Here's something I've been playing about with for a client, thier staff do infrastrucure work so staying at home isn't an option.
Any coments:
We’ve just finished with the snow and now the Met office are predicting more, what can we do to ensure that we are safe and prepared on the winter roads.
The obvious one that the Highways Agency always state is stay at home and only go out if you have to. This article assumes that you do indeed need to travel, even if it is so you can get home.
It will cover:
Vehicle checks.
Driving Technique.
Vehicle Kit.
If you do get stranded.
Vehicle Checks:
Basic car checks can be summed up by the acronym POWER:
P: Petrol (fuel including diesel or LPG), a full tank or at least twice what you will need for your journey.
O: Oils (including power steering and transmission) engine oil should be at least halfway to the top of the dipstick – other oils / fluids will have levels in your manual. A little 3 in 1 oil or WD40 in the locks will help prevent them freezing you out of the car.
W: Water (screen wash and coolant) a good winter mix for screen wash can be made of screen wash concentrate, a shot of washing up liquid and 200ml of methylated spirit per 5 litres of water (most cars have a 4.5 or 5 litre tank). Coolant should already have the right amount of anti freeze, but can be checked with a simple kit.
E: Electrics (battery, bulbs heated screen etc) is your battery a sealed unit in which case there is little to check many have a green ‘OK’ dot in a window if the electrolyte is down or the battery is near the end of its life it will show red. Old style batteries may need a top up charge in very cold weather and a top up of the water with distilled water (also known as deionised water).
Bulbs inside and out should be checked and make sure lenses are clean before setting off (a clean lens picks up less dirt that an already dirty lens), check the lights inside the car including the dashboard lights – when you turn on the electrics most cars illuminate all the warning lights on the dash as a self test. Check that your heater & demister fans work as well.
R: Rubber (wiper blades and tyres) Check that wiper blades are in good condition and not cracking, torn, split or with the edges curled over as this will reduce their effectiveness, a quick wipe with a rag soaked in methylated spirit will remove a lot of muck and road film that can build up.
Tyres need to be at the right pressures, the days of summer and winter pressures on tyres no longer really applies to most road tyres, the main exceptions are specific off road tyres, snow and winter tyres (the latter rarely used in the UK), check the sidewalls and tread for damage, impacted stones or bits of glass. Likewise check the tread for depth, the UK standard is 1.6mm across 2/3 of the tyre, however, it is recommended that tyres should be changed at around 3mm tread depth as the tyre will have lost 70% of it’s grip. Uneven tread wear can indicate problems with inflation and tracking.
This may sound a lot but a complete ‘POWER’ check can be done in under 20 minutes and can mean the difference between a safe journey and being stranded, most of the calls the AA attend are due to 3 main items: Battery failure, tyre failure and running out of fuel.
Driving Technique:
Avoidance is always better than cure, with this in mind:
Plan your journey and allow sufficient time taking into account conditions from weather checks and road checks -
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/ ... ather.html and
http://www.trafficengland.com Allow enough distance between you and other vehicles – the 2 second rule becomes 4 seconds in medium to heavy rain and becomes 10 seconds in snow and ice.
If the temperature is low (around 3 degrees C) then allow for potential ice to be in areas that have been in the shade for most of the day (north facing), valleys, low road sections, bridges, corners, dips and rises, tree and hedge lined areas, and higher exposed areas as the temp drops as you climb (3 degrees per 1000ft).
If you see white patches on the road that sparkle or the road surface that looks very matt black this can indicate ice and black ice, another indicator of black ice is a sudden lack of road noise – don’t panic, don’t brake, ease off the accelerator, use engine braking and allow the car to slow steadily.
Driving in snow and ice is about smoothness and concentration, hard acceleration and braking can both cause skidding, plan acceleration, gear changes and braking in advance.
In a skid, ease of the accelerator, turn into the skid, as the vehicle starts to straighten ease the steering back to straight – harsh straightening will cause the vehicle to move in the opposite direction ‘fishtailing’ and may cause the car to spin.
Use as high a gear as possible as soon as possible, especially when pulling away on or near a slope, low gears produce lots of torque (turning force) which on snow and ice can cause the wheel to spin. Some traction control equipped cars there is the feature to turn off the TC or use a snow setting, consult your manual – there is normally a section on snow driving.
Vehicle Kit
Handy kit to have in a car in addition to the manufacturers supplied kit (usually a car jack, wheel trim & nut remover, small wheel brace):
Mobile phone and charger or spare battery.
Extendable wheel brace – handy for getting nuts of by providing greater leverage than the supplied wheel brace.
Air pump and tyre pressure gauge.
Ice Scraper and de-icer spray (go for pump bottles and avoid aerosol sprays as the propellant fails when it gets very cold – just when you need it!! )
Hazard triangle (in case the worst does happen and you have to stop).
Jump leads (details of how to jump start cars are in the driver’s manual so keep it in the car) whilst this may seem odd there are often many drivers who are prepared to help out but do not have leads, also abandoned cars could be used for jump starting.
Small shovel (most army surplus shops sell trench tools, folding shovels that pack up small and are ideal for digging a car out of snow).
Blankets or a sleeping bag – a foil ‘survival’ blanket does not count and in some conditions may actually increase the risk of hypothermia, but they do make a good waterproof and windproof sheet.
Warm clothing (extra jumpers, gloves, pair of boots etc).
Many articles mention a waterproof coat and hi-viz vests, why not combine the two with a waterproof hi-viz coat, again available very cheaply from surplus shops, commercial safety supply companies.
Some food (chocolate bars, sweets are excellent as they are high energy, come in their own wrapper and have a good shelf life).
Flask of hot drink, or means of making one – a small brew kit, metal mug and a small camping stove.
Soft bristle broom makes clearing cars of snow a very quick job.
First aid kit.
Torch and disposable glow sticks.
Traction aids – many off road manuals talk about ‘MO-Mat’ or ‘Tank Track’ but some old hessian sandbags cut along the sides or two strips of carpet 3-4 feet long will work just as well, it gives something that can be packed under a tyre to stop it slipping once its moving after being dug out, in some Scandinavian countries drivers often carry cat litter as grit substitute.
This may sound like a lot of kit but it can be carried in a small and can be carried in a Fiesta / Corsa size car with space to spare for other things like shopping.
If you do get stranded:
Stay calm, especially in the UK with the car kit listed you can be quite comfortable for 24 hours easily.
Stay in your car: Your car is a source of shelter and protection, wander away you may get stuck in snow or run over by passing traffic.
Check your exhaust is clear before running your engine, if it’s blocked it can put carbon monoxide gas into the passenger area of the car.
Run the engine and keep the heater on full, no more than 10 minutes per hour to conserve fuel, crack the window an inch to keep fresh air in the car and avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
Stay fed and hydrated, ideally with warm food and drink (see car kit above), if you have no water part fill a cup with clean snow and hold over heater vent to melt, putting raw snow in your mouth will cause a quick drop in body temperature and a trip to hypothermia.
Keep your interior light on or use a glow stick, having light is a big morale boost and it helps rescuers see that your car is occupied and needs help. Also tying a scarf or rag to your aerial will indicate to rescuers an occupied car.
If stuck in snow bound traffic (like the M11 a few years ago) keep your seatbelt on whilst in the car in case you are hit by other traffic.
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