#1 Reason for Cars being stuck in the snow?

[morphius909]

So we had a huge dump of snow in Edmonton this weekend, which got me to thinking:

What is the true cause of vehicles being stuck in the snow on City Streets?

Poor Tires -i.e. Using All seasons
Vehicle Height--SUV/Truck vs Cars

I would think regardless of height, an SUV would only be an advantage in extremly deep snowy conditions vs icy conditions. My preference in icy conditions would be a car, decked out with stability/traction/abs with winter treads (I'm a Nokian fan now)

We have an 02 accord with Nokian Winter tires. We had absolutely no problem driving thru the accumulated 20 cms of snow yesterday on Edmonton Streets.

Just wondering...

[auto_enthusiast]

I'd say tire choice is the first.

The second would be inclines - that's where most people get stuck.

[johngenx]

Yeah, I'm part of that snow dump.  It's total chaos on our cul-de-sac.  Yesterday, late morning, it's the worst of it.  No one in the neighbourhood is shocked as we head out in our Forester.  Problems?  Nada.  Blizzaks, AWD and 7+" ground clearance means we simply drive away.  We return around lunch time to find MANY cars stuck.  People are out pushing all kinds of cars.  A Civic?  Yup.  Intrepid?  Yup.  My wife heads out once again in her Subie, and of course, no one is surprised as she simply drives through a deep snow bank just for the fun of it.

Next though, I'm out in my Mercedes.  RWD, no traction control, no LSD.  Essentially one wheel rear-wheel drive and low clearance.  BUT, I have my Revo One Blizzaks mounted.  Guess what?  It's a little trickly as a I transition from backing out to going forward (had to go back a little farther) but then I just headed for the main road.  Yes, the snow is piling into the bumper and the entire bottom of the car is scraping the snow, but traction is there and I find the main road, still unplowed.  Off I go, and do I get stuck?  Nope.  Have to go uphill heading for the main-highway, and again, it's not like the Subaru, but I make it without any drama at all.

So, while the Subaru did EXCEL in those terrible conditions (of course, it has Blizzaks too!) the Mercedes drove by a whole crowd of FWD vehicles without winter tires.  And the Revo 1 is not an agressive snow tire, but instead geared towards ice, and then snow.


So, it's true that AWD is very helpful.  Amazing even if you mount winter tires.  Winter tires?  YES.  They are the KEY.  Numero Uno...

[Trainman]

I would say driver experience, then tires.  Know all too well from driving in Victoria in the snow.  Also lots of SUV's go off-road in the snow around where I live now, and that is the drivers fault.

[mdxtasy]

I was in Edmonton with the MDX.  Winter tires by far....AWD is a good benefit....but then again, the ground clearance helps too.  For the 1ft of snow out there, the ground clearance helped avoid scraping and plowing...but to get around town, the AWD and winter tires are the big hit.

[si]

IMO, AWD will help you accelerate best from a stop, winters will help you corner and stop.


Case in point, you'd often be much better off starting from a stop on a significant incline in an AWD with all seasons than a FWD with winters.  Unfortunately we see just one or two days of snowfall here so I may be wrong.

[initial_D]

My conclusion from reading the posts above is that TOO MUCH snow will make any car and all cars stuck in it. When there is enuff of the white stuff, tires  choice won't  matter.

Try to drive over that with an AWD / 4x4.     

[random006]

My conclusion from reading the posts above is that TOO MUCH snow will make any car and all cars stuck in it. When there is enuff of the white stuff, tires  choice won't  matter.

Try to drive over that with an AWD / 4x4.     

{crazy amount of snow picture removed}

OK,

Assuming a reasonable amount of snow that could also be considered a decent sized dump of the white stuff (1 - 2 feet) what are the biggest reasons for people getting stuck?

Based on my observations here in Montreal and those of my friend who moved from Montreal to Toronto years back, the biggest reasons are, in order, the lack of:

• Winter tires  (even bad winter tires are better than all seasons)
• Driver skill.  If you don't know how to handle winter, you will get stuck.
• Enhanced vehicle ability:  AWD, traction control, ...

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[coolnoob]

Edmonton here too 

This is my first year driving, so this recent winter dump spooked me since I've no winter driving experience at all.  Woke up 2 days ago to find 4 car's stuck in my neighborhood.  That morning I panic a bit since I drive an Integra and as you all know lacks much needed clearance, but with my X-Ice on it wasn't actually bad at all.  A little tricky getting out of my neighborhood, went slow, but steady through the 6 turns just to get to the main road, but NEVER stuck!  Have to admit I feel a bit smug

So perhaps I would partly attribute to those that got stuck due to tire?

[Snowman]

Tires and number one followed by driver skill. Most people have a hard time in the best of conditions. Winter just magnifies their lack of skill.

[AVToller]

I agree: tire #1, driver skill #2. My first winter in Vancouver was a very unusually snowy one for the Wet Coast, but mild by my standards. I could not believe the level of incompetence for snow-driving. I did my best to convince people that proper snow driving technique does NOT involve flooring the accelerator and waiting for the snow and ice to melt beneath the tires.  Unfortunately, few seemed to master the notion of "easy does it" when driving in winter conditions. 

[safristi]

  ANSWER:...SNOW

[AVToller]

  ANSWER:...SNOW

  DOH!!! Now why didn't I see that!! 

[safristi]

'Cos ya leef in PUERTO ALBERNI SIGNOR !!!!!!! 

[AVToller]

I would respond to that, but I wouldn't want to be accused of "post whoring". 

[safristi]

Caramba Senor we alreedy!! hef yu on FILE!!!!

[morty]

The snow tires definitely make the difference. If the snow is deep enough it will stop anything. Where the heck did this snow stuff come from anyways. We even had snow in Vancouver last week.

[si]

all 0.5 cm of it. 

[kelli]

I live in NE ontario.. we get heaps of the stuff and you can rely on your AWD/4x4 all you want.. but i drove a kia rio for 4 winters and because i had winter tires on it.. i NEVER got it stuck. People will justify every bell and whistle by using snow as a reason they must have it.. but there was not one bell or whistle in the rio and i had zero issues with it in the snow.

I wake up to the toronto news warning of 200 accidents on the 401 by 9am when they get snow.. there's no secret to winter driving.. slow the hell down.. that's it.. oh.. and don't ride the other person's ass.

it's not a big mystery or secret =)

[Titanium48]

Winter tires  (even bad winter tires are better than all seasons)
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I kept hearing that, so I went to Wal-Mart last fall and got a set of Magna-Grips for my Saturn, only to be dissapointed when they would spin just as bad as all-seasons on ice (I guess they're studdable for a reason, maybe I should have got some installed).  Then the big dump of snow came in March and I was driving circles around everyone and I finally understood what the big deal was.