Driving in the snow (live, safe, move)

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by LAAFTERHOURS

I grew up outside of philly and drove an old cherokee - RWD unless the 4wd was engaged and no ABS. I almost got into a lot of accidents due to the wheels locking up but RWD in snow is impossible.

We now own a AWD volvo which runs 94% FWD unless there is slippage. We live in socal but am considering Denver next year. Im about to get another volvo and am mulling over FWD or AWD. Its a 2K difference in price and In all likelyhood i havent used the awd once. Its a nice piece of mind though .

Would you pay the premium for AWD if you were living in CO?

Maybe. Have it now, lived here for 23 yrs w/o it, during which time DH commuted 20+ miles one way Louisville to Golden and Louisville-Genessee, and I was a visiting nurse. Necessary? No. Nice to have? Yes

[oberon]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

Maybe. Have it now, lived here for 23 yrs w/o it, during which time DH commuted 20+ miles one way Louisville to Golden and Louisville-Genessee, and I was a visiting nurse. Necessary? No. Nice to have? Yes

What's DH's favorite route to Golden? There don't seem to be any good ones. Best as I can tell, one can take CO-128 to Indiana Street or CO-93.. and that's about it. It's either that or go east first, then west (36 to 25 to 70 or 36 to Pecos to 76 to 70).

[denverian]

Originally Posted by City Girl

This may be a stupid question BUT

Can I use snow tires all year long? Is that best? Or would I need to use other tires during the other seasons?

Personally I've never used snow tires or found that I need them in Denver. If you have front wheel drive and good radial tires (good amount of tread left), I don't see the point. Maybe you need them on rear wheel drive cars - they don't do very well in snow.

You could leave snow tires on all year, but they're very noisy on dry pavement, from what I remember as a kid when my parents put them on their big, RWD sedan. The snow tires with studs are even noisier, but the studs are mostly usefull on ice. If I made it through last winter without snow tires, then I don't see the point in them. But I have FWD which works better in snow - the weight of the engine is over the wheels with the power so you bet better traction, less spinning.

[Katarina Witt]

From Louisville: He usually went down McCaslin to 128, then down Inidana to Ward Rd, down Ward to I-70, west on I-70 to Golden. He work at two different places there. 93 was more out of the way from Louisville and very winding and windy. In extremely bad weather, he came home up Wadsworth into Lafayette.

[b.adams]

Personally, I think 4WD is overrated in CO. As mentioned by others, so many people with 4WD drive like idiots and end up in the ditch by driving like that have super powers.

Honestly, a good set of snow tires, put on 11/1 and removed by 5/1 should be fine. If you have a car and an inexpensive set of front chains (for front wheel drive) ... you can handle almost anything. I remember putting on my chains on my 1978 audi ... and with those chains on, I could go most anywhere ... with front wheel drive.

Going back to the original posters question:

There is a place called 'Masterdrive' which offers classes on how to drive in snow and how to handle the vehicles in different situations. It would be worthwhile to give you experience and confidence in how to drive in the variety of situations that Colorado will present you with. They basically teach you you to drive on ice, snow, steer in sliding situations, etc.

[snowdriver]

Originally Posted by .gif

drive slowly with both hands on the wheel and don't make any sudden movements. brake slowly. accelerate slowly. turn slowly. snow tires for the winter are a good idea. make sure your car has a lot of windshield wiper fluid. you don't want to run out in the middle of a snowstorm. make sure your wipers are in good condition. always have an ice scraper/snow brush on hand. hopefully you don't have a RWD car. if you don't have ABS, pump your brakes if you go into a slide. go against your natural instincts and steer into the direction of the slide. keep blankets or extra warm clothing in your car in case you get stranded. it's also a good idea to have a sandbag handy if you get stuck and need some extra traction. stay many car lengths behind the driver in front of you.

Excellent. Last two years exactly I followed the same echnique. It is the perfect answer for every vehicle. Thanks.

[fidelfs]

Hi,

I lived in Texas and I have moved to DEnver and I wonder if there is any training for snow driving. I remember something about a driving class to learn, they simulated the snow situations getting the road wet. They were using BMW's.

[EscapeCalifornia]

There's a winter driving school in Steamboat Springs in the winter run by Bridgestone and Toyota. I plan on taking it as soon as I move.

[PokerMunkee]

Find big empty parking lot with unplowed snow and go at it. Make sure you are famililar with the lot, so there are no hidden dangers that could spoil a good time! You want to be come familiar with how your car performs in snow/ice. I would highly recommend you invest $300-400 in some dedicated snow/winter tires. If you have doubts, just search on youtube and see the videos comparing the exact same car with all-seasons vs. winter tires. Night and day!

With the Internet, there are plenty of good videos to check out. Just go search on youtube.


YouTube - Liberty Mutual Winter Road Safety

YouTube - Tips For Safe Winter Weather Driving

[steveindenver]

Abandon all hope; or move back to Texas.