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Snowflakes

alittlebitfrench

By alittlebitfrench,
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alittlebitfrench Experienced

alittlebitfrench

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Wow...the UK has a scattering of snow and it seems to be armageddon. Schools shut !!!!!...with 10 cms of snow !!!

There is even a picture in the news of a gritter lorry upside down. LOL. Seriously....How on earth do you roll a gritter lorry. That is so embarrassing. FFS.

It was never like that when I grew up in the UK. We had snow all the time. We got on with life. And we did not drive around in the latest SUV's with 4x4 my arsé go anywhere idiot cars. My dad took me to school in a vauxhall chevette in drifts.

Seriously, what is going on with the snowflake generation in the UK. They can't get out of their drives in snow with their latest audi/rangerovers.....and they can't even build proper snowmen.

Brexit is the least of the UK's problems methinks.

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Théière Newbie

Théière

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[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]Why can't people in the UK just chain up ? Winter tyres ???

What is the problem here ?[/quote]

Some of us do, Some however buy 4x4's with summer tyres and think they are it. Lots of money accountants, bankers, insurers etc but outside of their little office bubbles they are a useless. I don't know why people take any notice of them outside of the money environment?

I think that overturned gritter photo has been used over and over for the last X years. The media should also be included in the above comment.

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alittlebitfrench Experienced

alittlebitfrench

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Hold on a minute Northerners....

My parents used to live at the bottom end of snake pass. When I visited in winter they would close the route without hesitation after a couple of inches of snow. Lordy lord.

The route was passable with chains. In fact it was passable without chains. The fact is that Uk drivers cannot drive in snow because they are not equipped. They can't even get out of their drives ffs !!!

Different mentality in France.

The UK is snarled up because they don't know what they are doing. They can't drive in snow. Even the gritters.

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Théière Newbie

Théière

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[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]

Different mentality in France. [/quote]

You can say that again. bad fog on my journey back, 30m viz, I am doing 90kph on the N roads peering into the distance and they are doing 110+. Got up near Chartres 4x4 towing a trailer with no rear lights on the vehicle or trailer but they are only doing 60-70 so you come up on them pretty quickly out of the fog!!

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YCCMB Newbie

YCCMB

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Last time it snowed here in the UK was a few years ago, so was the time before that. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of serious snow events we've had in my adult lifetime. In fact a few years ago I mentioned that it's more than likely that anyone under 40 in the UK has seldom, if ever, had any real experience of driving in snow.

In countries where snow is a standard part of winter, of course they're prepared. In the UK, the cost of being prepared for an event which likely won't happen is a determining factor in local authorities not being prepared.

As for buying chains....for what? On the off chance that you might need them for a couple of days once every 15 years?

Back in the 70's I nearly went ski-ing in France. Only there was a blizzard, so instead of reaching the ski slopes, we spent a happy and very energetic afternoon helping to push Parisiens in cars and coaches who had arrived in the area without any snow chains or any other form of preparation. I don't expect they'd ever seen a need.....
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alittlebitfrench Experienced

alittlebitfrench

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I tell you what the problem is....its bling. Bling UK.

The necessity to have the biggest fattest tyres on glitzy alloys because they look good. Yes they look good but they are useless in snow.

So Audi, BMW or whoever sell you their super dooper 4x4 Suv's that can cope with all weather. They have adverts for them with some handsome guy driving and some doting women admiring his driving skills as they tackle the hardest of terrains.

Back in the real world on the M6 with silly big tyres, they are completely useless.

Meanwhile in France, grandpa gets on with life in his 1970's renault 5 with his very thin and less than bling tyres.

Bling UK. !!!! That is why the UK is in a mess with 5cms of snow.

Buy your bling cars and tyres, but you need some chains methinks. If not, say in doors.

I remember when we bought the Yeti. Ours is on 16 tyres which they never sold in UK. 16 is not bling enough for the UK so they never bothered trying to sell them. The UK gets the larger tyres which of course are useless in snow. LOL.
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nomoss Newbie

nomoss

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"Different mentality in France"

Not around these parts.

A couple of years ago I drove down here from near Moissac on the RN113. About half way from Toulouse a sprinkling of snow started, but it never settled. In fact it was just blowing gently across the road, and had stopped completely when we got to Carcassonne.

The traffic, almost entirely cars, slowed down to around 20 kph, but even so we saw a dozen or more cars in the ditch, even though I found I had plenty of grip.

I was in an empty 7.5 ton removal van, hardly notable for its roadholding ability, but managed to overtake a few cars when the road was wide enough, before everyone got nose to tail and started shunting each other.

It was quite obvious that very few drivers had any idea how to drive on snow, and were simply frightened by seeing tiny flurries on the road. The same drivers probably fly along over the limit in pouring rain on the Auroroute.

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richard51 Newbie

richard51

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Twaddle. The recent concentration on the weather is because the SE just happens to have been hit more over the last few days.

North of the Watford gap is quite aware of what snow is. Yesterday I drove from SOT to the new capital of culture and unusually it was worse in Coventry than in SOT but still driveable on the main roads. (taking one son back as he still hasn't got a car).

This morning, very early, took other son and 3 friends to Manchester Airport for "christmas shopping" in Berlin for a couple of days (more likely other motives!!!). We live on the side of a semi-rural valley and had the sense to leave the car at the bottom on the main road and had no problem when staying on the main roads.

Of course side roads were, and are a problem.

Tonight we don't have any commitments and so will not be going anywhere tomorrow.

My brother, up in the Moorlands, just uses his tractor!

Its really just common sense as some on here have already intimated.

NB no problems on flight to Berlin.

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richard51 Newbie

richard51

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""The route was passable with chains. In fact it was passable without chains. The fact is that Uk drivers cannot drive in snow because they are not equipped. They can't even get out of their drives ffs !!! "".

Therein lies the problem - some people think they are so good at driving in all conditions!!!
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Chancer Newbie

Chancer

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I drove to the UK yesterday, a fair bit of snow when I left Picardie but no real problems apart from a lot of muppet drivers nose to tail leaving no stopping distance between them driving much slower than the conditions dictated and also being really heavy with the pedal and steering inputs and swerving all over the place.

 

It really was much safer to overtake them even though it meant crossing the ridges of piled up frozen snow and that is what most of the poid lourds were doing. Autoroutes A26 and A1 pretty much the same story but as the bulk of traffic was poid lourds it was not too bad.

 

No snow in the UK but driving sleet and poor visbility, too many cars, too close together going too fast, had to stop on the M20 to fix a wiper that was flapping off the screen and it was the first time I have been scared for as long as I can remember, driving on A roads would have been much safer.

 

Got to base near Gatwick, sun was out, no rain only to hear on the TV that nobody should leave their home except for essential and emergency journeys, they are the twats that I blame for the snowflake's mentality.

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