The weather

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Samba
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Re: The weather

Post by Samba »

-DL- wrote: Mon Dec 12, 2022 12:36 pm Winter tyres probably wouldn't have prevented any of these incidents, but a bit of common sense would have - like my other colleague who stopped his bus, let all the air out and left it where it was until this morning.
I wonder if all those people that helped to turn that big, people carrier around are feeling a little bit guilty now..
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Re: The weather

Post by Whitters »

Hummer_I_mean_Hammer wrote: Mon Dec 12, 2022 12:25 pm do we need to make having winter tyres a requirement?
In France only certain areas are obliged by law to have winter tyres or snow chains, generally the more mountainous areas of course. In Switzerland there is no obligation at all, but the insurance can refuse to pay out if they can show that it was because you weren't driving adequately equipped.

In any case, in Switzerland at least the vast majority put on winter tyres anyway as it is generally much safer for the whole winter period irrespective of whether there is snow or not, so it is the sensible thing to do. It also means you don't have to replace worn tyres quite so often too, although of course there is the initial outlay and paying someone to change and store them
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Re: The weather

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Always remember my very first driving experience of icy driving. Pulled up to a stop at the end of a side road & realised, because of a steep camber, that I had started very slowly going sideways left towards a parked car. I instinctively put my foot on the brake... :crylol: & straightaway realised that that wasn't going to do anything.. Luckily, the main road was clear so I could slowly move forward again & stop going sideways...
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Re: The weather

Post by Hummer_I_mean_Hammer »

Samba wrote: Mon Dec 12, 2022 2:54 pm Always remember my very first driving experience of icy driving. Pulled up to a stop at the end of a side road & realised, because of a steep camber, that I had started very slowly going sideways left towards a parked car. I instinctively put my foot on the brake... :crylol: & straightaway realised that that wasn't going to do anything.. Luckily, the main road was clear so I could slowly move forward again & stop going sideways...
Didn't happen to be near Brentwood station did it? I remember having to cross a pedestrian crossing on the way to the station one day, wasn't going to risk crossing whether i had right of way or not, I could see that any cars coming down that hill were never going to stop for me green man or not.
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Re: The weather

Post by Hummer_I_mean_Hammer »

Whitters wrote: Mon Dec 12, 2022 2:09 pm In France only certain areas are obliged by law to have winter tyres or snow chains...
I lived for a while in the Baltics, there by law you have to swop them over. I do think that they can make a massive difference, an alterntive is AT tyres, which I believe are all weather types.
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Re: The weather

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Hummer_I_mean_Hammer wrote: Mon Dec 12, 2022 3:06 pm Didn't happen to be near Brentwood station did it? I remember having to cross a pedestrian crossing on the way to the station one day, wasn't going to risk crossing whether i had right of way or not, I could see that any cars coming down that hill were never going to stop for me green man or not.
No mate, East Ham.
That hill in Brentwood is a right b*stard! I would hope & imagine that's one of the very first places to get gritted!
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Re: The weather

Post by westham,eggyandchips »

No one in this country has any real experience of driving in adverse (snow and icey) conditions.

Helped a stranded woman out last night, and no matter what I said to try and help her just kept revving the arse out the car and turning the wheel left to right.
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Re: The weather

Post by Hummer_I_mean_Hammer »

westham,eggyandchips wrote: Mon Dec 12, 2022 5:35 pm No one in this country has any real experience of driving in adverse (snow and icey) conditions.

Helped a stranded woman out last night, and no matter what I said to try and help her just kept revving the arse out the car and turning the wheel left to right.
Most likely in reverse as well.. :crylol:
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Re: The weather

Post by S-H »

Love having a rwd motor in this weather..
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Re: The weather

Post by PF. »

Whitters wrote: Mon Dec 12, 2022 2:09 pm In Switzerland there is no obligation at all, but the insurance can refuse to pay out if they can show that it was because you weren't driving adequately equipped.

In any case, in Switzerland at least the vast majority put on winter tyres anyway as it is generally much safer for the whole winter period irrespective of whether there is snow or not, so it is the sensible thing to do.
Surprisingly perhaps, this is the same for Poland. The winters are often harsh yet there is no legal obligation to change to winters. Most new cars are now fitted with all season as standard and the locals are pretty switched on to changing, although less so in the cities.

My first ever day in Poland was January 2010 and I turned up in very typical London winter wear. It was minus 21 and after a short walk / skid to the office, I was pretty sure I was about to lose my nose and ears to frostbite. I definitely knew that I wasn't in Kansas anymore when team members were calling me saying they couldn't get into work because the diesel had frozen in their tanks!

We went back last Christmas and the whole outlaw family drove from Warsaw to the mountains in the South. It was excellent being up so high and in the deep snow but the drive was a harrowing. I was driving the back car (of three) and it was up steep, winding roads with heavy snow fall. The chains went on for that climb and you do feel a deep sense of responsibility when the wife and kids are with you!
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Re: The weather

Post by Jonah »

Driving in Iceland on full winters for the first time was great fun.

Although on the roads in Reykjavik where it was clear the amount of loose rubber on the side of the roads was weird to see.
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Re: The weather

Post by Shy Ted »

Whitters wrote: Mon Dec 12, 2022 2:09 pm In France only certain areas are obliged by law to have winter tyres or snow chains, generally the more mountainous areas of course. In Switzerland there is no obligation at all, but the insurance can refuse to pay out if they can show that it was because you weren't driving adequately equipped.

In any case, in Switzerland at least the vast majority put on winter tyres anyway as it is generally much safer for the whole winter period irrespective of whether there is snow or not, so it is the sensible thing to do. It also means you don't have to replace worn tyres quite so often too, although of course there is the initial outlay and paying someone to change and store them
Driving in the Swiss mountains it is compulsory to carry snow chains, even in 4 wheel drive vehicles.
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Re: The weather

Post by Whitters »

Shy Ted wrote: Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:08 am Driving in the Swiss mountains it is compulsory to carry snow chains, even in 4 wheel drive vehicles.
It isn't, although arguably it should be. I carry them anyway but I haven't needed them since I bought a 4x4 a few years ago after terrible experiences with my old rear-wheel drive Jaguar on a tiny bit of snow, even with winter tyres and on relatively flat ground. The Swiss are generally pretty quick to clear the roads

In France the gendarmes used to be able to stop you and insist that you put them on in snowy days, and now they just have areas where winter tyres or chains are compulsory between November and March
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Re: The weather

Post by Shabu »

westham,eggyandchips wrote: Mon Dec 12, 2022 5:35 pm No one in this country has any real experience of driving in adverse (snow and icey) conditions.

Helped a stranded woman out last night, and no matter what I said to try and help her just kept revving the arse out the car and turning the wheel left to right.
So what happened? Is she still there?
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Re: The weather

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Re: The weather

Post by Shabu »

Going to be 25C here on Chrimbo Day.

Meanwhile much of America is going to be hit with severe snow storms with 8 or more inches being ploughed into them :shock:

Minus 30 in Chicago.
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Re: The weather

Post by WCpete »

Guess I’m glad we didn’t move to Buffalo last summer. 50 dead now.
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Re: The weather

Post by Samba »

WCpete wrote: Tue Dec 27, 2022 2:34 am Guess I’m glad we didn’t move to Buffalo last summer. 50 dead now.
Yeah, just seen that. Terrible.
Global warming my a*se...
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Re: The weather

Post by Shabu »

Samba wrote: Tue Dec 27, 2022 3:58 am Yeah, just seen that. Terrible.
Global warming my a*se...
Maybe try using the phrase "Climate change" like everyone else has been for the past twenty years :grin:
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Re: The weather

Post by Shabu »

We've been incredibly lucky with the weather compared to the rest of the country. Was 26C on Xmas, little bit of rain forecast for today.

But most flights have been cancelled. My sister in law works at the airport & had to work 7am-1pm then go back & work 3pm-11pm on Christmas Day. And she just got screamed at for those 16 hours.

The local news is full of angry or crying people whinging about flights being cancelled. The rest of the country is freezing and buried under snow but people here are moaning about being stuck in a warm paradise :lol:
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