[Zody]

Had a bad experience today while driving home, came down a very steep hill to find there was black ice at the bottom, just before entering onto a roundabout with duel lane traffic, (rush hour of course) my car stopped ok after dabbing the brakes & quickly pushing the button on for traction control.

Thank God for modern tech...... Lucky escape :tup: I thought I was a gonna :sniff:

 

[gramps]

Just watched an expert on Beeb 1 telling us that ABS and sundry electronic aids did not work on ice etc. Just drive sensibly

 

[40Stude]

Just watched an expert on Beeb 1 telling us that ABS and sundry electronic aids did not work on ice etc. Just drive sensibly

As an old fart who grew up with rear wheel drive and with an Imp (ok, Singer Chamois) as a first car, the only traction aid I came to depend on in the winter was a bag of Blue Circle cement in the boot! I'll agree that ABS and the like give you a better chance of stopping before you hit the target, it scares me that so many people have so little idea of how to control a car when the conditions are less than ideal. I've already told my 17 year old son that when he passes his test, the first thing we are doing is booking a skid pan session, preferably in a car without traction control and ABS. Better to know how to deal with a situation if the gizmos fail than plough on assuming the technology will come to your rescue. Oh, did I mention that the ABS went on holiday last winter in my Alfa? :tdown:

 

[trevd]

im smoking arround in a totaly knackered diesel auto toyota people carrier, its best feature is the 4x4 it has locking hubs and limited slip diffs so not only can it get me out of most slipery places it also (and more importantly) gives equal braking to all wheels probably one of the safest vehicles ive ever driven in bad weather, even better than my old land rover, modern technology its not but it does do a good job. i still drive slowly and get peed off with the people who dont, i think a lot of problems are caused by people not understanding how they should be driving (like not wheel spinning, it just polishes the ice) keep it in a high gear and dont use too many revs, maybe this should be part of the driving test.

 

[oldskoolgaz]

i drive a subaru wrx and its best without the fuse for the abs

 

[40Stude]

im smoking arround in a totaly knackered diesel auto toyota people carrier, its best feature is the 4x4 it has locking hubs and limited slip diffs so not only can it get me out of most slipery places it also (and more importantly) gives equal braking to all wheels probably one of the safest vehicles ive ever driven in bad weather, even better than my old land rover, modern technology its not but it does do a good job. i still drive slowly and get peed off with the people who dont, i think a lot of problems are caused by people not understanding how they should be driving (like not wheel spinning, it just polishes the ice) keep it in a high gear and dont use too many revs, maybe this should be part of the driving test.

Amen to that.

 

[kapri]

...and using the gears properly especially on autos, not brakes, to control slowing. Oh yeah, and don't take the clown in our local rags advice who said to turn on all your front and rear foglights so you can be seen:wanker:

 

[BRIT DIGGER]

...and using the gears properly especially on autos, not brakes, to control slowing. Oh yeah, and don't take the clown in our local rags advice who said to turn on all your front and rear foglights so you can be seen:wanker:

and amen to that!.. knuts.. o and the middle laners!!...

sorry im off to bed.

 

[scooder]

Nice one Zody glad your here to tell the tail. I never had abs so cant coment but if your pukering arse said it worked then I belive you (I'm not gonna start an argument with your nipsy)
Have a good Christmas one and all.
Martin.

 

[susser]

It's always good to practice braking under all conditions, without electronic aids. Someone told me his ABS had "stopped working" on some ice once and he just slid down the hill. What had happened is that his wheels had all stopped and the ABS thought he was stationary. What he should have done is released the brakes and allowed the wheels to rotate and then reapplied and got some control back. Relying on Technology is OK but you need some idea as well. In My opinion.

 

[Rich G]

...and using the gears properly especially on autos, not brakes, to control slowing. Oh yeah, and don't take the clown in our local rags advice who said to turn on all your front and rear foglights so you can be seen:wanker:

It should be legal to shoot people for misuse of fog lights!

 

[blackpopracing]

ABS is useful, but when 'testing' the amount of traction in my road it failed to work (as it thought I has stopped).
I did find it useful if brakes applied very gently, it cut in and out well then and did stop the car better.

Why do so many people seem to think applying the brakes going downhill is a GOOD idea????? FFS!!! Because of this stupid practice my big gaps I left were reduced and it put me into a slide to try to maintain them.

It ought to be part of the test for people to learn how to engine brake and to use the gearbox to slow it down. Grrrrrr......

 

[LUCKY777]

I get the use of a modern car as a "perk" , the first thing I do in the snow is turn OFF the traction control.
Otherwise you cant get anywhere at all , its easier to DRIVE it yourself:happy:

 

[ALS57]

im smoking arround in a totaly knackered diesel auto toyota people carrier, its best feature is the 4x4 it has locking hubs and limited slip diffs so not only can it get me out of most slipery places it also (and more importantly) gives equal braking to all wheels probably one of the safest vehicles ive ever driven in bad weather, even better than my old land rover, modern technology its not but it does do a good job. i still drive slowly and get peed off with the people who dont, i think a lot of problems are caused by people not understanding how they should be driving (like not wheel spinning, it just polishes the ice) keep it in a high gear and dont use too many revs, maybe this should be part of the driving test.

I'd like to try one of those as I've had full size 4x4 Chevy Tahoe's and a Ford Bronco and never felt more unsafe driving on snow in 4x4 mode and switched back to 2x4. Sorry to be dim but can anyone explain why?

 

[Tim G]

Yeah it seems to me ABS aint too clever in the ice... i dont have it on my 97 T4 van but the amount or modern cars i've seen sliding upto junctions with scared looking drivers in the last week is proof of that i reckon, my girlfriend says hers doesn't work either, i guess some cars are better than others.

 

[trevd]

I'd like to try one of those as I've had full size 4x4 Chevy Tahoe's and a Ford Bronco and never felt more unsafe driving on snow in 4x4 mode and switched back to 2x4. Sorry to be dim but can anyone explain why?

i dont know why it is so good, i have had a few 4x4 vehicles and the only one that comes close to the van in the snow was my old land rover. the van has it all, comfortable, good heater (you wont find that in an old landie), room for 7 people, seats fold into a bed (great if you get stuck) i dont even have good tyres on it, one is only just legal, but it is just so stable on the road its unbilevable. i had a 4x4 chevy that was crap not only in the snow but in wet weather too. it seems the japs have got it sussed again.