If you have to use the roads, go safely...
Motoring charity the IAM has today issued advice on driving in snow and ice, as freezing conditions spread across the country.
IAM chief examiner Peter Rodger said: “Don’t drive unless it’s completely necessary and check the conditions for your entire journey. Can you work remotely, or change your schedule?”
If staying at home in the warm is not an option, the IAM offers the following advice on driving safely through this period:
> Make sure your windows are clear and that you have all-round visibility before you set off. Also take the time to clear snow off the roof of your car
> When driving in snow, get your speed right – not too fast that you risk losing control, but not so slow that you risk losing momentum when you need it
> Start gently from stationary, avoiding high revs. Stay in a higher gear for better control, and if it is slippery, in a manual car move off in a higher gear, rather than just using first
> If you get yourself into a skid the main thing to remember is to take your foot off the pedals and steer
> Only use the brake if you cannot steer out of trouble. Double or even triple your normal stopping distance from the vehicle in front so you are not relying on your brakes to be able to stop. It simply may not happen!
> It’s better to think ahead as you drive to keep moving, even if it is at walking pace
> Plan your journey around busier roads as they are more likely to have been gritted. Avoid using short cuts on minor roads – they are less likely to be cleared or treated with salt, especially country lanes and housing areas
> Bends are a particular problem in slippery conditions – slow down before you get to the bend, so that by the time you turn the steering wheel you have already lost enough speed
>On a downhill slope get your speed low before you start the descent, and do not let it build up – it is much easier to keep it low than to try and slow down once things get slippery
And if the worst does happen:
> Keep track of where you are. If you do have to call for assistance, you need to be able to tell the breakdown or emergency services your location, so they can find you
> If you must leave your vehicle to telephone for assistance, find a safe place to stand away from the traffic flow. If you have just lost control the next driver could well do the same in the same place
> On motorways and dual carriageways it is always better to leave your vehicle and stand a short distance behind and to the safe side of it. Don’t stand in front of it if at all possible.
For more advice on driving in the snow visit the charity’s website
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Weather for Hemel Hempstead
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 10 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
MR68
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 09:56 AMPoor driving! Don't you love predictive text?
MR68
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 09:52 AMLots of good advice here. May I also say please turn your fog lights off a well? You only need them on if visibility is 100 or less. Use in any other conditions is simply Mop driving.
closed account
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 10:01 PMThey should also have added "And don't text or use your mobile phone while you are driving".
Chelsealyn
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:57 PMI must say that on saturday afternoon the gritting trucks were out and what a big difference they made to the main roads that last year were just left.
bigtime
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 12:55 PMGood comnments there, JR. Shame you have to littler them with garbage about a proportion of drivers who, in your opinion, see their vehicles as an extension of their penis (I guess only men drive these cars then). For balance, im sure there is also a proportion of wreckless drivers that don't see their car as such, as well as a proportion or wreckless drivers who have bottom of the range vehicles.
pasionate2001
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 11:04 AMI drove back from London to Hemel on Saturday night. Going down to the magic roundabout at about 12pm, in first gear at 10mph, a Range Rover going uphill towards the M1, suddenly decided to cross over the central reservation right in front of me. I braked hard, and god knows how, my car slid to a halt, without skidding. The car behind me, also driving similarly carefully, managed to stop also. The idiot in the Range Rover, Registration WATCH, or something similar was having a great time: he then proceeded to drive up on the green area in the middle of the magic roundabout, his car tipped over at a crazy angle. I was so furious, I was wishing he would tip right over. He was high on euphoria, or something, and had no idea presumably that he was putting other people in danger. If anyone knows him, please let him know that poor driving means causing other people to brake. He is lucky there was no serious accident. Thinking of others is a trait that should be developed, as without that you are a menace.
traxx
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 02:38 PMwell said JR.. I have snow socks for my car, amazing things and better than chains too
JR
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 02:15 PMI've been using snow socks on my tyres, cost about £50 on ebay some 5 years ago and still using the same pair today. Had no problems whatsoever. As long as you remember that the speed signs are a maximum for good conditions - not a minimum for all weather! Drove last night and again early this morning & now the roads are fairly clear I've taken them off. Sadly, some drivers believe their top of the range, state of the art phallic symbol will get through anything - after all, why else have low profile tyres, abs, brake assist, power steering, climate control and the myriad of other gadgets manufacturers chuck in these days? If you're not confident in the snow, don't go out. if you have to go out, be prepared & drive to the conditions of the road, not the capabilities of your car. And pedestrians, flat 'shoes' (if you can call these ballet-style slippers many seem to wear) are no good in the snow - a little tip my gran gave me - put a pair of wooly socks OVER your shoes, these will provide loads of extra grip in the snow (and the basis of the idea for the tyre socks on my car. Do not blame others when you have an accident.
traxx
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 12:21 PMI saw gritters spreading on numerous occasions around Hemel yesterday during in the day. The gritsalt will never work when you have heavy snow fall… It will only work to stop light flurries & icy roads… What we need are snow ploughsblowers to clear the snow as it falls…. The snow last night was forecast all week and yet people still go out and drive in it….
welcome1503
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 08:54 AMWell here in Hemel the local council strikes again, up until 9pm last night we had seen no gritter out even although they had plenty of notice, were they waiting to see if the weather men were bluffing..well they were wrong, it ended up by 10.30pm last night you could not get up the dual carriageway or up past lawn lane to the crabtree area and I expect most Hemel was the same..why does this happen time after time. I had to abandon my car in Lawn Lane last night and walk up the dual carriageway and was not alone in that.
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