Winter Driving
 

Hi All

Happy New Year to you all!!

Just curious as to how bad the winter driving conditions are over there in Calgary especially. Would imagine I would stay within city limits during winter as I am not experienced in icy conditions

Cheers

Wayne

Re: Winter Driving
 

There are tons on tips in the winter driving wiki, and at the canadian driving website.

Mostly it boils down to common sense, be prepared, get winter rubber, slow down.

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Winter_Driving
http://www.canadiandriver.com/winterdriving

Couldnt imagine living in Calgary and not going skiing in the mountains in the winter:)

Re: Winter Driving
 

You should have a look at today's Calgary Herald.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/We...531/story.html

Re: Winter Driving
 

Sadly you're still largely at the mercy of the idiots who think they can stop when they're driving six feet behind you on fresh snow. There's a traffic jam around here at the moment because someone smashed into the back of another car on the approach to a stop light... if I remember correctly there were more than twenty crashes before 9am the first day we had significant snow this winter.

Re: Winter Driving
 

If it's anything like Red Deer, it takes time for the roads to be cleared, with main roads being a priority and then residential streets maybe once during the winter and then once at the end.

The storm that hit this weekend has mad the roads horrible, but the idiots in their lifted pieces of crap are still driving like it's summer, fishtailing on the ice on the roads, wearing their white framed sunglasses:thumbdown:

I was supposed to be going to a tupperware wedding shower in Blackfalds (20 mins out of Red Deer) I was amazed it hadn't been postponed, I stayed home and safe.

Re: Winter Driving
 

On saturday night/sunday morning Ben and I witnessed someone reversing back along the Gardner to the off ramp because there had been an accident up ahead.

He nearly backed ( at speed) into a large truck.

This was then repeated by at least three other cars :eek:

Re: Winter Driving
 

I would say the road clearance around Cochrane is waaayy better than within Calgary city limits :p

As I drive down towards Calgary each morning, I go over the brow of a hill down to a set of traffic lights at the city limits, and bang, and this is where the the snow, ice and skidding begin. I have yet to see the large scale gritting or ploughing that was promised. Maybe all the priorities are sent to the Deerfoot which is notoriously a idiot-driving nightmare.

Apart from the fact that generally we have (I think) very little snow generally (compared to some other provinces), the school of thought seems to be to just wait for it all to melt anyway. So the main roads naturally clear and dry out quickly, and the side residential roads become a carved, rutted ice rink.

We had wind this weekend. Nothing to do with a curry. Lots of blowing snow, large drifts and the need for snow ploughs. Unusual, to be sure.

If you are a nervous driver, start playing in large empty car parks in the evening and buy winter tyres and you are all set! :)

Re: Winter Driving
 

It could be worse......we could be in then UK when they get and inch of slush.......:eek::eek:

Re: Winter Driving
 

Holy Crap

Thats it ... I'm moving to Jamaica!

Re: Winter Driving
 

Today I saw two accidents on my (usually) 15 min drive to work in Calgary. On my way home just now I saw two separate "near" accidents as cars lost their grip on apparently icy surfaces as they merged onto the highway, and fish-tailed wildy for some seconds, luckily managing not to side-swipe anyone while they fought to get control.

What amazed me was that having got control, each of them roared off down the road doing far in excess of the posted speed limit (which is presumably for dry conditions anyway). Twits! :blink:

Here's some excellent photos of current road conditions in Calgary! http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Ga...342/story.html

Re: Winter Driving
 

It never ceases to amaze me when you see some of these vehicles in the ditch.

Today i'm driving home at dusk / dark (took about an hour). Along a secondry highway which is unlit. still with snow on it so no white lines visible in places and under this is the black ice.

I have an old 2wd car which handles like a duck on an icepond at the best of times.

Add to this the added danger of a critter (deer / moose / elk) that could run out in front of you at any given time.

I finally get home (which you have to go down a gravel road to) to find the snowplough has taken a thin layer off the top of what fell over the weekend and there was a ridge a foot and a half high blocking my drive.

After 3 attempts, lots off spinning and swearing and backing up etc - FINALLY managed to get to the house.

If I can do it in the red rocket (1992 Pontiac Sunsomethingorother with nearly 300k on the clock), then Mr dumbass in his F350 dually has no frickin excuse for hitting the rhubard and ditching his truck.

Re: Winter Driving
 

This is why I left my small town in Ontario After 15 yrs there and worse for 20yrs earlier further north.

Re: Winter Driving
 

Winter driving is easy enough. It's sharing what's left of the road with people who think their vehicles are LOP-exempt that's the problem.
(LOP = Laws of Physics)

Re: Winter Driving
 

i drove from Edmonton to Jasper and back yesterday no problems at all even after all the snow we had at the weekend

Re: Winter Driving
 

Like anywhere really, it's just everyone else on the road you need to worry about. Armed with some common sense and some winter tires on your car and go easy on the brakes and the gas pedal and you'll be fine.

Re: Winter Driving
 

A gross over-simplification.

Re: Winter Driving
 

WOW ... and where are you now? Does Calgary get that bad?

Re: Winter Driving
 

OK ...... we're starting to put me off moving to Calgary! How long do these bad conditions last usually?

Re: Winter Driving
 

Seen this mind blowing manoeuvre a few times in and around Toronto and usually for what seems nothing more that a driver missing or over-shooting as exit ramp. I suppose gas is quite expensive though.

Re: Winter Driving
 

This morning I saw three cars trying to overtake a snow plough, ( ffs , whats that about? we had enough snow in the night to need the ploughs)

I also saw one car completely fail to make it up the small ( and i mean infinitesimal) slope on spadina at front because they were wheel spinning like crazy, everyone else around them was OK , they must be a very special driver to manage that

Re: Winter Driving
 

I routinely did that when commuting. It's quite frightening, very much like passing long lorries in the rain, there are a few seconds when you just cannot see anything and have to trust your aim. In the case of the plough you suddenly have a clear view ahead (as best it gets with headlights covered in snow and ice) but then have to worry about moving into the lane ahead of the plough without skidding on the fresh snow. Three years of that and only one car destroyed with no trips off the road. I count myself lucky.

Re: Winter Driving
 

Ok , I don't drive so forgive the stupid question but why would you want to overtake the plough? I can maybe see if the traffic was light but when the traffic is solid you aint gonna gain much by banzai - ing in front of them.

The gritters/salters I can understand , nothing more unnerving than the ping of high velocity grit bouncing off your car

Re: Winter Driving
 

To be able to see more than 20 ft ahead?
Because the ploughs go slow and you have a long way to go?
Cos you are mental and have a history of poor driving decisions?


All are valid reasons in my book. I personally wouldnt do it without AWD/ winter rubber on my side and knowing the road well, but then Im a big chicken behind the wheel, thankfully with no accidents in my debit column.

Re: Winter Driving
 

Understand that I commuted over rural roads. Seeing another vehicle was a rarity. If I did see one it was either in the ditch or the plough/grader and it was going at 30 mph. My commute was timed to an average of 60 so waiting for the plough was not an option. I knew the roads well so, when I overtook, I knew that there was no bend ahead.

I took it is a given that a rural commute would eventually result in a crash, too many of the miles were covered with no visibility due to falling snow or fog (or on the wrong side of the road with no visibility because the other side of the road had a snow drift in it). Having to go to the office is one of the snags with living in the country, if you're in town you may be able to use the internet and work from home but that's not an option in the country. Each time it snows I smile because now I don't have to park in the street, at great danger of being hit by a passing vehicle, while I fetch the tractor to clear a way into the driveway.

Re: Winter Driving
 

That's difficult to say ... the 5 winters we've been here have all been different. The first couple of years we had massive Chinooks blew in and melted everything quite frequently, but this is the third year in a row when we have had more persistent snowy conditions.

I feel fairly safe driving my 4WD Jep with my winter tires, but you still have to know that on sheet ice nothing really grips. And you have to give all the idiots as much room as you can. There's a lot of really bad driving, and the city is busy .. but I don't see it as a good reason NOT to come to Calgary! ;)

Cold though ... it's currently -23 at our house... -34 I think with wind chill, and the high today was -18 at 6:00 this morning! :p

Re: Winter Driving
 

Right now I am in Victoria BC. to be perfectly honest the pictures were taken in 2008, which was a bad year, and the pics show an accumulation of 3 snowstorms.( 2 009 - 2010 not quite so bad.) the pics were of a side street where I lived, but the main streets and the highway were well maintained. When you got out of the side streets and onto the main streets you could get onto the highway easily. I had a rear wheel drive for all but two of the 35 yrs. I was in Ontario. I only changed the 2 rear wheels and put on winter tires, the regular tires which were on the rims, I put in the trunk ( boot) , for added weight, and also put a large bag of 'Kitty Litter' there too, in case I did get stuck( it is great for traction).
Sorry if I freaked you out. If and old lady like me could manage, I'm sure you will do fine , if,you are careful and use common sense.

Re: Winter Driving
 

The cold doesn't bother me .... it's the car ice skating :D

Re: Winter Driving
 

I spoke to the Mrs earlier and she had to dig the car out - she then swore at me when I told her thats its 21c and sunny here in LA (25 tommorrow :D)

I have also seen no end of people reversing on the hwy - mostly in the GTA.... obviously because Torontonians are so important that silly little rules that the rest of us must follow simply do not apply to them - nealry collected a car like that just before xmas on the QEW near Oakville (btw Im a trucker)

My Grandad was a trucker since queen victoria was around till few years ago :D always said the further you are from anything the harder it is to hit something

be prepared and apply lashings of common sense and you should be ok

Re: Winter Driving
 

we've got light snow atm, I was going to the other end of town to see if the UFA had the lunge line I'm looking for - the dog's just broken his and Lammles no longer have the ones I like, well anyway the light snow has made the roads super slippy, I just tried the local (my end of town) Western stores, UFA is the other end of town, I'll go another day, Henry will be on a short lead for a few days.

My DD has just started Drivers Ed', her first in car (truck) lesson is on the 22nd, I am so hoping the snow lets off a bit so the roads are a bit friendlier for her:blink:

Re: Winter Driving
 

Yeah probably a silly thought to not go just because of Winter driving .... just worry about getting around!! Onwards and Upwards