Last week – after the heavy snow we’d had – I was going to meet a pupil and I’d stopped on a country lane to make a phone call. The road in question is a single track one, and I was in a field gateway, well off the road. The road had compacted ice on it on this stretch and although the snow was almost gone, it was frozen solid after a hard frost.
I heard a car coming. As it appeared around the corner doing at least 30mph – on compacted ice, remember – the driver lost control and slammed on his brakes. There was a look of sheer terror in his eyes as he skidded off the road, on to the grass, and narrowly avoided going into a ditch. He came to a halt, and then had difficulty in getting off the grass as he was in 1st gear and his wheels were spinning. His face was as red as his car. As he then reversed it was clear his front bumper had been smashed.
It is relevant to note that the driver was a young man, and his car was a Vauxhall Corsa…
Almost everyone gets caught out in this country when it snows. But young people are frighteningly naive (and I base that largely on what I’ve seen during the last couple of weeks).
The snow we’ve had has provided an ideal opportunity to take some learners out. I stress the word ‘some’ – there’s no way a beginner or early-stage learner should be taken out in extreme conditions such as those we’ve experienced. I know some instructors will disagree (mainly because they didn’t want to lose money), but these video clips illustrate why driving on snow requires the utmost care – something learners and most ‘qualified’ drivers are quite capable of not realising until it’s too late!
This one shows how easy it is to get moving – and not be able to stop – without even taking your handbrake off!
Incidentally, until as late as last Friday there was a hill near me on which you could stop using the footbrake (if you went slowly), but on which you slid forward under the force of gravity when you secured the car using the handbrake. It was necessary to ‘chock’ yourself against the kerb. So no arguments about how ‘that’s not in the UK, though’!
This one shows conditions (and driving behaviour) which was experienced throughout the UK for a whole week last week.
And in this one, the speed those drivers are doing is insane considering the conditions. Again, don’t say this is not like in the UK – after the weather we’ve had this year this is exactly like the UK. And the speed problem is as real, too: that’s why people crash in snow and ice – they’re going too fast!
Quite simply, accidents in snow are caused by:
- going too fast
- braking too hard
- accelerating too much
- being naive or foolish
You don’t meet many young people who will admit that they don’t know everything in the Universe (and some older people are as bad). So accidents are a given.