Idiots + Winter - The FAIL Collection Thread

Don't plow's have to travel at atleast 35mph to be effective?
 
katwalk said:
Plows went by literally every 5 minutes at some points during that storm. They even kept going after it was over for some reason, I guess the plow drivers were bored. :blink:
Click to expand...

Nah more money.

1. Plow snow
2. ????
4. Profi!

This morning was warm weather so we celebrated the new year with an drunk snowballfight.
 
Last edited:
JipJopJones said:
Don't plow's have to travel at atleast 35mph to be effective?
Click to expand...

It depends how far they need to throw the snow. In residential areas the plows typically do less than 20 mph.

EDIT: This is in Colorado Springs, Colorado and happened when they got the storm that just finished with Utah.

I'm confident in my driving ability and my vehicle, but if I come to a hill with that many slide-offs I'm going another way.
 
Last edited:
Braking won't stop a car from sliding.
 
Last edited:
The Ford F250 at the end was priceless.
 
I agree with Blind here. I go up a hill like that and see carnage spread all over, I am going to find a way around.
 
argatoga said:
Braking won't stop a car from sliding.
Click to expand...

Particularly when they all don't seem to have ABS.

Am I completely wrong in my perception or are those cars not having snow tires mounted?

Also: First rule. when you decide to climb such a slope, is to never stop!
 
Blind_Io said:
This is in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Click to expand...

My mental image of Colorado:
south-park.jpg


The so-called coloradians in the video seem oblivious to this, wearing shirts in winter and having no-seasons tires on their SUVS.
 
Last edited:
MacGuffin said:
Also: First rule. when you decide to climb such a slope, is to never stop!
Click to expand...

Yep, if you've got that far then if you keep moving the chances are you can get to the top. I think the 4WD vehicles at least could've been kept under control by rolling the wheels in gear instead of just slamming on the brakes, it's the technique I've been taught for off road driving. In that situation the would've at least been able to steer around the 'parked' cars. :roll:

I'd probably avoid the hill anyway but if I there was no good alternative I would put it in 2nd, get some momentum up, keep the revs high and keep the power on until I'm on the flat at the top.
 
When going downhill rolling a 2WD car in gear would also give more control than locking all four wheels :lol:

Also, winter tyres FTW.
 
You know, something doesn't add up in my brain here.

I think of the USA, particularly the mountainous regions, being familiar with snow, ice and harsh winters. Yet they always seem to be completely surprised by winter weather, which isn't particularly bad (I've seen much worse here, than in that YouTube clip), and completely unable to handle it. In addition there seem to be lots of cars and trucks without the most basic safety equipment (like ABS for instance), a lack of snow tires and a total inability to drive on loose surfaces like snow.

When you see videos of mass collisions here, it happened on the Autobahns, when the so-called "Blitzeis" surprised the drivers, leaving them almost no chance to react. But you never see such mass accidents on a slope somewhere in a town. I mean, I grew up in and around the Harz mountains and there are lots of nasty slopes there but I have never seen or even heard of such a disaster happening on a steep slope in our area. Never. Ever.

I'm not saying I would have been able to climb that hill in my Golf. I doubt that. But I wouldn't even have tried in the first place. In a 4x4 with snow tires, though, this should be a piece of cake.
 
Last edited:
In the video snow is not the problem, it's ice under a thin layer of snow.


For the foreigners, Blitzeis is very cold rain falling on frozen surfaces, instantly freezing.
 
MacGuffin said:
You know, something doesn't add up in my brain here.

I think of the USA, particularly the mountainous regions, being familiar with snow, ice and harsh winters. Yet they always seem to be completely surprised by winter weather, which isn't particularly bad (I've seen much worse here, than in that YouTube clip), and completely unable to handle it. In addition there seem to be lots of cars and trucks without the most basic safety equipment (like ABS for instance), a lack of snow tires and a total inability to drive on loose surfaces like snow.

When you see videos of mass collisions here, it happened on the Autobahns, when the so-called "Blitzeis" surprised the drivers, leaving them almost no chance to react. But you never see such mass accidents on a slope somewhere in a town. I mean, I grew up in and around the Harz mountains and there are lots of nasty slopes there but I have never seen or even heard of such a disaster happening on a steep slope in our area. Never. Ever.

I'm not saying I would have been able to climb that hill in my Golf. I doubt that. But I wouldn't even have tried in the first place. In a 4x4 with snow tires, though, this should be a piece of cake.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree 100%. It's amazing how people keep trying when they see everybody else failing. Reminds me of the old Lemmings computer game :D

Btw, some of the cars might have ABS, but because they brake with such a slow speed it allows the wheels to lock (usually happens below 5km/h, because at that speed car stops quite immediately when you lock the wheels). But then when the car turns into a sled and starts sliding with increasing speed the ABS won't reactivate because it can't measure the speed when the wheels don't turn. So if the driver would stop breaking only for fraction of a second he/she could steer while braking...
 
MacGuffin said:
You know, something doesn't add up in my brain here.

I think of the USA, particularly the mountainous regions, being familiar with snow, ice and harsh winters. Yet they always seem to be completely surprised by winter weather, which isn't particularly bad (I've seen much worse here, than in that YouTube clip), and completely unable to handle it. In addition there seem to be lots of cars and trucks without the most basic safety equipment (like ABS for instance), a lack of snow tires and a total inability to drive on loose surfaces like snow.

When you see videos of mass collisions here, it happened on the Autobahns, when the so-called "Blitzeis" surprised the drivers, leaving them almost no chance to react. But you never see such mass accidents on a slope somewhere in a town. I mean, I grew up in and around the Harz mountains and there are lots of nasty slopes there but I have never seen or even heard of such a disaster happening on a steep slope in our area. Never. Ever.

I'm not saying I would have been able to climb that hill in my Golf. I doubt that. But I wouldn't even have tried in the first place. In a 4x4 with snow tires, though, this should be a piece of cake.
Click to expand...

Lastsoul said:
Yeah, I agree 100%. It's amazing how people keep trying when they see everybody else failing. Reminds me of the old Lemmings computer game :D

Btw, some of the cars might have ABS, but because they brake with such a slow speed it allows the wheels to lock (usually happens below 5km/h, because at that speed car stops quite immediately when you lock the wheels). But then when the car turns into a sled and starts sliding with increasing speed the ABS won't reactivate because it can't measure the speed when the wheels don't turn. So if the driver would stop breaking only for fraction of a second he/she could steer while braking...
Click to expand...

ABS has been a standard feature in almost all cars since the 90s, so Lastsoul's explenation makes more sense.
 
My ABS doesn't allow locking at low speed, I know, I've tried it coming to a traffic light.
 
MacGuffin said:
You know, something doesn't add up in my brain here.

I think of the USA, particularly the mountainous regions, being familiar with snow, ice and harsh winters. Yet they always seem to be completely surprised by winter weather, which isn't particularly bad (I've seen much worse here, than in that YouTube clip), and completely unable to handle it. In addition there seem to be lots of cars and trucks without the most basic safety equipment (like ABS for instance), a lack of snow tires and a total inability to drive on loose surfaces like snow.

When you see videos of mass collisions here, it happened on the Autobahns, when the so-called "Blitzeis" surprised the drivers, leaving them almost no chance to react. But you never see such mass accidents on a slope somewhere in a town. I mean, I grew up in and around the Harz mountains and there are lots of nasty slopes there but I have never seen or even heard of such a disaster happening on a steep slope in our area. Never. Ever.

I'm not saying I would have been able to climb that hill in my Golf. I doubt that. But I wouldn't even have tried in the first place. In a 4x4 with snow tires, though, this should be a piece of cake.
Click to expand...

I have no explanation for this. When I lived in CO I don't remember that level of mass idiocy. I lived both up in the Rockies (Glenwood Springs) and in a notable Denver suburb. I do remember a nuns' fence being repeatedly bashed into. There will always be idiot drivers regardless of the weather, this could be a case of stupid drivers being stupid.

I did notice a couple teenagers. Inexperienced drivers will have issues.
 
Last edited:
Lastsoul is correct, ABS and traction control can't really deal with ice because when the wheels lock the computer thinks the car is stationary. It won't reactivate in this case because it would do the same if you were sitting at a red light with the brakes on.

However, some cars have setting to help get around this. The new Land Rovers have a grass/gravel/snow setting which apparently takes this into account and makes the ABS more sensitive. I have no idea if it works though.
 
MacGuffin said:
You know, something doesn't add up in my brain here.

I think of the USA, particularly the mountainous regions, being familiar with snow, ice and harsh winters. Yet they always seem to be completely surprised by winter weather, which isn't particularly bad (I've seen much worse here, than in that YouTube clip), and completely unable to handle it. In addition there seem to be lots of cars and trucks without the most basic safety equipment (like ABS for instance), a lack of snow tires and a total inability to drive on loose surfaces like snow.

When you see videos of mass collisions here, it happened on the Autobahns, when the so-called "Blitzeis" surprised the drivers, leaving them almost no chance to react. But you never see such mass accidents on a slope somewhere in a town. I mean, I grew up in and around the Harz mountains and there are lots of nasty slopes there but I have never seen or even heard of such a disaster happening on a steep slope in our area. Never. Ever.

I'm not saying I would have been able to climb that hill in my Golf. I doubt that. But I wouldn't even have tried in the first place. In a 4x4 with snow tires, though, this should be a piece of cake.
Click to expand...
I agree with you there, NYC handled snow TERRIBLY last week, it's not like we don't get snow....
However, some cars have setting to help get around this. The new Land Rovers have a grass/gravel/snow setting which apparently takes this into account and makes the ABS more sensitive. I have no idea if it works though.
Click to expand...
Accelerometers most likely
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top