Do you remember the first time that you drove in snow?

[newbury]

My wife's dad taught her to drift the car around sharp hairpins with the hand brake. (He used to race cars.) She is a much more talented driver. I stick to the slow and steady stuff, like trailering the animals.

All the best,

Peter

That's how my Dad taught me to drive the '66 VW in the winter. Turn the wheel while pulling the center handbrake. 90 degree turns all the time.

 

[JethroB]

1975 or ‘76 in a Willys jeep. The first measurable snow I can recall here. Only been one or two other snows here since. Maybe an inch each time.

 

[Thomas]

1969 Dodge pickup 3 speed on the column half worn recap snow tires set tire chains under seat if needed...learn rear quick how to double clutch.

 

[groundcover]

One of my first snow driving memories was going to get studded snow tires with mom on her '71 Ford LTD . 401 under the hood and the summer tires weren't worth keeping. Of course she waited for the first snow so I said I would drive to Sears with her, got as far as the main road and wouldn't go any further. Backed up and promptly slid into a neighbor's car. Broke a headlight on his but learned a lot that day !

 

[bigtiller]

I have been thinking about this thread for a full day now and I still don't remember the first time I drove in the snow. But I do know it would have been in a '53 Chevy.

 

[Torvy]

I grew up in SD, so most of my driving for 7 months of the year involved snow or ice. Driving age is 14. Smart folks had kids practice in snow in the church parking lot...only ones big enough with few cars except on Sundays.

I tried to do the same for my kids. Snow and ice is considerably less common here in Texas. Some of the kids had to wait a few years for the snow lessons.

For those unaccustomed to winter driving...1) stay off the road unless absolutely necessary. 2) minor adjustments are key. 3) braking is dangerous, if you ease up on the skinny pedal and pay attention further ahead, you can minimize use of the brakes 4) if you cannot comfortably handle 40 MPH or better in the conditions, stay off of highways. you will get you or someone else killed 5) if you drive across an ice patch, do not brake! Just remove foot from the skinny pedal and 'coast' across the patch....I am sure some other here can add to this list

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

December 12, 1972. My sixteenth birthday. We were getting ready to move from Wyomig to Portland, Oregon. Snowed for the two days before We were getting ready to move from Wyomig to Portland, Oregon. Dad wanted me to get my license so I could drive his F250, while Mom drove her car, and he drove the U-Haul. Snowed for the two days before, leaving about 2-niches of packed snow on the roads.

So, we go down to the county courthouse, to do the test. Written was easy. Time for the driving part. The tester and I get in the truck, and he has me go up form the court house and turn onto one of the streets that paralleled the main drag. Everything in town was uphill from the river, and the rail yards. I’m putting along at about ten miles an hour because the roads are slick. We’re two blocks from the courthouse coming up to a cross street. The cross street had a stop sign so we had the right of way. I just get the nose of the truck into the intersection, and hear a horn from uphil, look that way, and there is a car sliding down the hill at us. I give it a little gas trying to clear the intersection, and the rear wheels spin. So I crank the wheel to the left, and get the rear ended around and he hits us. Goes under the bumper and they lock together, and we are both sliding down the hill standing on the horn. Luckily there wasn’t any traffic on Main Street and we got across it, onto the flat and stopped. We get out, and its just the bumpers locked together. I flag down a couple of guys I know and we get the bumpers broke loose. His bumper is a bit bent, and scratched but the truck is fine.


The tester and I get back in the truck, and he asks me, “Why did you turn the wheel?” And, I explained that it would be easier to fix the bumper than the side, and it was a better place to get hit. He looked at me for a moment and told me to go back to the courthouse. I’m figuring I failed The road test, because I had an accident.

We go back to the courthouse, and get parked. He opens his clip board writes on the test form and signs it, then tells me to go get my license. He could tell from the look on my face how surprised I was at passing. He laughed, and told me I was the first, and probably the last person the get in an accident, and pass. But, I did the right thing and didn’t panic. So, he figured I would do ok, driving.

The next week I drove to Portland. Which was a new experience because I had never driven on the freeway before.

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

1978 Ford Fairmont wagon

 

[bigtiller]

December 12, 1972. My sixteenth birthday. We were getting ready to move from Wyomig to Portland, Oregon. Snowed for the two days before We were getting ready to move from Wyomig to Portland, Oregon. Dad wanted me to get my license so I could drive his F250, while Mom drove her car, and he drove the U-Haul. Snowed for the two days before, leaving about 2-niches of packed snow on the roads.

So, we go down to the county courthouse, to do the test. Written was easy. Time for the driving part. The tester and I get in the truck, and he has me go up form the court house and turn onto one of the streets that paralleled the main drag. Everything in town was uphill from the river, and the rail yards. I’m putting along at about ten miles an hour because the roads are slick. We’re two blocks from the courthouse coming up to a cross street. The cross street had a stop sign so we had the right of way. I just get the nose of the truck into the intersection, and hear a horn from uphil, look that way, and there is a car sliding down the hill at us. I give it a little gas trying to clear the intersection, and the rear wheels spin. So I crank the wheel to the left, and get the rear ended around and he hits us. Goes under the bumper and they lock together, and we are both sliding down the hill standing on the horn. Luckily there wasn’t any traffic on Main Street and we got across it, onto the flat and stopped. We get out, and its just the bumpers locked together. I flag down a couple of guys I know and we get the bumpers broke loose. His bumper is a bit bent, and scratched but the truck is fine.


The tester and I get back in the truck, and he asks me, “Why did you turn the wheel?” And, I explained that it would be easier to fix the bumper than the side, and it was a better place to get hit. He looked at me for a moment and told me to go back to the courthouse. I’m figuring I failed The road test, because I had an accident.

We go back to the courthouse, and get parked. He opens his clip board writes on the test form and signs it, then tells me to go get my license. He could tell from the look on my face how surprised I was at passing. He laughed, and told me I was the first, and probably the last person the get in an accident, and pass. But, I did the right thing and didn’t panic. So, he figured I would do ok, driving.

The next week I drove to Portland. Which was a new experience because I had never driven on the freeway before.

Thanks for the memory;
I remember that storm, it turned into a blizzard the night before in central Iowa.
And that was the time my son decided he would enter this world.
12-12-72 what a coincidence.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

I grew up in SD, so most of my driving for 7 months of the year involved snow or ice. Driving age is 14. Smart folks had kids practice in snow in the church parking lot...only ones big enough with few cars except on Sundays.

I tried to do the same for my kids. Snow and ice is considerably less common here in Texas. Some of the kids had to wait a few years for the snow lessons.

For those unaccustomed to winter driving...1) stay off the road unless absolutely necessary. 2) minor adjustments are key. 3) braking is dangerous, if you ease up on the skinny pedal and pay attention further ahead, you can minimize use of the brakes 4) if you cannot comfortably handle 40 MPH or better in the conditions, stay off of highways. you will get you or someone else killed 5) if you drive across an ice patch, do not brake! Just remove foot from the skinny pedal and 'coast' across the patch....I am sure some other here can add to this list

Good post! Common sense like this needs to be repeated until we get it.

I buy good winter tires, the tires are designed for better traction in cold weather.

First time driving in the snow was in a 49 chevy one ton. Good thing it had a top end of about 40 mph and got there real slow.