Feb 5th - 6th Weather Thread
- Thread starter Gorm
- Start date
4/All wheel drive can't beat physics. Good for going slow or up a steep driveway in heavy snow though.
People go too fast and follow too closely and have no idea how dangerous their behavior is until they have to make a sudden change.
Also I've seen several people driving around in the latest conditions and still have their faces buried in their phones. I'd be willing to bet some of drivers in the Ames pile up were doing the same. You can drive over your vehicle's normal stopping distance/time when you check your phone and it's only worse in winter.
Some of them were escaping cars that had been hit - with more cars/trucks inbound. I wouldn't want to be stuck in a vehicle with a semi barrelling down on me. It's kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don't thing. Running south down the ditch probably looked safer.
I know it seems that way to some people, but the safest place to be is still in the car. **** can happen either way, but if you're talking odds, its always better to have some steel in between you and whatever could hit you.
At about the 4:20 mark, several cars/SUVs form a knot at the lower left. Around 8 more cars slam into that knot. Around the 5:15 mark, several people climb out of the middle of the knot and run for the shoulder. How do you look at that and not think - permanently trapped in the middle, fuel leak, sparks, fireball...
Actually, I'm amazed there weren't any fires that we could see...some of those were NOT gentle slides...
Don't get me wrong - I agree that there are risks with both options. It just feels like you'd have more options of escape outside of the vehicle.
LOL. Jake braking is the absolute last thing you want to do on ice.
Stay in the dang car unless you see a fire or smoke. This isn't a movie and the cars are designed to be hit. Try to get the car out of the way if it will drive but no way am I getting out with idiots barreling down the road at me. Unless you like playing chicken I guess.
Thanks, I get the downshifting, I drive a stick diesel Jetta (for the time being); still find it hard to believe a trailer plus the extra weight makes it easier to control.
But... I do get the more experience driving part by far. Also, just thought about this point; semi drivers are a lot higher up in the air and may have the ability to see and react faster to trouble ahead.
I still hold my original thought though that some are going speeds where they are straight up gambling.
Video of the pileup from the traffic camera:
As a reminder... never get out of your car while the accident is still unfolding, as you see many people do here. That's the most dangerous thing you can do in this type of an accident. You'll see the danger I describe around 3:31 and 4:54
As a reminder... never get out of your car while the accident is still unfolding, as you see many people do here. That's the most dangerous thing you can do in this type of an accident. You'll see the danger I describe around 3:31 and 4:54
At least the stations here in E IA as well as the NWS have a good chance of getting something but it is too far out to say much past that. Also keep in mind that is a cumulative projection over the entire time period and not just one storm. Also it is also always way overblown and I am 99% sure it is always posted to make my blood pressure go up.
Tonight Ed was calling for a nice amount of snow later in the week over central Iowa, so it may happen.
I think it will happen but I think forecasting what stocks will do is easier than forecasting snowfall. Thus I only use snowfall forecasts more than a day in advance as guidance not "Hey we are going to get 3.141592654" in three days!"
The deceleration rate of the vehicle is still determined by the coefficient of friction between the tires and the ground. Doesn't matter if the source of the braking is the vehicle brakes or engine braking. The provide the energy to slow the vehicle. The limit to how fast it (or any vehicle) can slow down on ice is related to the friction between the wheels and the ground and the weight of the vehicle.
I'm not a semi expert but I would assume that engine braking would actually perform worse since anti lock brakes keep the tires from locking. I doubt the jake brake is tied into the ABS system.
I'm not going to argue that semi drivers are safer or less safe. Generally in topics like that the answer is there are lots of safe truck drivers and plenty of idiots. Just like their are for cars or SUVs or any vehicle. Saying that having engine braking gives a semi an inherent advantage on ice is wrong though.
Well you take all the fun out of it. How are we suppose to be mad at you when get the forecast right.
