could over the last six months. Often, their "refresher course" involves a trip to the body shop to get some of their errors straightened out.

In cartoons, it's possible to lift the belly of the trailer and allow them to pass under you. In life, you could find yourself in their way and involved in an accident no matter what you do. It becomes even more important for you to maintain your log book, and be alert to everything going on around you. It also means you must keep your mind on your own driving and your own vehicle. So, for driving in bad weather, your job "difficulty rating" goes up by geometric proportions the worse the weather gets.

Early in the season, temperatures are often not that cold. You actually get more traction in colder weather than you do when the mercury is just below freezing. Near freezing, the snow contains water and "packs". After a couple of vehicles pass, the surface becomes just as slick as ice. If you are able to make your own track, it's just a little improvement but, mostly, you'll find that hundreds have gone over it before you get there.

Do not expect your brakes to be very effective at all.
Keep your speed proportional to the surface conditions.
Reduce your speed well in advance of the point where you must begin to stop or turn.
Be alert for surprise changes in the surface conditions... And, wind force and direction.
Do not use the cruise control on slick roads. It doesn't know how to "feather" the throttle.
When your speed is up between 5 and 10 mph, make sure you DIS-ENGAGE the differential lock.
Last but not least, DO NOT MAKE ANY SUDDEN MOVES WITH THE STEERING WHEEL, THE THROTTLE, OR THE BRAKE. Jerking the wheel or jamming the brakes could cause you to lose control yourself, and mashing the throttle can cause a spin-out to give you all the help you need to jackknife your truck.
The safety department for a trucking company in MN tells their drivers that if you realize your drives are going sideways, put in the clutch... FAST. (But not far enough to engage the clutch brake) If you have not gone to too far an angle, it should straighten out. (Jackknife is just one of the ways to put a "detour" in your career)

(How many questions are we going to get from new drives asking just what is the "clutch brake"?)

As of this moment, Memphis, TN is getting snow, and that is moving east. It's sure to catch quite a number of people in it's wake. Don't be one of the ones that does not survive it all.

[GMAN]

Another thing to remember is to allow plenty of room between you and the vehicles in front. If someone cuts you off just back off the fuel and give them extra room. An accident can cause traffic to stop suddenly. If you haven't allowed sufficient room then you could be part of another accident. It doesn't take much for a trailer to come around if you hit brakes too hard on icy roads. It is better to arrive late than to not get there at all. You also need to allow more time to get to your destination in snow or icy conditions. You can pretty well count on accidents and delays, so leave earlier so that you can still make your deliver or pick up schedule.

[KateL]

Hello. I just got my learner's permit and will be going to a community college in Lincoln NE (which is favored by Crete). I hope to be hired for one of Crete's regional OTR contracts. My instructor thinks there is a good chance it might happen, and I am crossing my fingers because they seem like a good operation. I chose to learn how to drive a large commercial truck in the winter because (although it is a bit scary) I feel I will learn to drive on snow and ice much better with an instructor sitting in the truck with me. I could have put it off and learned during the good weather, but I would not have gotten that most important knowledge firsthand. I have been in this area of the country (Omaha area) for around 13 years, (after living in the deasert southwest most of my life) and have driven in white out and blizzard conditions-- man, those are white knuckle moments -- -many times, and each time out, I feel that elemental fear-- I think after 10-20 times though, I learned to "think" through the fear (if anyone knows "Dune" fear is the mind killer) and I think just being able to stay "present" and "within your body" is a major improvement over "freaking out." The first times I had to drive in a snowstorm at 4am, I actually slept in the car, I was so chicken s#%*. Then, the mind started to operate. I really thank you for imparting your knowledge. My lessons, begin in January, and end in March. Frankly, December is the snowiest time around here, the rest is just Gawdaful dirty snow and ice. In the meantime, I am just hanging around soaking up the knowledge base here. The great thing about this area is that they keep their freeways very clear. Other streets, not so much. Now, driving on rural roads is going to be a bit more tricky. I can't think about it now. This time next year, I'll have nearly a year of driving under my belt, and hope I am a little smarter then.

[Windwalker]

I've been through Counsel Bluffs and Omaha when there were snow flakes coming down the size of chicken feathers. Wife had never seen lightening during a snowstorm until then. We spent the night in the middle of I-80, just west of Greenfield. That was in January. The only way to get to Denver the next day was by running the back roads. I-80 was shut down. You may expect to find what you're looking for into April. Pay very close attention, because if you don't, your career can be very short. Even seasoned drivers find that not paying attention can lead to disaster.

[repete]

Pay very close attention, because if you don't, your career can be very short. Even seasoned drivers find that not paying attention can lead to disaster.

very well said and SO TRUE

[KateL]

I totally agree. I have seen those chicken feathers in CB

[firebird_1252]

the one thing to remember is your life is more important then the load. i love the super truckers that do 70 when you cant see infront of you weather it be snow ice rain or just the sun is in your eyes.. my motto.. i get there when i get there

[Windwalker]

One of the worst misconceptions I've ever heard on the CB was a couple of other drivers stating: "We're putting up a spray, we're OK."

I came out of Casper, WY one day, and it was freezing rain. On the way to MN, I decided to run across US-20 to about half way across NE before I went up into SD. A few miles east of Robinson, NE, one of my trailer tires went flat. When I stopped, I realized that the ice build up on the wheels broke off the valve stem. (By the time I got to Sioux Falls, SD, I had broken 3 more) I got to wait 5 hours for a service truck to come just over 50 miles on the wet ice. While I was waiting for the service truck, I put on a raincoat and stepped into the middle of the road. (virtually no traffic at all) It took me about 20 minutes to pick a hole in the ice with my jackknife. Water on top that had been putting up a spray was laying on top of 1 1/2 inches of ice on the blacktop. When I got up to I-90, north of Valentine, NE, I found out that virtually every vehicle that had tried to get onto the interstate in SD went off the road as fast as it had gotten on. The highway was lined with vehicles off the road from there all the way back to the WY line.

The moral of the story is, you had BETTER KNOW what your road surface is. Just because there is water on the road does not mean there is pavement under the water. Wet ice is one of the worst conditions you can find anywhere, and only gets worse when you have a 20+ mph cross wind. A gust of 30 + can take you off the road no matter how good a driver you are. And, if you do find a place where you can stop safely (without the rig sliding off the road), and step out, you are likely to promptly slide under the steps and under the tractor. It's a surface you may not be able to stand on, much less walk. Now, drive on it, spray and all.

During the winter months, if you find that you are putting up a spray, look carefully at the surface of the road. If you can see the tire tread marks from the vehicle in front of you, that's formed by ice crystals in the water. And, ice crystals in the water means that you may not have any actual contact with the pavement, or your contact with the pavement is intermittent. About the time you need the traction most, you won't have it, and you may lose control. Slid off the road and lay it on the side in the ditch, and your career is probably over.

With ice on the road, and temps at 0 or -10, you have better traction than you do on the same ice at 28 or 29 degrees. Also, look for ice when you cross a bridge, pass by trees on the side of the road, or drive next to a cliff face going up on either side. And, in cases where the ice has been melting, and there is water standing, do not hit the water at any speed. It causes "Hydro-braking" against the wheels that can make you lose control because that braking is not uniform on both sides of the truck.

[Windwalker]

I used to tell the shippers, receivers, and my dispatchers...

"If it's a choice between being late and not making it... I'm going to be late."

[GrandCountyColoradoBoy]

Growing and living in the mountains of Colorado I can't count the number of storms I have had to drive in. Living a mile away from the top of Genesee, I've seen it turn from pouring rain to a dumping snow in a matter of 1/4 mile or less. Living on the other side of Berthoud Pass on I-40, not only did I have to worry about road conditions; but I also had to be concerned about the avalanche chutes on either side and getting "t-boned" by a wall of snow coming down from Mount Stanley (on the east side). I have driven through white outs in Grand County and the Sevier Valley of Utah where I couldn't see the reflectors on the side of the road. It was either of "flash" of the reflector, or the "flash" of a snow flake. I have done all of this in a four wheeler. I am quite sure when I do finally get behind the wheel of a rig, it's all going to change. It's apples and oranges. The one thing I did learn that is a major factor and translates to both four wheelers and rigs . . . speed management. SLOW IT DOWN! Speed is the one thing as a driver, you can control. I believe if you maintain a safe speed, most other safety factors fall into place. Again, I can't count the number of times I saw 4X4 four wheelers coming down from the top of Genesee, heading east bound I-70, just a flyin' down that mountain! Only to see them farther on down on their side or on their roof; after a couple of rolls. As the play on words goes: speed kills. Yes, it does.

[golfhobo]

I like to just give the wheel a quick "shake" to see whether my rubbers are hitting the road.... or skimming over ice (spray or not.) Of course, I do this with the cruise OFF, and at a speed that I can control the vehicle. This way, I don't have to stop (or slide into a ditch) thereby giving me the time to poke holes with my penknife. I do my homework, and know whether the roads in the area I'm approaching had WATER (rain, freezing rain) on them before they froze solid and built up a base of snow. This makes all the difference. Snow on a DRY road is not much of a problem for those of US who have lived in the "arid" states west of the Ole Miss. Black Ice (or any of the "sporadic" ice sheets WINDY covered due to "shadowing" of the roadway,) are dangerous, but should be expected WITHIN the knowledge of the road surface "per se."

[Windwalker]

Hobo...

Slick roads still give you the "shakes", I see.....

[Mr. Ford95]

[Windwalker]

Well, I sure hope that was not you with the camera, Mr. Ford. I see where two drivers were doing something very wrong. First of all, the driver with the camera went out into the left lane without "taking a peek" first. Stick your nose just over the line and see if there's anything coming. If yes, get back on your own side and back off.

And, the rock bucket that passed the salt shaker was also dead wrong in passing while there was oncoming traffic.

Outside of that, excellent video, Mr Ford.

[GrandCountyColoradoBoy]

Watched the video above and I don't know if it's comforting or scary, but it appears they have idiots in Russia too! The two guys in the filming vehicle are speaking what I think to be Russian (it might be Polish, Ukrainian,
Czech). I've been through Kiev, Ukraine a couple of times and they do have some awfully crazy drivers there; my father-in-law is one of them!

[MichiganDriver]

So I'm reading this thread and thinking I should post a great video I saw the other day. You beat me to it MrFord.

Wow. I wonder if everyone's sphincter muscles have relaxed yet.

[Mr. Ford95]

Yeah wasn't me Wind. They sounded like Eastern European, with the way they seemed to laugh it off, sounded like Russians. Country, they have idiot drivers all over the world. In Turkey it's not uncommon to see the semi's going the wrong way on what is their Interstates. Or the Japanese who smashed what, 8 Ferrari's, a couple of Lambo's and some other high priced supercar in a single crash the other week in rainy weather in the hills outside of Tokyo. Might have been a secret filming of "Fast and Furious" though.

I can't believe he got that trailer to dance back over just enough to miss the camera, wonder if he lost it after he passed the camera. He was passing a plow truck, idiot, you never pass a plow truck unless your looking to wreck.

Michigan, Top Gear UK sent me this Friday morning and I remembered this thread yesterday afternoon.

[GMAN]

I would love to know if he fully recovered that trailer, too. It did seem as though he was getting ahead of it. If he had hit the brakes he would probably have gotten the truck that pulled over along with the camera truck.

[Windwalker]

I've seen a couple of drivers that managed to bring the trailer back in behind them, somehow. A Werner driver in MN had the trailer knocking down every reflector post along I-35 for about a quarter mile, and then it straightened back up again. And, in Indiana, in high wind, a driver had the trailer almost at a right-angle to the tractor. When he got into some trees, the trailer went back behind him. I still don't know how the wind didn't tip the trailer over.

[MichiganDriver]

I think the trailer bounced off the guard rail with exactly the right amount of force.