Get Ready for the Big Freeze
Written by man on February 7th, 2010 in Other.
With weather forecasters warning us here in Great Britain that the current cold snap could bring some snow how prepared are you for some prolonged freezing temperatures?
The prolonged period of winter weather in 2009 highlighted how unprepared we are in the U.K. are for true wintery conditions. Perhaps I shouldn’t generalize because people in the north of the British isles tend to fare better than their soft southern counterparts. Scotland tends to be better able to cope with intense wintery conditions as they experience some bad winter weather nearly every year.
One problem that arose early in 2009 was that gritting trucks ran out of road grit. It has been said that this was due to local authorities not having enough funds. But it really boils down to inaccurate forecasting. While the south of the United Kingdom can experience some intense winter conditions they tend to be very shortlived. There wasn’t enough grit to cope with the prolonged five weeks of snow.
But how do they cope in countries like Sweden and Norway where they have snow on the ground for much of the winter?
Driving on snow covered, icy roads is treacherous. Not only due to the slippery road surfaces but also as a result of poor visibility. Winter tyres are recommended as an absolute minimum.
Although they do grit their roads in both Norway and Sweden they often limit this to busy road junctions only. Once away from the busy city and town roads you’ll find roads consist of compacted snow and ice. In these conditions it is important to travel slowly and make no sudden movements. Overtaking is a bad idea in these conditions.
A set of winter tyres can be useful. The tyres contain some added silicone which helps them to remain flexible at low temperatures. They also tend to have a heavier tread pattern with fine lateral cuts which help the tyre to put as much surface as possible in contact with the ground.
Another option is snow chains, but it should be remembered that these are really only useful in snow and not much use on icy surfaces. And another option, which is good for icy road surfaces, is studded tyres.
************
When flying from Scotland get the best prices on Glasgow airport parking by booking in advance. The same applies to Edinburgh airport parking and Aberdeen airport parking. You will save a bundle if you book your car parking space before you travel to these airports.
