Attack of the techie defeating ice.

[Samson]

I noticed last night, on my way back from a heavy celebration of a friend's 21st, that my car was slightly frosty - very chilly night, thought nothing of it.

Got in the car this morning, whacked the heated windscreen on, demister on full blast, and started rooting for the de-icer.

Once found I overzealously but hurriedly emptied half of the tin onto front, back and side windows, and got in the car.



Ten minutes later, when the inside of my car is cooking, almost all of the de-icer is gone, and I can't find anything to scrape the ice with, I'm wondering if it's going to be one of those days.

It took a full quater of an hour, thats with heated screen, de-icer, the demisters on full in the car, and fruitless attacks with the windscreen wiper before I could see just enough to make my merry way to work.

The worst bit? As I pull onto the roundabout at the bottom of my street, the whole ice-covering of the windscreen just sort of slides off, onto the bonnet as I touched the breaks.

Oh it's the little things in life that keep me from staying sane.

[Hightower]

I sometimes take a back road to work to miss the traffic. Half way down I noticed there was mud in the road and the likes so I thought it's be best to slow down a bit.... Touch the brakes and away I go.

As I'm sliding hopelessly sideways in the middle of the road it then occurs to me that the mud is there because someone has hit the ice and ploughed onto the grass verge - ironically a little too late to be noticing that

Anyhow, some driving expertise (the kind that got me into the situation in the first place) and I manage to get the car facing forwards and starting to grip again.

[Samson]

Anyhow, some driving expertise (the kind that got me into the situation in the first place) and I manage to get the car facing forwards and starting to grip again.

Would this be the same expertise I used once when I hit ice last year? Steering wheel whichever way you feel like it, erratic pumping of the break and accelerator pedals, a few odd noises and a few skipped heartbeats?

[Hightower]

Would this be the same expertise I used once when I hit ice last year? Steering wheel whichever way you feel like it, erratic pumping of the break and accelerator pedals, a few odd noises and a few skipped heartbeats?

As strange as it sounds - when something like that happens I don't panic. I just kind of slump in my cars chair and take a quick moment to relax. After that I tend to be able to think clearer about what I need to do to rectify it. If I panicked behind the wheel I'd have wrote off a dozen cars by now!

[StewartKnight]

I had a 50 mile, each way, ride dowm backlanes on my 125 motorcycle........

That was scary! And a special mention to the moronic lorry drivers who parked themselves inches from my rear wheel on narrow lanes.... thanks guys!

[SteveBentley]

I had some idiot who hadn't bothered to fully defrost his car cut me up this morning, because he couldn't see me for the ice. I'm just glad there was nothing behind me and my standing on the brakes to avoid hitting him didn't turn into a rear end shunt!

[tech_guy]

I had some idiot who hadn't bothered to fully defrost his car cut me up this morning, because he couldn't see me for the ice. I'm just glad there was nothing behind me and my standing on the brakes to avoid hitting him didn't turn into a rear end shunt!

God I hate that when you see these muppets who have scraped a tiny little round circle on the windshield and don't they know they're breaking the law?!

[teejay]

The ones that get me in these weather conditions are the people in their flash cars with all sorts of electronic driver aids who think it enables them to break the laws of physics.
On my route into work for my previous job there was one section of road at a T junction where you could guarantee at least one BMW a week had gone through the wall on the other side of the road.

[treetops]

It's that steep up here where I work that if the roads ice over we could be set for a sit in with sleeping bags, cocoa and marshmallows in the dining hall!

[Sirbendy]

I always defrost and demist before I leave - if it makes me late, so be it. I also wax my windows and use Rain-X on the front screen and lights. Everything slides off..

I did the Centrex skid pan training course day a few times...one Sierra, one..Escort? Can't recall. Slick tyres, smooth tarmac covered with oil and water - much, MUCH fun.

Rear wheel drive is just funny...boot it and wheee! Front wheel drive is quite dull.

Last year we stayed open in snow, and it took me 4 hours to go home (usually 10 minutes). No gritters, living in a valley, steep hills in, people abandoning cars all over..that was white knuckle.

Roundabouts where cars were sliding like bumper cars, people sliding and wheelspinning everywhere..I just plonked on "snow mode" and took it gently all the way. Went down the BIG hill. got overtaken by my own back end. Bloody gravity. Tried to steer to correct, ended up just knocking it into neutral and letting it slide while gently using the steering and handbrake to swing the nose round.

Once pointing the right way again, aim at the junction and throttle down. lovely job.

Never again. I got home, slid it into the carpark sideways, parked up..got out and just hugged the car for a minute until we both felt better..