Want to learn how to drive on SNOW?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- In most of Finland, snow is on the ground for three months every year. Despite this, everything keeps moving! How do they do it? Want to learn how to drive on snow like a Finn? Spoiler: you don't need a 4x4 to do it!
#Finland #Snow #DrivingOnSnow
Nigel, thank you for that delightful wee journey through the streets and countryside of your adopted country, Finland. I actually felt as if I was in the passenger seat alongside you! You're so calming. Most enjoyable. Spent most of my life in Aberdeenshire so have had many a winter season to enjoy driving in snow. Being a rural dweller, I along with my neighbours, simply crack on - no tyre chains, just slower driving. Always allow yourself that wee bit longer for your journey, read the road ahead and carry a spade! Works for me. God bless you and your family, Nigel. It's always such a pleasure watching your presentations. Thanks again.
Thanks, Chela
As a driving instructor of 30 years that was all very sound advice Nigel👍
Wonderful winter wonderland 💕🙏.
Have lived all my life in big snow country and actually enjoy doing it. You explained the logistics of snow driving very well. I just gently pump the brakes to stop.
Correct, but it's gentle touching on the brakes - if you tell a Brit to pump the brakes they will stamp down on them, before releasing them, and then stamping down again. Go easy, and be gentle and 'feel' the car.
And the most important and the most basic of basics: use winter tyres! Then just drive around and you get used to it. Test the limits in some safe place to understand how your car reacts.
Another pro tip is low revs - if you can start off in second gear also.
100%
Studded tires make it so much easier to drive in the snow. We are now in Sweden for 5 weeks. First thing we did was getting the studded tires. It really makes a difference to regular winter tyres!!
On ice, yes, but all the Finns I know have got rid of their studded tyres #ThrillSeekers
Well to be honest by law you have to use either friction or studded tyres in Finland during the winter season, so no one is driving around with regular summer tyres. This of course makes cars to have more grip than in countries where seasonal tyres are not used. Nevertheless all your tips are good for winter driving - distances, speed, avoiding sudden movements (acceleration & braking).
By statistics approx 20% of Finns use friction tyres and 80% studded ones. This of course differs quite a lot depending where you live. In the bigger cities many use friction. This Helsinki also banned use of studded tyres in one (or some) of their streets because of the ”dust” they create
Instead of "The grass is greener on the other side" I'll say the snow is whiter. Looks beautiful there. Summer everyday here.
I have been driving in Finland for almost 15 year now and what you described covers most of it. I really do enjoy driving in the snow. I would add that studded winter tires and ABS also help a lot. Also, the Finnish drivers licence exam is super difficult and covers winter driving.
True
Front wheel drive or four wheel drive are much better in the snow I drive a beemer so when it snows I park it Thanks for the pro driving tips Nigel
See Sky News for examples of dumb British Chelsea Tractor drivers crashing into lamp posts
@@nigelwatson2750 Perhaps adding a skid pan element to the driving test would help You wouldn't expect a big 4x4 designed to drive on all terrain and in all weathers to crash even in the snow
@@icouldbewrongicouldberight You can't even make a beemer move in the snow with the traction control turned on You have to turn off all the driving aids and Good luck getting up a hill with rear wheel drive My sympathies
@@icouldbewrongicouldberight Never insulated from the cost though eh? lol Built to break expensive to fix typical BMW tricks please to any other beemer drivers or buyers out there Never buy or service with Sytner at Gallows corner Save yerself the drama Ripoffs I've had a whole panorama
I think RWD is more natural in winter, I'm kind of scared of driving with FWD in winter because it feels so unnatural especially when close to "losing control". I drove several years with old RWD car made in Soviet Union (known as Lada Riva in the UK) even in winter and it became like a physical extension of my body. One winter I even drove with studded tires from which I had removed the studs for previous summer because I had no money to buy tires and even then I was able to control the car but it made driving uphills harders because rear lost very easily all the traction and started sliding and my home town is very hilly, it's like San Francisco of Finland.
Actually really helpful. Just driven to the alps in my rear wheel jag xe and put some snow socks in the boot… not needed them yet.
Thank you Nigel all cars have the winter tyres right.
Yes, but this might be as simple as a thicker tread on the tyres - the trend now amongst Finns is to NOT drive with studded tyres. For me, my driving skills are still not sufficiently developed, so I still drive with old-school tyres with little metal studs in them.
Not all of us Brits, still living in Britain are as thick about driving on snow as those recently witnessed. Some of us do bother to take the time to actually research and learn how to drive on snow. It still makes me chuckle how some years ago I was one of only a very few people in my workplace, an NHS hospital, who was able to with only slight difficulty on summer tyres get out of the hospital car park and home one morning after an overnight mini blizzard. Successfully repeatedly weaving left and right and back and forth around multiple higgledy-piggledy stuck and abandoned cars blocking the way and exits.
Tips I'd add: To get more grip initially setting off, set off in 2nd gear, even 3rd gear if your clutch and clutch control can manage it and keep your revs very low, gentle and smooth, never spinning your wheels. Keep all application of the controls, acceleration, braking, and steering as minimal, low, methodical and smooth as possible. If you know the area you're driving, you know where the junctions, turns, downhill and uphill bits all are and can sufficiently smoothly and methodically conduct your drive accordingly.
I.E. You know where a junction is that you'll need to slow down or stop for. Thus you can begin your slow-down earlier than you would in normal conditions, by simply, slowly and smoothly dropping down your gears early and allowing engine braking to do the majority of your slow-down rather than using only, and nothing but the skid risk brake.
If you start skidding, avoid braking unless there's no choice, especially if on ice, and even then brake extremely gently and smoothly. Turn your steering towards the direction of the skid to recover. Do not turn your steering away from the direction of the skid as far too many people wrongly do. Turning away from the direction of the skid often makes things worse, increasing the length and severity of the skid rather than reducing and stopping it. Nearly always simply turning into the skid and not doing any braking or acceleration whatsoever is all that's needed for your car to quickly and naturally regain grip and traction.
If you get stuck. Never over-rev and spin your wheels like the Chelsea tractors, it nearly always just gets you even more stuck. Very gently rock your car extremely slowly back and forth a tiny bit until you find or build grip. Then pull away very slowly in 2nd gear with very gentle acceleration.
My first winter living here in Austria was the heaviest snow for 12 years , I was in my element ! Always enjoyed driving in the snow on the rare occasions we had it in Kent UK , life goes on , my neighbours young daughter was out learning to drive in and old front wheel drive Vw polo ,😀
I was driving in Lapland using a friend’s car which was AWD (still a small Škoda), so much difference compared to front or rear wheel drive. Not that you can drive recklessly, but helps a lot when trying to get the car moving after stopping at an intersection etc
Used to drive 74 ton truck between north and south Finland and winter driving had its own special feeling. I enjoyed the challenge of it. 15 hour days felt like 10 when you focus so heavily to the work.
Good advice 👍🏼 ✨
Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing will be impossible. Great tips Nigel, but I am really terrified of driving in the snow, since somebody, years ago, ran into my car during a snowy period....think I'll just sit next to the woodburner, except for daily hike with hounds lol, it's -8 degrees here tonight, praising the Lord for the blessing of multi fuel stove!.....God bless ✝️👑🙌♥️🙏
I found that really helpful - thanks!
Great advice, thank you
Great video and so either a lot of instructors cannot show. Useless cheap Chinese tyres probably explains most of the mishaps seen on that U.K. video! I bought 3 peak rated Michelins last year and I cannot begin to explain how much better overall they are, especially over the last few days with snow
We have a load of snow in Bulgaria, and as Finland its just a normal day. I have had lots of cars here and the most important is the tyres, second the car, up to now its a very close tie between the Audi Quattro and my current car Subaru Outback with Serbian snow tyres which are awesome. I also prefer automatics for winter conditions.
Thank you for that. It's helpful as I'm very nervous in these conditions
One important fact, you most likely drive on winter tires when most Brits drive on summer tires on snow.
Love driving on snow, learned to drive in the 80s when we had plenty of snow 🌨️.
If anything, over my life, England got colder, not warmer - so much for global climate warming change, or whatever it's called this week.
Studded tyres makes a massive difference though. I did once lose my car completely on a bend on ice in Porvoo, Finland but a few others did too😂
Nice. I’ve never seen snow but much like driving on gravel. Col West Oz 👍🏼
winter tyres help too
Finns are the best rally drivers
Yes, and Finns are also great F1 drivers
Sebastian Loeb is quite good too.
It does help when you have studs on your tyres 🤠
👏 👏 ☃
Amen to all that, say I. You do need a different mindset. It's like being in a state of grace. You also have to leave a bit of time and space for irrational and unexpected behaviour on the part of others. More of a problem in Britain than Finland, I'll wager. I must say that I once drove a student car in which the accelerator froze in the maximum speed position on a frosty day in England. I was hurtled halfway across the Shire before I managed to grab the handbrake and turn the engine off. I could have ended up in Chippenham.
Good story!
Yes don't brake and steer, don't accelerate and steer, don't either brake or accelerate hard. Use the engine management for even power on tight corners or steep hills, higher gear gives less likely to spin. Engine braking gently means the wheels don't lock like brakes can, which means the wheels still rotate in the direction of steer. It doesn't matter which way you steer with a locked up wheel you are then just a sledge. But totally agree give lots of time and read the road ahead. I would also not trust or want to be to close to other drivers, who could cause you problems in a situation you would have ordinarily coped with just fine if it was not for their mistakes, UK anyway 🤣🤣
Nigel when I lived in Russia, they drive on snow/Sheets of ice no problems for several months during winter. Best car? The Lada
Like many other things, simple is best. Modern cars have too many useless features, which are just accidents waiting to happen, making modern cars less reliable than cars built in the 90s.
@@nigelwatson2750 I've posted extensively over past few years what's been going on, I'm afraid its way too late now to wake others up
Use gearing down to slow the car also
I had to drive home from Cambridge on sunday night. I actually enjoyed it but then I am a lorry driver so have plenty of experience.
Winter tires make the difference. If you have never driver with proper winter tires (studded or studless), you won't believe the difference in grip compared to Summer tires.
What, you mean that it's not necessary to own a 4x4? LOL
How does this square with the BBC's mission to make sure every Briton soils their knickers at the mere hint of an inch of snow and the modern penchant for using the slightest bit of bad weather as an excuse for all transport, mail and energy provision to grind to a total halt?
I'm amazed how so many people in the UK expect their Range Rovers and L200's to be able to drive through snow on summer tyres. Every year I look forward to overtaking stuck Defenders in my rear wheel drive BMW with winter tyres. Bmw's are rubbish in anything more than frost normally, and are ridiculed so the look on their faces when I pass them is worth every penny of what they cost!
What's funny is when the wheels spin, they press down on the accelerator even harder.
Thanks for the video. However, there's nothing you've said that is not good (IAM approved) driving practice anyway (albeit with longer reaction times due to snow) - i.e. don't use brakes or accelerator in a corner, think well ahead, keep an appropriate distance. If only everyone (snow or otherwise) drove like this there'd be fewer accidents and less road rage!
You learnt all this on the Rochdale terrain 😆
Brits used to be able to drive on snow. They now panic and hammer down on the accelerator until their spinning wheels turn the road into an ice-rink. The Chelsea Tractor brigade are the worst for this
You can take the teacher out of the classroom......
Driving on snow should be done with rear wheel drive.
- The driver needs to give so much gas when accelerating that he gets to a good speed quickly but doesn't have wheelspin.
- The driver needs to brake so hard that he can stop with the shortest distance possible but not so hard that the tires slip or the anti lock starts acting.
- The driver needs to, if enough space available and the situation permits, give enough gas when cornering so the drift angle makes him smile, small kids watching cheer an grandma's panic.
Guy at 3:25 got kicked out of the bus for fare dodging
No, he was jumping over a pile of snow, so he didn't get snow on his jeans!
Tip number one: Ensure you're compliant with the local laws and use winter tyres.
Winter tyres make a significant difference in snow.
Tip number two: Don't be put off driving in Scandinavia based upon UK conditions as it's not comparable.This is due to the high relative humidity, the snow in the UK is particularly wet and compacts to ice.
It's the same reason why the Scandinavians are useless at making snow people.
Brits are still rubbish at driving on snow, though! - Rev those engines!
0:50 a trouck? It is a truck. T r a k.
LegEnd Nigel.
Downhill?
No we don't have chains on our tyres in Finland but we do have Winter tyres with studs and they are compulsory in Winter, meaning everyone has to have them, otherwise you are breaking the law.
You don't have to have studs though in winter tyres. My wife's winter tyres just have a heavier tread than standard summer tyres. But then again, she's a top Suomalainen driver. Don't tell me that your winter tyres are studded? #Amateur.
@@nigelwatson2750 Yes I do, just like the majority of sensible Finn's.
I drive from Forssa to Helsinki every day and wouldn't dream of doing that on friction tires.
probably lots of car crashes yesterday because it snowed the day before, I went out and it wasn't too bad then but the snow that was half melted has turned to ice now, im scared to go out on my bike now as I fell off last jan on ice that I couldn't see because it was still dark. next week it will be warmer here but then its going to rain. I haven't seen the videos you mention on the news.
Did you see that guy come off the bus just about went face first into the snow
He was jumping over a snow drift
weather: snow
me: rwd
I liked driving old Soviet made RWD car (Lada 2105) in Winter. Lots of Finnish teens also like to buy cheap RWD cars and drift in winter.
How cold does it get?
-30C
@@nigelwatson2750 ok so engine warmers are a must
Where in finland
Pori
✨☃️✨ 👶👏🇫🇮
Brits drive on Snow on Summer Tyres it's absolutely mental 🤣
That's not their biggest problem - it's the panics they get into, and if the wheels start spinning, their solution is to step even harder on the gas LOL
Many Finns might also drive occasionally on snow with summer tires, especially in late Autumn or early Spring because the weather is very unpredictable. This year it snowed in May and many had already swapped summer tires to their cars (including me).
i sont drive under the influence of any drugs, esp snow.
Yes, not a good idea.
Is it law in Finland that vehicles must be fitted with snow/winter tyres?
Yes, but that doesn't mean chains or even tyres with metal studs - just a slightly thicker tread. Tyres are important, but if you drive like an idiot, like the people in those Sky News reports, and over-rev your engine, your wheels will spin and you'll end up in the ditch.
@@nigelwatson2750thicker thread but the winter tyres are made of a softer rubber as well