how do those little cars drive in the snow and ice? whenever I have been driving in such conditions I see cars bigger then those spinning out because of no traction
apple a day,thats what they say
Because norwegians are used to driving in snow?
shareDuh!
shareGiven that the traffic is light and the speed limits slow, I fail to see the problem. You should try it some time in a highly populated area with speed limits approaching 65 MPH (105 KPH) on 4-6 lane roads! I do it all the time, it is a hoot!
shareit doesn't matter how used to driving in snow you are if you don't have a car that does well in it. is the 4 wheel drive on those little cars? chains?
apple a day,thats what they say
Many of the cars on our roads have front wheel drive only. But, 30 years ago we did it with rear wheel drive and often no snow tires. Skill plays a huge part! 4 wheel drive certainly helps in snow. Ice is a different story altogether. And lots of places prohibit chains as they destroy the roads and can be pretty tough on the car too.
shareIt really is about being used to it and having proper winter tires. If you look at other european countries where snow is more rare you see complete chaos when there is snowfall or icy conditions even though they drive the same exact brands of cars.
shareEven if 4wd is common, and I suppose getting more so, I'd say most cars are 2wd and drive on snow and ice well most days during the winter. With really really bad weather and lots of new snow and poorly plowed roads 4wd will help you. But you'll still need good tyres. A high car (like a jeep) will probably do better on 2wd than a low car (like most sedans or stationwagons) with 4wd under really bad conditions. People drive a lot every day during winters with lots of snow and, sure there are cars off the roads due to the weather conditions, but considering the amounts of cars out there, I'd say it's not that big of a problem.
shareWhile in some parts of the world car owners drive around on "all season tires" or even straight "summer tires", cars in Norway and other countries used to long winters have WINTER TIRES on their cars.
Apparently this concept sounds absolutely alien to some people, but since SNOW and ICE is a very real thing and WINTER an actual season existing also outside Hollywood-movies like "Frozen", they've actually invented tires designed for snow and icy roads.
Do you think ambulances, fire trucks, normal cars, taxis etc put CHAINS on their wheels every time it snows in Norway, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russia etc? And how would they'd be able to compete in RALLY in the winter if they drove around on those insanely dangerous all season tires or summer tires? They wouldn't be able to keep themselves on the road at those high speeds.
I don't have a 4WD car, but as long as I respect the conditions around me I never really lose traction driving around Norway in the winter, because of - you guessed it - WINTER tires.
Countries with long winters wouldn't be able to function if all their vehicles couldn't get around once it started snowing. :P
They can drive in snow and ice because they have "pigs in their decks"! :-) I'm not Norwegian but I have heard that joke. Google "pigs in your decks".