Highway Hero..Road Warrior… Call me what you like but the fact that I have to drive 500 kms to and from work every four days..and over three mountain passes…all year…all weather..does give me something to say about this. I’ve been driving for 38 years of my life now with only two accidents, so I must be doing it right ! Can’t be just dumb luck. No.. driving was something I took seriously from the days when at 16 my dad would let me drive in the evenings when we went to model train meetings.. through to now when I drive a very large (house size) Komatzu 930 haul truck worth over 5 million dollars.
But it’s not the 12 hours each day behind the wheel of that monster truck, we have lots of rules that all 20 to 30 of us obey as we share the seemingly narrow roads in the mine. Plus they keep the roads good.. if they are not we simply stop till they are. No ..it’s the 5 plus hours I spend on the highway every four days to get home or to work that I’m thinking about.. This is new to me ..only the last two years now. I always live and worked in the same town.. some years even walking to work. Now all this driving has changed my views of the type of vehicle I choose, the time of year, and sharing the road with others that could have lots or no experience. Since driving in the summer only requires AC and patience with RV’s, it’s the winter months I’m thinking of most. As the title suggests. For six of the twelve months I must have my winter tires on.. and the possibility of encountering snow is real. If only at the tops of the passes. I don’t get to choose which days I travel. So I have to deal with what ever mother nature throws my way. Here’s is what I’ve learned in two years…
All Wheel Drive.. No not four wheel drive.. I’ve changed the vehicle I use a few times.. But AWD is the only way to go.. And it does not hurt to have some ground clearance as well. 8 inches of that makes a huge difference when the crews haven’t cleaned the roads and you find your self pushing last nights snow. It happens!
Good winter tires ! with sipping and the ability to shed slush and water.. It’s the law here. You must have the snow flake in the mountain symbol on the tires Oct 1 to Apr 1 when driving the passes. All seasons tires won’t do..
Drive with your lights on ! Really ! give the others you share the road with a chance to see you. I can’t count the number of times I’ve not seen another vehicle till it’s going past you out of the fog..or blizzard… or spray coming of the truck in front of you.. Hello ! You may be able to see … but you're invisible to others. Is that a good idea ? It’s one of the scary things I see all the time. If you want to be invisible .. then go hide in the bush.. get of the road.
I’ve stayed on the road (not in the ditch) by not being distracted from my driving. When the road gets bad I use both hands on the wheel. I swear that if you could know the cause of most “opps I’m in the ditch” scenarios.. You would find that the driver had to make a quick ..even small steering correction after reaching for the drink or adjusting the stereo. They'll say “I did nothing the car just went off the road” Sure Ok. My advice..stay in a straight line…slow down on the corners.. It’s the law of physics ! you need traction to change direction. So those panicked steering corrections are bad. And that brings me to the vehicle it’s self. Some have better steering than others. I really like positive feel to my steering. Steering that wanders or that feels “loosey goosey” is a real problem on snowy roads. I dismissed buying the new Chevy Equinox for that very reason. My test drive on the highway revealed a lot of play in the steering. After driving the many Toyota’s that we’ve had “ steering is tight” you would know what I’m saying here. My new ride… 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe.. has proven itself a good winter vehicle. Equipped with Nokian Hakas winter tires… it’s hard to get it to loose it’s hold on the road..
Finally I’d like to put a plug in here for the “RainX” polish for your windows.. Not the wipers.. but the little bottle of polish. I have saved countless jugs of washer fluid. My factory wipers can clean the road spray off with one or two wipes, thanks to that polish. On Christmas eve I drove home late in the evening. Not much other vehicles on the road. and those roads had all the possible conditions. But no new snow. I made it in record time.. under five hours. Did I speed ? I’m not saying anything…
Rob V
