OT: Snow Removal From Your Car Before Driving

[Chin Diesel]

I'm finishing up another trip home to Connecticut.

Was fortunate enough to see the snow and enjoy winter. Cue the Progressive commercial. I got to shovel the driveway three times over the weekend.

I am somewhere between interested, curious, and intrigued at the different levels of effort Nutmeggers put in to cleaning snow off of car before they hit the road.

There is a range from pristine cleaning of frint windshield down to barely a square big enough to see through. Some leave the snow on the roof, some don't bother cleaning off the passenger side. Some don't clean the rear window, they just let the wiper or rear defrost do what they can.

 

[NJHusky]

Adaptive cruise control is one of those idiotic inventions. some nimrod is Sunday driving in the middle lane which causes each successive car to slow down unnecessarily. Rather than actually pay attention and drive and pass the nimrod, people let their car slow down and next thing you know everyone is doing 60. The only fast driving lane becomes the right lane because everyone is clogging up the left two lanes. Meanwhile in Europe people have known for decades, stay to the right.

It’s really the nimrods in the left lane causing the mess

 

[InTheRed]

Depends on how tough it is to clean. I will always wipe down the windows and wind shields and head out, although I will let the defroster do the work on the side and rear window if they are icy. Modern defrosters are pretty effective, so why risk getting covered with snow or scratching the car? I don't go too crazy on the top of the car, especially if I am in business attire.

3 inches is my over/under to deal with snow on the roof. Less, and I feel like if someone is driving close enough behind me that snow coming off my car is a problem for them, they should stop tailgating. If it is more than 3 inches, I will brush the top layer off to get it down below 3 inches. I don't like running the brush along the roof because the brush can scratch.

I try to park in the sun or a garage if my car has ice and/or snow on it, even if it is a longer walk, because the sun will do a lot of the work for me. I don't park in the spot right next to the building if it is in the shade, because I risk re-freezing whatever melting happened up to that point.

You should leave no snow on the top of your car. It is like the person who doesn't put their grocery cart away.

 

[Kolumbo]

It’s really the nimrods in the left lane causing the mess

They're everywhere, but the ones in the middle are the worst. Some of them come off the on-ramp and take a left directly to the middle lane and muck everything up. No clue how to drive on the highway.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Just a question, what would clearing the snow off your car have to do with the layer of ice beneath the snow? Wouldn’t that be just as likely to come off, regardless of whether the snow is there?

 

[Kolumbo]

You should leave no snow on the top of your car. It is like the person who doesn't put their grocery cart away.

And like the people who park in the no parking lane at the store thinking the 5,000 actual parking spots are too inconvenient

 

[nelsonmuntz]

You should leave no snow on the top of your car. It is like the person who doesn't put their grocery cart away.

I park in a garage. (#11)

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Nelson quit being lazy and take the snow off your car. Whether you park in a garage or not take the damn snow off your car.

All the snow that did not fall on my car this morning was removed before I pulled out of the garage.

I park in a garage (#12).

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Adaptive cruise control is one of those idiotic inventions. some nimrod is Sunday driving in the middle lane which causes each successive car to slow down unnecessarily. Rather than actually pay attention and drive and pass the nimrod, people let their car slow down and next thing you know everyone is doing 60. The only fast driving lane becomes the right lane because everyone is clogging up the left two lanes. Meanwhile in Europe people have known for decades, stay to the right.

And you make my whole point. You do not have a right to drive way over the speed limit or tailgate.

 

[temery]

And you make my whole point. You do not have a right to drive way over the speed limit or tailgate.

College and professional football would go away if the fans can't tailgate.

 

[Kolumbo]

And you make my whole point. You do not have a right to drive way over the speed limit or tailgate.

How was that my point? My point is I have the right to drive the speed limit. And everyone knows everyone has the right to drive 9 mph over the speed limit. People have an obligation to learn the rules of the road, especially on the highway.

 

[dennismenace]

I rarely drive anywhere without someone on my a** whether on the interstate highways or around town. I drive the speed limit minimum and mildly above (5-10 mph). I am not on the road alot as when working. I am seeing more and more craziness on the road than ever. I've learned to adjust to this and work hard at not reacting (like slowing down for them). But we have so many people going through red lights, stop signs, left on red that it has become a curiosity like being in a defensive driving video. My favorite is the people in the little cars with the big bad exhaust sound that think the highway is a nascar challenge while speeding and zipping in and out cutting people off left and right and otherwise getting no where fast. I rarely see any state police cars on any highway unless there is an accident. All the local police are parked around phone/cable or highway work. I constantly hear sirens where I live and it is because of car accidents. It is like there is a certain percentage of the population turn crazy when they take the wheel. I try not to react and think about how i can get from point A to B the safest way as well as the quickest. Also, since I am retired I have the luxury of picking times of day when there is much less traffic.

Stay safe out there.

 

[Lafayette]

Well, he's probably discussed this with the "plenty of actuaries" he knows and they've told him there's a high degree of correlation.

quantum and ai telling actuaries: lots of luck

 

[Hoophound]

This is timely. Just got this message from a CT friend who is traveling for work in Syracuse today.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

This is timely. Just got this message from a CT friend who is traveling for work in Syracuse today.View attachment 116305

The ice was in the air for 30 seconds? Is it ice or unobtanium?

Spoiler alert: whoever got hit was tailgating. They were not half a mile back.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

It is amazing that on page 7 of this thread, posters in this thread are still trying to justify tailgating. If you tailgate, you are just a [pick a swear word + head or hole]. You have complete control of how close you get to the car in front of you. If you hit it, or something happens where you can't avoid an accident because of something happening to the car in front of you or the car in front of them, it is your fault. I am not speaking has a lawyer, I am speaking as a human.

STOP TAILGATING!

 

[Hoophound]

The ice was in the air for 30 seconds? Is it ice or unobtanium?

Spoiler alert: whoever got hit was tailgating. They were not half a mile back.

Relax. I wasn't even busting on you. I just thought it was crazy that I got that message earlier. I was never a meticulous snow remover myself. I try harder when I'm up north these days, but I've never put that much thought into it. I'm sure it wasn't really a half mile ahead though. Probably more like an 1/8 mile.

 

[HitDog]

He is probably too close but does feel like tailgating

 

[TheShot1990]

This is more from the driveway than the car but I refuse to start a thread for this.

Is it better to fire up the snow blower now and clean the driveway again at the end, or....just wait till the end of the storm and fight through all of it?

 

[JMick]

This is more from the driveway than the car but I refuse to start a thread for this.

Is it better to fire up the snow blower now and clean the driveway again at the end, or....just wait till the end of the storm and fight through all of it?

Multiple times is way easier in the long run

 

[dennismenace]

Just a question, what would clearing the snow off your car have to do with the layer of ice beneath the snow? Wouldn’t that be just as likely to come off, regardless of whether the snow is there?

Yes! And when the wind gets under it at high speed it will be more loud and thrilling when it smashes into a following driver's windshield.

 

[pepband99]

Multiple times is way easier in the long run

If it saves you from a mid-throw shear pin replacement, even years later, it's worth it.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

He is probably too close but does feel like tailgating

The ice sheet was in the air less than 2 seconds. If the rear car was trailing by 3 seconds, the sheet would probably not have been a problem. And that was about the worst chunk of ice that could come off a car. It was ice, not snow, but big and flat to catch the wind, so it stayed airborne for a long time. The car in front was an SUV so the ice launched from a high point and initially went up. It was still only airborne less than 2 seconds before hitting the car behind.

The car that was hit also made no attempt to slow down, actually passing a car while the ice sheet was in the air. If the driver’s reactions are that slow, he should drive even further back and at a slower speed.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Two links, one from Canada and one from Alaska, so they know snow. Both emphasize “no tailgating” as a key factor in driving safe in the winter. Neither lists “lecture people you don’t know on a sports message board about snow on their car” as an effective winter driving strategy.

The Dangers of Tailgating! - Big O Tires Canada

Today, we’re going to chat about a very important topic that often goes unnoticed, especially in winter: tailgating or following a car too closely, and why it’s a dangerous habit …

bigotires.ca

Top Mistakes Drivers Make in Winter Weather (And How To Avoid Them) — Vulcan Towing

Avoid accidents with these winter driving tips from Vulcan Towing in Anchorage, AK. Learn about drivers' top mistakes on icy roads and how to stay safe this winter.

www.vulcantows.com

 

[pepband99]

The ice sheet was in the air less than 2 seconds. If the rear car was trailing by 3 seconds, the sheet would probably not have been a problem. And that was about the worst chunk of ice that could come off a car. It was ice, not snow, but big and flat to catch the wind, so it stayed airborne for a long time. The car in front was an SUV so the ice launched from a high point and initially went up. It was still only airborne less than 2 seconds before hitting the car behind.

The car that was hit also made no attempt to slow down, actually passing a car while the ice sheet was in the air. If the driver’s reactions are that slow, he should drive even further back and at a slower speed.

Epic armchair QBing here.

1) Easily at a safe distance given that the roads were clear. This was snow from elsewhere, not on the road, so not really relevant to the tailgating question
2) 99.999999% of what would fly off a car like that is snow, or soft enough. Rating reactions is a stretch, at best
3) You have no visibility of the rest of the windshield - how do you know what was able to be seen by the actual driver, and not just the very small dashcam lens?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Epic armchair QBing here.

1) Easily at a safe distance given that the roads were clear. This was snow from elsewhere, not on the road, so not really relevant to the tailgating question
2) 99.999999% of what would fly off a car like that is snow, or soft enough. Rating reactions is a stretch, at best
3) You have no visibility of the rest of the windshield - how do you know what was able to be seen by the actual driver, and not just the very small dashcam lens?

If you can not come to a complete stop if the car in front of you stops short, you are tailgating. BOTH of the links in Post #173 refer to 3-4 seconds behind in good conditions, more in the winter. What have I said repeatedly throughout this thread?

So how was tailgating not a factor in that video? I stop watched it 5 times. The ice was in the air for less than 2 seconds. So obviously, if something, anything comes off the car in front of you and you hit it in less that 2 seconds, you were following two close. If that front car hit a rock and stopped short, the car behind it would have crashed into it. That is the definition of traveling too close. If the second car was more than 3 seconds back, the ice would have smashed harmlessly on the road.

Why do you people insist on defending tailgating? Find me a website on safe driving that recommends following less than 2 seconds behind the car in front of you in the winter.