Driving in Winter.

Yeah... I forgot to mention that. In the northern US west, the Interstates do have gates that will close them and others that barricade the entrance ramps. Do NOT go around them when closed. You're on your own if you do. You will not be searched for.

The first post about the gates was for below tertiary rated roads.

Welcome to Canada and parts north of there (Artic) where its minus 40 outside....
I am Part Canadian and have been there in Winter, I have also been in Scotland FREQUENTLY where the weather is horizontal, winds of 60mph+
Two coats, inner fleece outer Gortex are a MUST in such weather, and often inner fleece is doubled up.

Hard work in that weather?... no, gentle work TRYING to keep warm....and trying to stay vertical as well.
Do a little, go warm up, do some more....


I invoke "Sods law", the one that states if it can go wrong it will, and whats wrong with the reason you are stranded being that the vehicle battery "Gives up".....
I have it on good authority from the RAC and AA that Winter is the hardest on car batteries.... people only ever look at them when they go wrong, and most batteries that do give up give up in colder weather?....

The creed of the Professional driver is to keep the fuel tanks over half full at all times, definitely fill up at a third of a tank, but mostly top off the tanks whenever possible and at the end of the day.
How many people drive around with a couple of gallons at the most in the tank?... getting stranded with less than quarter of a tank, do you know how long the engine will run on that?... and after that how long the battery will last before lights go dim?...


Socks... you can always use them as Gloves as well.
Gloves... my mistake for missing that one, but as I always carry Gloves as part of my Work kit I forgot how important they may be?...

Also ALWAYS carried in my boot...
Set of Jump cables.
DONT buy cheep "Booster" cables, get the real thick "Jump start an ocean liner" type ones... the thin ones will melt if you try to start a cold engine with them....
Know how to use them... always have the donor engine running when you jump start another vehicle, having two dead cars is not wise.

DONT try and jump a car with a Wagon... some of us are on 24volt, tends to fry smaller cars.

Tow cable.
I have one that is made from genuine Otis lift replacement cable, rated at something like 20 tons, and capable of towing a 7.5 tonner LGV.. it was a spare length the Lift engineer couldnt be bothered taking home....
DONT get that "Bit of string" thing you find in supermarkets... get something that at least LOOKS like it could tow a fully laden estate.... you just know when you need to help, it will always be a HEAVY car in that ditch?...

And absolutely DONT, unless you want something hilarious, use Climbing rope.....
This is one I was privileged to witness one day.
Think "BUNGEE" on that one.... think also about tieing it to a back Bumper and not a tow hitch, stretching it to the limit, and the resultant wet towel sort of "TWANG!!!" as the bumper and several pounds of rust departed the towing vehicle and shot back towards the other vehicles windscreen.......

Laugh?... I nearly wet myself......
The driver of the towed vehicle did something close to that as well......(New Shorts please?..)

I think the point Silver was making was that in making a survival kit, or in a survival situation, it is unwise to reply on your vehicle being more than just a convenient shelter from the weather. Stock your kit on the assumption that that is all you have to work with, that way you are not screwed if/when the battery decides to give out or you run out of fuel.

BOOOOORING!!!

It's much more fun that way _{to watch}

I had seen someone trying to tow a car by knotting a laundry line to the mirror. The mirror moved just fine

This had happened last year. I and a friend were visiting a show but when we had arrived, there was no parking space "for miles". Unwilling to walk through the rain, we spotted a meadow connected by a steep dirt slope and a farmer with his tractor. So we asked the farmer if we may park on his meadow. He had a good laugh and agreed but towing us out costs us €50 each!

When we returned hours later, the entire meadow was full of cars. We had a hard time to get our AWD vehicles to the exit since the meadow hat a decent slope as well and it was raining all week! We were both unable to get the cars up the exit ramp even with activated differential locks. But I had snow chains and after a few attempts, I made it with my car and we winched the other car up.

This was quite spectacular to watch what the other car owners came up trying to get out. There was a Landrover which made it, too but that was all. We had to leave since the others had seen us escape and demanded that we tow them and got angrier and angrier so we had to leave in a hurry.

Step 2, dig your car out.

My driveway, Feb 2010. I didn't get much further before the power went out.

Oh yeah, that looks totally safe.

Is that all? We got 14" overnight at my house just a week ago.

BTW... how does losing power affect your snowshovel?

I am stating that you car WILL be the reason you are stranded.
It WILL give up.

Dont let that be through bad maintenance?...

Reason you may need tail lights at all, that is ior when YOU have broken down on a busy road...having some form of illumination on yer back end stops other people who maybe cant see to good parking in your boot.....

Thats why I carry battery powered flashers.(With spare batteries that are replaced yearly used or not)

TLW stated about the convenience of chains and storage...
I store my heavy cable, with my heavy jump starter cables, coiled up inside the spare wheel.
That way I know where they are, and they dont get in the way in the boot.... or tangled up with everything else....
I also keep a set of Snow chains in there for my car.
I am the only person I know in the whole of Manchester who has a proper set of snow chains?...
(And knows how to fit them...)
I know the must be someone else out there that carry them, I just havnt met them yet....

Most people say "If its snowed that bad I just dont go out"....

I see them every winter stranded at the side of the road when it snowed THAT bad whilst they were at work and now cant get home?....
I do not rely on weather forecasts, I am one of those annoying people who plan for the worst...
And often am at home first with a hot brew whilst everyone else is struggling.

I am hoping that this thread may help others not be the ones on TV being rescued from a snow bank.