Just WHAT is it with people who are out driving as if the roads are normal? I ventured out today to our village shop 2 miles away & the roads are not good. Going there round a sharp right hand bend a flat bed lorry coming the other way almost lost control of his rear & I braced myself. Then coming back an idiot was very close behind me & actually overtook me,  the driver behind him really couldn't wait for me to slow down & turn left into our drive, yes he had to overtake as well. What morons. I'm not a nervous driver but I like to drive carefully according to road conditions & get myself & car home in one piece!

I know exactly how you feel some people are so incredibly selfish.
I was nearly hit by a car driving too fast this morning.

I was returning home (walking) from taking the kids to school and some idiot in a 4x4 came haring round the bend in front of me. The road has not been gritted and was just ice; she skidded, lost control and mounted the pavement. I jumped to the left and she slid down the road missing me by about a foot. When the stupid woman came to a halt, she just drove onto the road and carried on as if nothing had happened and, she was still driving too fast.

A lady rushed out of her house to check I was O.K. and said that it was the 3rd car she'd seen skid onto the pavement there today and they were all driving to fast. Needless to say we shall walk home on the other side of the road when I pick them up later.

Hugos There
How very lucky you were.  Both you and the kids could have been hurt or killed.  It beggars belief that she didn't stop and speak to you.  Glad you're ok though.

I think she was so wrapped up in herself and her journey that she didn't even notice that she had nearly hit me.
The problem with some people is that they think because they are driving a 4x4 then they don't have to change their driving to meet the conditions.
That said she must have been over the speed limit anyway, so not exactly safe under normal driving conditions..

Luckily I have escaped without so much as a bruise. Of course the next time she does it someone else may not be so lucky.

The idiots I encountered this morning weren't even driving 4x4's, & agree that some think they're invincible. Where I was overtaken there was already a car on it's side in a ditch - surely a reminder the roads are bad?
Glad you're ok but again someone elses stupidity nearly put you in hospital beggars belief.

Glad you are ok, I have a 4x4 and a front wheel drive, the 4x4 is worse to drive in this weather!  We've had the snow & ice here now for over 3 weeks, this seems to be enough time for many people to feel that they know it all and are experienced in driving in it, they are so dangerous.

Stay safe everyone x

I am so not 'having a go'...
But surely a 4x4 is perfect for snow...can't it be adjusted for whatever the conditions demand?
I truly dont know having never driven one, I just thought that was the purpose of them.?
Karen

I went to work for the first time in 2 days & the main roads were ok but half of my journey is a country road & I went 10-12 miles an hour. It was a spead I felt comfortable with & should I slide, I would do very little damage. The journey usually takes me maximum of 20 mins but for an extra 10 mins, I got there & back safely.

>The problem with some people is that they think because they are driving a 4x4 then they don't have to change their driving to meet the conditions.

I agree with that, infact I would go as far to say they are driving faster than normal because they *think* they can.

radio yesterday quote from someone in 'motoring org'

'people should think about hiring a 4by4 if they have to travel'

can you think of ANYTHING less safe

I went the 11 miles to nearest supermarket yesterday but called in a favour.......daughter has a discovery AND knows how to drive it in this and off-road so she took me round for food and couple of other places.
Chris

An article in the paper was more or less saying that if people did go out (unprepared) & then got stuck somewhere expected to be bailed out by the hard pressed services, like it's not their fault. Another mind numbing photo showed a woman leading a child across a pond in Wimbledon past a sign that clearly said Danger - Thin Ice. How utterly irresponsible can you get?
Dont get through a lot of milk in my house but glad I didn't throw out a big tin of Lactol in my pre-Christmas clearout! Am cursing throwing out old breadmaking ingredients though.

> Dont get through a lot of milk in my house but glad I didn't throw out a big tin of Lactol in my pre-Christmas clearout! Am cursing throwing out old breadmaking ingredients though.

Lactol in your tea...? well, there's a thought! 8-o

Personally I find our traffic size van better to drive in the snow and ice than out santa fe 4x4. I found this very strange at first as I too thought 4x4's should be better but guess its just that the abs is activated too easily in the 4x4 and the van has extra weight to stick it to the road better. Both were being driven on the same roads in the same manner with the 4x4 grinding and slipping all over and the van not slipping at all. Wierd

> Another mind numbing photo showed a woman leading a child across a pond in Wimbledon past a sign that clearly said Danger - Thin Ice. How utterly irresponsible can you get?
>

Yes, and I understand that two people in Leicestershire actually died today, doing exactly that.

The problem with our 4x4 is that it's so powerful when you tap the accelerator you go shooting off!  You can make adjustments and make it a bit better, but I'd rather use Peggy the P Reg Pug at the moment ...

Well I have a Freelander and it has performed admirably in the weather. Not wishing to offend anyone, but I can't help but think that too many manufacturers have gone into the SUV and 4 x 4 market and produced vehicles that look good and are great for supermarket runs, but not much use for anything else.

Ditto to the Freelander.  Ours was fab in icy / snowy conditions, and off roading too
Don't think I'll ever have to try out my Tucson out here!

My OH has had his eyes on Freelanders (and defenders) before this cold snap....

Wonder if he will get one....I think he's coming closer....
He doesn't care about looks he's more concerned about getting the most fuel efficient
he can for the money he has to spend.

I agree having seen Top Gear the other week that had a SUV that was a bit like a hatch sport...
It was useless off road and in the snow. Erm....whats the point of this vehicle?!?

Give me something that can function for what you want it to do over looks any day!

That said yesterday.......folks if you can't afford a 4x4 consider a 2CV!!
This chaps one admittedly was higher of the floor than the ones I remember...but it was like a nimble/agile
cat and coped and was helping pull cars out when they were stuck...it whipped up the little rise that I got stuck on
like it wasn't there and towed the car that had got stuck behind me away so that with some pushing and digging from myself
and a good samaritan my vehicle was freed without being involved in an accident.

OH got stuck twice...and we had to dig and push him out too.
I've tried to clear the rise which at least 5 cars had got stuck on getting into our road.
Everyone kept stopping saying oh what wonderful work you are doing but no-one was interested in giving a hand...
but they were interested in getting into our road....grrrr lazy peeps!!

Thats the thing I miss the 'community spirit of old' that I remember as a child and now people being scared of 'lets sue everyone and get money society'.
Perhaps if we all banded together in our roads that we live in, we could try and keep our roads as clear and passable as possible
pavements too!! Power to the people and all that!!

I know I for one am completely fed up at being stuck in my road at home and I want to work (I've only managed a day and a half in after the snow came). I just hope our estate roads will be passable so that I can get to work and come home (without getting stuck) at lunchtimes to see to my dogs and in the evenings to get home.

We have left our saloon cars in our garage and walked.
Husband needs to get to work ( at a hospital) and he's been going in a 4x4 taxi....much more economical than buying one for a few weeks of extreme weather

I have walked admittedly not all the 7 miles that my work's offices is for me.
This was to get to work on Thursday. I only get an hour for lunch sadly that
means if I do catch the bus/walk (and other half has managed to get to work) I can't come home for my dogs at lunchtime
as it takes me half hour walk to the bus stop from work (ergo no lunchtime left for travel
or to feed/give medication to my dog or let them all out etc)
I do not have any neighbours that I know well or trust to cope with my 4 adult Boxers...
I like people to know the dogs first before asking people can you come and let them out etc.
My one family member that lives closish (5 miles) is in the same predicament i.e. they can't get out of their
road via car and the village pavements are lethal..so I need to get myself a better plan now we've come unstuck..
(well on the days that OH had managed to get his car out)
I managed to catch a bus that was running for the way home.

Got stuck yesterday lunchtime coming home which was the first day out in my car (estate) since the snows came.
My car seemed to handle the conditions better than the OH's car.

OH works 15 miles away from home.
He works shifts and I've never seen a 4x4 taxi around here...well not yet...
Taxi's round here are expensive...more than my OH's salary can cope with for a 5 day week.
My single bus fare was £2.90 which is not too bad but with all the bills (vets and of course the normal expenses such as mortgage etc) I've had lately it's an extra expenditure I could do with out.

Just hope that this cold snap doesn't last too much longer...

The cars in the car park at my work have been sliding!!! Parked up on the icy car parks as the suns doing a bit of warming the ice is taking off with the cars....
Still not much snow to speak of here but it is still creating havoc.

Karen

Am sick of seeing 4x4s and other cars being driven at stupid speeds in the snow!!!   

Was talking to a police-woman friend and she says most of her work recently has been pushing cars out of drifts   

I've noticed quite a few of the cars myself and OH have pushed out of our small snowy street (driven by young men) have big, flat summer tyres on - they have NO GRIP even on wet tarmac!  but they sure look good   and they think that spinning the tyres is the way to improve their problem

Most of the problem is that younger people today think that driving consists of foot down, overtake everything as fast as possible and slam on the brakes at the roundabout/junction only to avoid a collision   they can't engage their brains or their gears

My VW Polo (10 years old) has been brilliant in the snow and ice - driven by moi OH drove it last night and got into trouble, guess who got us out of trouble ? - as has Daughter's old Corsa.  She's driving her OH to work as his car is useless (small newer peugeot!) but I think it's probably his driving too as he had a similar problem in her Corsa  

Very happy with Millie our 2000 reg Landrover Discovery

someone on local radio today said the £600 they've spent on winter tyres was well worth it & have spent the last few days ferrying other people around & pulling other cars out of trouble. I did wonder how OH's tractor would perform on seeing several on the roads round here pulling trailers with hay on (at quite a speed too). I heard that a friend was smashed into twice in one day & now both guilty parties deny it. Then on her way home she pulled to one side to avoid another skidding car & went into a post. I'm going to suggest she buys a chieftan tank (or stays indoors).

I have a focus estate and an aygo-much to my amazement the Aygo has been brill driving in the snow (when I have dug it out LOL), will be replacing the focus this year and front runner for me at the mo is the freelander

There is going to be a new freelander released soon that is under £20K new that looks pretty impressive.  It is definitely more in my price range than some of them in the range.

>There is going to be a new freelander released soon that is under £20K new

Our mortgage was £20k. I refuse to pay more for a car than a house!

>> Our mortgage was £20k. I refuse to pay more for a car than a house!

One less person in the queue

We are lucky not to have VAT here...but I dont think I will buy brand new again, it loses so much value from the moment you purchase.
A colleague has just bought a lovely little audi soft top, (which she wont bring to UK, she said it would be a target for maliciousness) but it was such a fantastic price as it was second hand yet barely run in.
Makes you wonder.........

That said yesterday.......folks if you can't afford a 4x4 consider a 2CV!!

OH drives a 2CV in this weather as the Volvo estate is all over the road and the ABS is too sensitive. I won't drive anything in snow or ice as it makes me nervous - good job the dogs like the long walk to the shop and the pet food was delivered just before the snow (tho at this rate they may be sharing with us as the shop is running out of food!)

That said yesterday.......folks if you can't afford a 4x4 consider a 2CV!!

OH drives a 2CV in this weather as the Volvo estate is all over the road and the ABS is too sensitive. I won't drive anything in snow or ice as it makes me nervous - good job the dogs like the long walk to the shop and the pet food was delivered just before the snow (tho at this rate they may be sharing with us as the shop is running out of food!)

Luckily we have Ford Wildtrak 4X4 as firms car and we havent missed a day. My IQ is a snow heap in the corner of the drive but we have been supplying people with bread, milk,spuds and sosages since the snow arrived.
What astonishes me is all the drivers ignor road priorities they are all scared to brake and just ignor any priority signs ect... right laugh but really dangerous.