Based upon my experience of watching the 4x4 owners around here when it snows, it seems that 4x4 is simply a system to allow drivers to have a faster accident than they would in a 2WD vehicle.
If parking on a hill that has snow or ice, remember your tyres may be warm and melt the snow/ice, your vehicle will then start to slide and gather momentum. I have seen a parked van start sliding down a hill and just got faster, went from a stand still to a good speed quite quickly, and luckily it came to a flat in the hill and came to a stand still scrapping against a wall. Maybe use a brick/rock to chock the tyres, or have the front wheels angled towards the curb to help prevent this happening
My town is hilly. Couple of years ago I was coming down the snowy street and realised I wasn't stopping so I worked myself into the side and used the kerb against the wheels to slow me to a stop.
It's called the vanishing point. They made a film of the same name. It's a great way to read the road ahead if you're on an unfamiliar route.
Perfect example...yes this is me edit: thanks to the camera footage, I got 100% payout, with Audi driver 100% at fault
Or worse, with the greater weight!. As an aside, seeing this thread and encountering some snow over the weekend had me pondering fitting Michelin Crossclimate tyres to my car as they were so good on my last one. The £840 cost has put me off.
I have lived in Norway my whole life and have been driving cars under all possible winter conditions since I got my license in 1973. My cars have been FWD, RWD and AWD and they have all worked well as long as I have respected their different characteristics. I will say this though. Without proper winter tyres, I will not drive as much as ten meters on snow and/or ice.
If following another car, I usually sit behind its offside wheel and not in the center line of the vehicle. I was nearly caught out once when there was a rock on the road which I never seen due to car in front, car in front was able to drive over it leaving me very little time to react.
I put informative as I never really put much heed in the qualities of winter tyres, our Southern England winters rarely give us much snow, last year we barely had a frost, so not worth buying a set of winter tyres
These guys are good as a nationwide (England) mobile tyre fitter service and well priced https://www.etyres.co.uk/
My elderly machine fanatic brother confessed to thundering off down his Devon country lanes last year in his ancient Subaru Legacy and sliding right off the road.into a ditch .. he managed to get it out and promptly shot across the road into the opposite ditch ... guess 4 x 4 not what people assume it suggests... am sure we are far more aware of our limitations on 2 wheels whatever the weather
Makes fascinating viewing. Without the camera footage you would probably have struggled to get the 100% payout, so a lesson to the rest of us. I wonder if it went to court or if it was sorted out between insurers. Whatever speed you were travelling at was obviously deemed to be safe. Did the driver admit guilt or deny responsibility? Some people will see this as a good reason not to filter, which is of course their choice, but I do it and this hasn't put me off.
It didn't get as far as going to court, their insurer initially said 50/50 fault, I gave them the link to the video and explained how the wide angle gives a perceived higher speed. I also linked the sections of the Highway Code where cars should not change lane to advance through slow moving traffic, and also the parts where the onus is on the car driver changing lane to ensure no motorcycles are passing on the inside. This easily convinced them and they paid out in full I think it helped that I didn't exaggerate my injuries, there was an obvious bruise on my leg and my right shoulder was strained (still have restricted movement but only very minimally) I was doing between 17-20 Mph. However, what I take away from it all, is that you can be as careful and prepared as you possibly can be, there is always a driver who will not look and see you So prepare for the worst and enjoy the ride
And it is worth remembering that many cars have dash cameras fitted now days, so they are watching us as well.... so don't do anything stupid out there
Truth to say is expect someone is watching you whatever you do when setting motorcycle boot outside the house.... there was a poster around in the 1970s that read ‘just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean to say they’re not out to get you’ ... sadly they are
