Go to this link: https://www.kptv.com/2023/02/2...asts-brings-worries/

scroll down to the video of the white pickup at the 9:22 am entry. Go 16 seconds in.
here is a screenshot:


watch how the truck just locks up all 4, and then look at what he's doing with his steering.

He hits 3 cars simply because he has no idea how to drive.

Heck I did better as a 16 year old.

Oh, "But I got 4 Wheel drive" seems to be the answer among the clueless. What a total moron.

Not lost the skill. Never had it. Spent many days practicing on the frozen lake.

Agree. I was fortunate to grow up in New England driving a rear wheel Mustang with no posi. Had some hairy moments but I am a much better driver because of that experience.

Yes, learning on big rear wheel drives with no ABS, traction control, etc definitely helped to develop the seat of the pants skills for recognizing when it was starting to “let go” and how to counter it before it’s too late.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Not lost the skill. Never had it. Spent many days practicing on the frozen lake.

I agree with ZSMICHAEL. Most people never knew how to drive in the first place.

Finally turns his front wheels INTO the slide and amazingly (!), the vehicle straightens out....then proceeds to lock'em up again to complete the rest of the slide.

"Lesseee...turn into the slide...which way is that? Oh, I'll just do nothing and hope for the best."

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
Yes, learning on big rear wheel drives with no ABS, traction control, etc definitely helped to develop the seat of the pants skills for recognizing when it was starting to “let go” and how to counter it before it’s too late.

Yep. It's the reason I turn off all of the traction control gizmos on my truck in the winter-time. They caused me to go into the ditch twice when I could easily have gotten out of a slide with skills I learned 40+ years ago.

I agree with several others here -- most drivers in southern states have never learned how to drive on ice and snow. A lot of those in more northern states never learned the right way to do it. What skills you never learned cannot be forgotten.

Watching Texans driving on black ice is interesting.

flashguy

I once bobsledded down Buffalo Street in Ithaca, NY under conditions like the OP. It's amazing that I didn't hit anyone/anything. Hit the bottom of the hill doing probably 70 and thankfully they had sprayed the roads down below as I stopped just short of a red light. I was picking pieces of the seat out of my butt crack for days.

Isn’t this the same forum which always encourages people to buy the AWD version of a vehicle when available even though the member lives in a southern state?

People just suck at driving in general. Snow, ice and rain just intensify their lack of skill. That’s why I believe all cars should be stick shift (unless you have a legit medical issue), driver licenses should be expensive and difficult to obtain, failed safety inspections actually keep shitty and unsafe cars off the road, and traffic laws are enforced (no cruising in the left hand lane, no driving with flashers on, etc) so we can travel more efficiently instead of having some asshole whose car far outpaced his driving skill crash and cause delays for people who are trying to be productive.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
"But I got 4 Wheel drive" seems to be the answer among the clueless. What a total moron.

4 wheel drive =/= 4 wheel stop

I grew up in Fla, my Pop-Pop was one of the first drivers ED teachers in the state. To say I learned to drive, ahem, before legally, was an understatement. But we didn’t have snow or ice.

When I moved to NC, in the winter of 85, my dad took me to the parking lot of Sky City and let me learn how to drive in the ice and snow. He had grown up in Philly before he moved to Fla.

There were a lot of other teens ther also learning. We all took turns, dads sat around a few coolers, none of us got out of control.

The key is going slow, do nothing fast, don’t freak out.

When I became a cop I found that idiot drivers weren’t just restrained to snow and ice, anything besides perfect driving makes them skidding and panicky creatures.

I just try and stay indoors when it snows or ices here in TX. The only people who were able to drive around during the snowmageddon here were people who were from northern states…you could tell because they were going slow…locals were driving 55 on a sheet of ice-and wrecking

Even if I didn't know at the moment what to do, I would have been moving my wheels left and right until something kicked in.

 
One of the reasons I have always owned a manual transmission. Starting out in 2nd gear and easing the clutch out usually provides non-slip traction.

Big parking lots were magnets to us when we were teens when it snowed. I took turns between a 68 Torino GT convertible with a single track rear end and a front wheel drive Ford Fiesta 4 speed. Both were invaluable at teaching me to drive on snow and ice.

Of course I agree that these skills should be developed.

In addition, my standard answer if you live in a snowbelt, is that the first step is putting on your "winter wheels". If you believe All Seasons means All Weather, you're already at a potentially deadly disadvantage.

In PA, they make you inspect your car to verify your turn signal bulb isn't burned out, but if you've got a minuscule amount of tread on a stone hard all season from Montgomery Wards, you're "good to go" with tires! How in the hell with all of the .gov regulation that we DO have, that there isn't a requirement for winter tires,.. it's just beyond me.

Full disclosure though, two days ago I drove my X3 with Blizzaks on a 2 hour drive in 70 degree weather. So they're probably damn near shot. This weather is CRAZY lately.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
Even if I didn't know at the moment what to do, I would have been moving my wheels left and right until something kicked in.

It's not likely that anything is going to "kick in" for directional control until the driver gets off the brakes. You must do the counter intuitive thing and let the tires roll even though your brain is screaming STOP.

Back in the 50's and early 60's when cars were rear wheel drive ,
There was
Only a small percentage of drivers that would choose to wait out the snow and ice roads,
People just took the time to make good driving choices.

Most learned about traction, inertia , momentum, evasive driving , they valued the ability to relocate in inclemate weather conditions.

There are people driving now
that refuse to take the steps necessary to be independent / functional.

"Don't make me know stuff, why you gotta be like that"?

Planning ahead for spontaneity is SO 1970's

Not long after I got my driving permit, my mother took me to the high school parking lot in December and had me drive around slow, fast, in reverse and more in the snow. As I was doing this, she was in the passenger seat telling me what was going on and what to do to fix it.
This was early 80's so there was no front wheel drive and the car I learned in was a big 4 door Oldsmobile Delta 88. That was a valuable lesson and one that I passed on to my daughter when she started driving.