Snowed in!

[PhilKing]

I had to get to Heathrow from outside of Leeds yesterday.  I figured that I should set off a bit earlier, but I hadn't counted on the other drivers or the lack of ploughing on the M1.  I'm used to driving in snow because I live around New York and used to go skiing in Vermont a lot.  However I would put a full set of snow tyres on the car.  I had a Peugot 207 diesel rental with about 7,000 miles on it which I had driven up from London and then done the round trip in it already this trip.  I got stuck in traffic before I got to the M1, but by using the fast lane which had no ruts down to the tarmac in it, I was able to get around that.  The M1 was very dodgy and I hit a whiteout around Mansfield.  However driving through the long road widening 50 zone, the snow petered out (around Trowel services).  By this time it was around 10:30 or so (3 hours on the road already), I dropped the car off at Heathrow at 12:30.  It took 5 hours, but I have to say that there were so many people who should not have been out on the road, they really didn't know how to dirve in snow and they were a danger to other people.  Sticking really close behind the car in front, even when you are only crawling, is not a good move.  Also doing 10 mph on a motorway where you are driving in 2-3 in of slush but heading uphill really doesn't help.  I made my plane and was subjected to all the extra tests which the asshole with the underpants bomb caused, so the flight was delayed and then lots more security back in Newark.  As we were leaving the gate there were snowflakes falling at Heathrow.  Only one carry on allowed too, so it was my new WezV fretless EB0 - I declared it and the guy at immigration asked me what a bass was!  The best news was no customs duty at all.  Anyway, today I'm back at work and catching up on emails.

[martinw]

You know I was born in the black forest, Germany, and what did you say, 6 inches of snow? That's ridiculous - where I come from we wouldn't even have noticed anything below 15 inches  :lol:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8449906.stm

[Twinfan]

:lol:

Nice work Martin!

[_tom_]

The roads here seem to be ok, I'm back to uni tomorrow so hopefully they stay clear.. went to drop some stuff off today and people seem to have no idea how to drive in this weather. Even on the gritted dual carriageways, people were crawling along at 30.. couldn't overtake because only one lane was gritted and being clogged up by people being overly/annoyingly cautious!

[shobet]

Ok, you're young and in university have not been driving long I guess.

So would you prefer it if they were driving at breakneck speed, hitting some black ice, losing control of their cars and crashing into you, causing your head to bang into your drivers window and door post as the impact causes the car to deform and the door post to move forward into the passenger compartment? Obviously you'd hear your skull bones cracking as your head impacted on the that door pillar, splitting you right eye and pushing your right cheekbone into your mouth. Which in turn results in the severing off of a substantial piece of your tongue before you teeth shatter whilst the rest of your jaw bone is driven down into your neck severing one of your arteries. If you were lucky you would then bleed to death and some copper has to turn up to your parents and tell them that little Tom has had a fatal accident. That would be a fun day for them.

Look on the bright side you might prefer your parents having to look at you lying on that bed with your permanent brain damage caused by the rapid acceleration and deceleration to your brain from the head trauma.

Or would you rather they were cautious?

[dave_mc]

^ +1

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8449906.stm

+1, it's not that germany is better able to cope with snow, it's that it's more used to the amount which would cripple us. When it gets hit with similarly extreme weather (compared to its usual conditions) as we're getting, it also grinds to a halt.

[38thBeatle]

It is the black ice that is the danger-by its very nature you don't see it but you sure as hell know it when you are on it-hence erring on the side of caution when you have a few years of driving under your belt. I'd rather be late than "late".

[WezV]

i fell on my arse yesterday and cracked my head and back.  Nothing serious but i am now officially fed up of the snow.

[shobet]

i fell on my arse yesterday and cracked my head and back.  Nothing serious but i am now officially fed up of the snow.

It looks like it's made your head swell a bit, but at least you're still smiling...

[_tom_]

I see your point, shobet.. however 30 is far too slow on those roads imo, they're heavily used and have been properly gritted down one lane.. 50 is fine on them, I don't drive like an idiot especially after having a bit of a crash a few years ago.

[Will]

Tom, I found a spot of black ice at 40, I was going down the road sideways, from one way to the other (didn't correct fast enough) and ended up screwing my windscreen.
The main road that I live on has had a car turn around and flip OVER (not through) the hedge and fence landing in the field in front of my house.
New years day had an air ambulance land in a field to take someone who went into a tree sideways.
And a Jeep hit the front of a lorry sideways.

Getting somewhere late is better than not getting there at all

[_tom_]

Ouch, that does sound bad. Suspect I may be the stupid one then, however the road is clear and seems to be one of the few thats been well gritted, so 30 seems a bit extreme and very frustrating when you have stuff to do! The Northants/Leicester area isn't very bad compared to some places by the looks of things, think we've got quite lucky.

[Will]

I don't think I am too far from you in the grand scheme of things. I live on 3 county borders, and the difference is astounding though.
I had to go and get some oil today, and someone at the shop said:
"get home, its better to be snowed in than snowed out"

I quite like that :D