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Why is it that Britain now comes to an almost complete standstill when there is a tiny little bit of snow? Apparently over 1000 schools are closed today yet when I went to school NO schools EVER closed (unless and only if the heating had broken!). The excuse is that many teachers don’t live locally and can’t get to the school because of the snow. Funny that, when I went to school most of my teachers didn’t live locally and yet they still managed to get to work. People are being advised not to travel unless absolutely necessary. WHAT? The government are admitting that we are so bloody useless as a nation that we should cower in our homes when faced with a little bit of fluffy, very cold water.
Last night I even had to drive my girlfriend, who is a community carer, around because she was afraid to drive (someone had run into the back of her car the other day, writing her car off, so perhaps she can be forgiven a little!). However, one of her fellow carers had refused to drive down a street because of the snow so the call was passed off to my girlfriend. She warned me about the street and said I may not be able to get down it… I don’t bloody think so, whatever the weather there are still people that needing caring for and a bit of fluffy H20 isn’t going to stop me!!
A few years ago I had a FIAT Punto, that had been lowered and had wide tyres, that I merrily drove past idiots ditching their cars (including a couple of 4x4s!!).
We, as a nation that regularly has (a little) snow are a complete and utter laughing stock of Europe! I once had an French girlfriend, who came from a region about an hour from the Swiss Alps, that had proper annual snow and she used to find it highly amusing how the majority of the inhabitants of this silly little island are unable to cope with a little bit of snow. Four years ago I had the pleasure of being at her parents home when it snowed, depositing 6+ inches of beautiful white snow, on the last day of our visit. I then saw it for myself, life carried on as normal. No snow chains on tyres, no cars abandoned by the side of the road, people still going about their business as if it was just any other day.
I think the problem is most Brits don’t know how to drive in the snow and the first time their cars do something they don’t expect people crap themselves and decide that the conditions are un-drivable! Even last night my car did unexpected things a couple of times and yet, much to the surprise of my girlfriend, I didn’t worry and I wasn’t even slightly fazed by it. Due to the manner in which I was driving I knew that, even if the car did something I didn’t want it to, nothing would really happen. I even showed her that it is possible to brake quite hard on snow and surprise, surprise the car slowed down without skidding/sliding. She was even more surprised when I purposefully made the car slide under heavy braking to show her that most peoples first instinct to stamp on the brakes is wrong. As the car was sliding I took my foot off the brakes and, shock-horror, the car started going in the direction I wanted it to. I did this a couple of times to illustrate my point, needless to say the girlfriend was more than a little surprised.
So why do I think myself to be better prepared to drive in snowy conditions than most people? Well, its certainly not down to any formal driving training (like when learning to drive) its because of my love of messing about on big empty snow covered car parks!! While it initially may have started as just larking about it actually taught me what to expect, and what to do, when the car does this or that. It also taught me the dangers of driving inappropriately for the conditions as, without care and a little consideration/forethought, it is very easy to lose control. My answer is for more people to get out there and learn some drivorz skillz!!
Basically it annoys me that Brits are so damned useless in the snow when there is really no need to be. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about people living out in the sticks or the middle of nowhere, where roads a difficult to drive even under normal conditions, but people living in cities and the suburbs… and even more so said people with 4x4s! There really is no excuse!
Sorry guys, rant over!!
AdSense 336x280Why is it that Britain now comes to an almost complete standstill when there is a tiny little bit of snow? Apparently over 1000 schools are closed today yet when I went to school NO schools EVER closed (unless and only if the heating had broken!). The excuse is that many teachers don’t live locally and can’t get to the school because of the snow. Funny that, when I went to school most of my teachers didn’t live locally and yet they still managed to get to work. People are being advised not to travel unless absolutely necessary. WHAT? The government are admitting that we are so bloody useless as a nation that we should cower in our homes when faced with a little bit of fluffy, very cold water.
Last night I even had to drive my girlfriend, who is a community carer, around because she was afraid to drive (someone had run into the back of her car the other day, writing her car off, so perhaps she can be forgiven a little!). However, one of her fellow carers had refused to drive down a street because of the snow so the call was passed off to my girlfriend. She warned me about the street and said I may not be able to get down it… I don’t bloody think so, whatever the weather there are still people that needing caring for and a bit of fluffy H20 isn’t going to stop me!!
A few years ago I had a FIAT Punto, that had been lowered and had wide tyres, that I merrily drove past idiots ditching their cars (including a couple of 4x4s!!).
We, as a nation that regularly has (a little) snow are a complete and utter laughing stock of Europe! I once had an French girlfriend, who came from a region about an hour from the Swiss Alps, that had proper annual snow and she used to find it highly amusing how the majority of the inhabitants of this silly little island are unable to cope with a little bit of snow. Four years ago I had the pleasure of being at her parents home when it snowed, depositing 6+ inches of beautiful white snow, on the last day of our visit. I then saw it for myself, life carried on as normal. No snow chains on tyres, no cars abandoned by the side of the road, people still going about their business as if it was just any other day.
I think the problem is most Brits don’t know how to drive in the snow and the first time their cars do something they don’t expect people crap themselves and decide that the conditions are un-drivable! Even last night my car did unexpected things a couple of times and yet, much to the surprise of my girlfriend, I didn’t worry and I wasn’t even slightly fazed by it. Due to the manner in which I was driving I knew that, even if the car did something I didn’t want it to, nothing would really happen. I even showed her that it is possible to brake quite hard on snow and surprise, surprise the car slowed down without skidding/sliding. She was even more surprised when I purposefully made the car slide under heavy braking to show her that most peoples first instinct to stamp on the brakes is wrong. As the car was sliding I took my foot off the brakes and, shock-horror, the car started going in the direction I wanted it to. I did this a couple of times to illustrate my point, needless to say the girlfriend was more than a little surprised.
So why do I think myself to be better prepared to drive in snowy conditions than most people? Well, its certainly not down to any formal driving training (like when learning to drive) its because of my love of messing about on big empty snow covered car parks!! While it initially may have started as just larking about it actually taught me what to expect, and what to do, when the car does this or that. It also taught me the dangers of driving inappropriately for the conditions as, without care and a little consideration/forethought, it is very easy to lose control. My answer is for more people to get out there and learn some drivorz skillz!!
Basically it annoys me that Brits are so damned useless in the snow when there is really no need to be. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about people living out in the sticks or the middle of nowhere, where roads a difficult to drive even under normal conditions, but people living in cities and the suburbs… and even more so said people with 4x4s! There really is no excuse!
Sorry guys, rant over!!
AdSense 336x280LOL I know how you feel man
Same here, when there was like 1m of snow and no road was cleaned we still had to go to school :S As for driving – no formal driving training can prepare you for snowy or icey road (unless its a company that deals specificaly with these kind of driving)
I did the same thing you did, learned it my way hehe (gotta love big parking lots). Cheers,
BAdSense 336x280Maybe ppl there are affraid that it would snow even more.. Since it doesnt snow very often in Britain, you may not have much plows. We got atm about 20-30cm snow on the ground & -15 celcius outside & the traffic is on. This is our first REAL winter for years!
yay… Not. cellphone & car batteries ends much faster, waterpipes freezes, carcrashes (usually Russian long-distance lorries. but its always like that..)
otherwise its good if you manage to drive out of the road cuz the snow is soft
…just a hell of a job to get it out from the ditch.Oh & btw, you dont put chains on ur car (if thats what you meant..) You usually put chains only on tractors.
You put studded tyres on a car when the winter comes. We have to change tyres every year lol
I guess you dont have wintertyres there?AdSense 336x280
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