Go/No Go Decision

Weird, how that smiley face ended up in a different place in that message than I intended. lol

-mountain girl

Lol I know right

Thanks for the vote of confidence MG. It means a lot.

2) Practice in the snow. I used to take every opportunity I could find to practice winter driving in large, empty parking lots. You get in a Walmart or closed factory on a night with heavy snow and you might have your own skid pad the size of two football fields all to yourself. I used to do everything I could think of:

- drive in an arc and lock up the trailer brakes
- drive in an arc and mash the gas to get the tractor tires to break loose
- drive around using the gas pedal to make the tractor fishtail around in a circle

....just anything you can think of to get that truck sliding, fishtailing, or jackknifing and then learn to recover from it.

Obviously a huge word of caution here - make 100% certain you're in a safe area to do this. Watch for telephone polls, light polls, and even things like nearby houses where people might get annoyed with the noise you're making in the middle of the night. But finding an area to practice your winter driving skills is huge. I've done it my entire driving life and I still do it to this day. I'll take my big redneck Chevy 4x4 out in snowstorms. I'll drive around town and play around in big, empty lots. I want to test what the truck is capable of and I want to learn how to get it back under control once I start sliding.

I can say with 100% confidence that I avoided several wrecks over the years because I was able to get the truck back under control after it started sliding. If I hadn't practiced winter driving over the years I never would have known how to make the right choices and get that thing back under control.

Brett, this is how I learned to drive in the snow too! I grew up in sunny SoCal, never once seeing a snow flake. When I got to the NW, I found a lot in the snow and learned how to recover from slides! And I've never had an accident in snow.

I have to admit, I've practiced these things in the snow, in big parking lots - not with a tractor trailer (yet) but with 4 wheelers (and my parents' car as a teen). It's a great way to learn your own limits, those of the vehicle, and to improve your skills and confidence. Besides, it's loads of fun and it feels like you're breaking the rules, somehow. (evil grin)

-mountain girl

Lol I know right

Thanks for the vote of confidence MG. It means a lot.

-HM

You're welcome, HM.

-mountain girl

I have to admit, I've practiced these things in the snow, in big parking lots - not with a tractor trailer (yet) but with 4 wheelers (and my parents' car as a teen). It's a great way to learn your own limits, those of the vehicle, and to improve your skills and confidence. Besides, it's loads of fun and it feels like you're breaking the rules, somehow. (evil grin)

-mountain girl

Lol I LOVE driving my 4x4 in the snow! My wife knew she was in for it when I would grab that shift lever and slam it in 4 hi.