- So, today we're in the central highlands of Tasmania
and we're gonna learn about driving on snow
and to tell us all about that,
we've got Mark from Performance Driving Australia.
(gentle electronic music)
So, Mark, what are the basics?
So, automatic, manual,
do we need to worry about transmission in a car?
- Look,
ultimately,
the transmission you have is fine either way.
Automatic's are generally better in the sense
that you're not having to worry about selecting gears.
- [Jared] So it's gonna keep that motion easier as well.
- [Mark] Yeah, that's right,
so it's one less thing to worry about
particularly when you start losing traction,
people tend to want to change gears.
That can then cause you bigger problems
when you're on the snow 'cause you can cause wheel spin
or roll away from where you want it to be.
- Cool.
- Automatic would be great, but either way perfectly fine.
- [Jared] So, what about tyre choice?
All terrain, highway terrain, mud terrain.
- The most aggressive tread pattern
is gonna give you the best traction in most conditions
when it comes to driving in snow.
However, still most tyres will work
as long as you drive accordingly
and that's the biggest thing with driving on snow,
is allowing for the type of vehicle, whether the tyres,
the transmission package, the ground clearance.
All of those factors coming into play.
And it's really important to keep that in mind
when you're driving and how you're using the throttle
and the other controls.
- How does it compare to driving on sand?
- It is similar, but different.
Sand obviously offers a
probably a slightly more level of grip
because it tends to move in around the tyre,
whereas snow can push away from the tyre.
So, similar, I guess that the driving skills
are similar in that you have to be smooth,
however, they are still different skills
and it does take a bit of getting used to driving on snow
if you haven't done much of it.
- And would you lower the tyre pressures at all (mumbles)?
- Generally speaking, no.
The reality is, if it's quite deep snow
and you're struggling for traction,
then you would look at increasing that footprint
by bringing the pressures down a bit.
But again, I would suggest that in most cases
and in most conditions,
particularly here in beautiful Tassie
that you don't need to drop the pressures
that much on most of our roads.
- Yeah, cool, awesome.
It's cold out here so we're gonna go into the car
and do a little bit of driving practise in there as well.
So, we're in the car now,
Mark is there anything we should consider
before we actually pull out?
- Yeah, so driving in these conditions,
it's a good idea to warm the car up before we head out.
So, get in the morning, turn the car on,
crank it over and let everything come up to temp,
so that we're not running with cold coolant
and cold engines, cold exhaust, those sort of things.
Perhaps leave your wipers up overnight
if you are parked in the snow,
so that you don't have a windscreen that's covered in snow
and you can't clear it, so that does help.
And be aware that of course, other cars
are gonna be using the roads in similar conditions,
so have your headlights on while you're driving off.
- Yep, one of the things I remember
from living in the snow is that you need to make sure
all of your windows are cleared.
I remember seeing someone driving with a hole
about that big in their windscreen
and seeing what they can see, but yeah, visibility.
- Not ideal of course, you wanna be able to see out of
all your windows including your mirrors if you can.
So keep everything clear,
it does take a little bit of time,
but the first thing about driving in the snow is
you probably shouldn't be in a rush.
- Yes, exactly, good point.
Well, let's...
Get on the road.
So the road we're on today is not particularly deep snow.
(car beeps)
Shh, car.
But it's just gonna be enough to illustrate
what we're doing,
but what should I consider with my speeds on snow?
Obviously I don't wanna drive flat out,
but what's the recommendations?
- Yeah, look you wanna be able to cover ground,
I mean you're driving from A to B,
it's not about getting there as slow as possible,
but as safe as possible.
- Yep. - So, finding that
happy medium where the car has got good grip,
you feel safe, your passengers feel safe.
It's always important to remember them
because they don't have the control of the car
and we don't want people screaming in the back.
- They're not holding on like we are.
- So, it's really important to just drive
at that nice steady pace and that pace can vary
anywhere from 10 k's an hour in extreme conditions
up and down slopes to highway speeds if you feel comfortable
and that probably is between 60 and 80 in most conditions.
- Yep and I guess--
- Going any faster than that's
probably unnecessary in most environments.
- And watching out for ice and that sort of stuff
on the corner as well.
- Yeah, ice and you've gotta read the road.
Cruise control, really is a no go.
It won't cause the car to lose control,
we've heard that rumour
go around the internet a million times.
However, why would you use cruise control
when you're driving in any challenging terrain?
- That's right. - So, you drive the car
and that way you've got better control,
better feel for what's actually happening
underneath the vehicle.
- Yep, so should I be conscious of anything
when actually just driving in deeper snow?
Like should I obviously control the car
in a different way or is it--
- Ideally you'd want to be able to pick where the grip is,
and there's two options.
If the snow is deep, driving in the wheel tracks,
generally is best.
However, if the wheel tracks have melted
and there's ice in there,
sometimes you might need to make your own tracks,
'cause the ice can sometimes be more slippery
than the actual soft snow itself.
And remember, the snow can slow you down.
- Yes.
- So, if anything else,
you feel like the vehicle's getting away from you,
don't be afraid to drive off the line a little bit
and use the snow just to pull you up a little bit.
It's pretty harmless, just stay away from the edges
where there might be big drop offs and ruts.
- [Jared] That's right, 'cause you can't see anything
can you?
- [Mark] Yeah, that's right, it's all hidden.
- One of the things that I've heard is
that snow likes sticking to snow.
So you're actually better off having tyres
that will capture the snow in and actually you'll be,
it would be easier to drive on tyres
that actually stick the snow in there.
Is that true?
- Look, I think there's a lot of different theories
about any type of off road driving and snow driving.
And I've delivered training all over the world
and overseas in very snowy conditions
and found that generally speaking,
that the variety of tyres we come across,
they all work quite well.
- Yep.
- However, again, like we said right at the start,
the more aggressive the tread pattern,
the more chance it's got of
biting into the snow - Tearing into that snow, yep.
- But it's more to do with getting off
and getting the vehicle moving perhaps and braking.
Once you're driving at speed, like you said,
it probably works to have a bit of snow in your tyres.
- Is it worth touching on recovery at all in snow,
'cause I mean if you're going to be driving in snow
there's some stage
you're probably gonna come across someone else.
- [Mark] Of course. - [Jared] Is there anything
we should consider about recovery on snow?
- Yeah, the golden rules apply with recovery
with taking a minute to have a cuppa tea first sometimes.
- Yes. - People rush in all the time,
especially to help people which is great,
but you don't want anyone to get hurt.
Remember the road's gonna be slippery, your hands are cold,
everything's cold, so, using the right gear,
follow the instructions, basically like any other recovery.
Good idea to have some gloves with you.
- Yes, everything's gonna be colder, so, yeah...
- Absolutely.
- Things might get stuck as well in the ice,
your recovery gear might be a bit colder,
might not work as well.
So, like you say, slow down is probably the biggest tip.
- Yeah, that's the key and my experience being
if you can't do the vehicle recovery safely
because obviously on snow you may be recovering
with another vehicle on snow,
you may need to look at winches
or having multiple vehicles involved in the recovery
to make sure that it's done safely.
Don't risk the vehicle, don't risk yourself.
- Yep.
- If it means getting a ride back somewhere
and waiting for the weather condition to improve.
- Yep.
- Because you only ever get stuck in the middle of a storm
or something when it's really bad.
- That's right.
- And that's not the time you wanna be out doing a recovery.
- Exactly, we actually had one the other day
where the tyre of your Land Cruiser
was pulling out a tow truck,
and the tow truck was actually stuck on the shoulder
of the road
and as the Land Cruiser was winching it,
the Land Cruiser's actually hooked up to a tree behind him,
it was actually going along the shoulder of the road.
So they'd ended up deciding to use the winch
from the back of the truck to winch the back on first
as he was being winched forwards.
So, they actually brought the truck back off the road.
- Yeah, and that's the thing.
I had a similar recovery the other day
where we needed to use multiple straps to be able
to get the vehicle away from the ditch.
'cause otherwise you're just basically
dragging it along the ditch.
- Yeah! - And sometimes
dragging yourself in there at the same time.
- And that's the thing, the stuff's slippery.
So you just gotta think about that.
- It is. And it is slipperier than mud.
- Yes, really.
- It is, I reckon, when it's icy it is.
Like you can't stand on it and in mud
you can generally stand
and it will push your feet through the mud.
- Yep.
- You'll find a bit of a base.
- Yep.
- With ice and really icy conditions, you won't.
Snow, not so much.
- Yep.
- But definitely if it's ice, and if there's snow,
there's gonna be ice somewhere.
- Yeah, good point.
Anything else we should think about?
- Just generally about with driving, stay smooth.
Smooth throttle application, smooth steering.
If you start reefing at the wheel,
the worst thing you can do,
'cause you're basically just gonna end up
having no steering control and possibly running off the road
with a lot of lock on which always ends badly.
- Yes.
- So, smooth steering inputs, smooth brakes,
smooth throttle application.
Look ahead, plan ahead, use your vision skills.
- Look out for Skippy.
- Look out for animals,
but the key thing is that reading the road conditions,
drive at a pace that you're comfortable with
and that you feel safe because again,
your passengers and you wanna get from A to B.
There's no rush, you do wanna travel at a reasonable,
comfortable pace, but don't take any unnecessary risks.
- And remember, two hands on the steering wheel.
- Two hands on the wheel.
Try to get your hands roughly opposite if you can,
that just means that if the vehicle is moving around,
you always know where the wheel is pointing
when you bring your hands back.
- And probably actually drive a little bit closer
to the steering wheel as well.
- I find myself doing that,
I try and always sit in the right position,
but when I drive either off road or on snow,
I always bring the seat forward just an extra click.
- So. Less gangster, more control.
- Absolutely.
- Excellent.
Well, thanks Mark.
- My pleasure.
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Thanks very much.
Cheers.