Driving in Snow
For snow and ice – high gear and low revs gives you more torque. Move off in second, or even third if you can manage, and keep your revs just above stalling get on
When you’re not sure what the surface of the road is like I do two things. First I look for ‘diamonds’ twinkling in the light. That is ice crystals. And second, drop the window an inch and listen. If there is silence on days like this therefore chances are I am on an icy road. Time in both cases to slow below the horizon. Gently.
The problem in the UK is that we all use standard tyres in winter and their rubber compound has an odd characteristic that causes the coefficient of friction to dip around zero degrees Celsius. A few degrees lower or higher and they work better. So called winter tyres use a different compound to avoid this, but they wear out faster. In the Alps and other ’snow’ territories of Europe, winter tyres are obligatory and they make a huge difference. In Austria hibernate tyres have to be fitted by law for the six months of hibernate, but they certainly get you through most of the worst snow and ice situations without problems.