On Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:04:41 +0000, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> While I'm here, can we straighten this out? I was under the impression
> that the correct way to drive in snow is the following:
> 
> - The correct way to get traction is to turn the wheels as slowly as
> possible, not spin them at maximum power.

Yes, that is correct.  Spinning the wheels will generally dig you in 
deeper.

> - If your car skids, turn into the direction of the skid.

Correct, but you have to be careful not to over-correct, lest you hit a 
dry patch on the road and spin the car.  I did that and ended up in the 
ditch, once - after doing a 360 in one direction and then a 720 in the 
opposite.

> - If you skip under braking, ease off the brakes. If you skid under
> acceleration, reduce power a little.

Well, brakes tend to be "on or off", if you don't have ABS, pumping the 
brake pedal generally works well, but also if you can drop to a lower 
gear, do that.  Don't do anything that would normally cause a fast change 
in speed because you'll lose control.

What I do on ice if accelerating is take my foot off the gas and drop the 
car to 3rd gear (I drive an automatic, but this works in a manual 
transmission car as well).  Don't touch the brakes, because in general it 
won't do anything but cause you to lose control.

I also will occasionally tap the brakes to see if the car will slow 
down.  It's important to do this while the wheels are pointing forward, 
though; if you do this and have the wheels turned, you could spin out of 
control if the circumstances are right.

> - If you need to go up hill, do it fast so the momentum will carry you
> over. (I saw lots of people slowing down for the hills in case they
> skid, or trying to go up a hill from a stationary position.)

It depends on the hill.  If you go fast and there's a stop sign at the 
top of the hill, your chances of blowing through the intersection are 
really good, and there's always a chance when you do that of running into 
cross traffic if it's not a 4-way stop.

The best option is to find a different route if you encounter an icy hill 
- up or down.

The important thing when driving on ice is to not make any sudden changes 
- sudden turns, slamming on the brakes, fast acceleration - all of these 
can cause a loss of control.

Jim

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