HELP I have lost my confidence,,,

[CLOMP]

Help I have lost my confidence with my VEC-c er,,, in the snow and ice, sorry its a long read, first some history, I Had my first driving lesson in September 1968, passed test in October, and have been driving ever since, I went through a few rear wheel drive cars, a 61 ford pop, a moggie, VW 1200 beetle, viva, cresta, cortina, capri, a few minis, escorts (rear wheel drive) a BM, then on to front wheel drive cars, I lived in A village in shropshire on top of a hill, In winter I used to put sand bags in the boot over the drive wheels of my rear wheel drive cars AND never had a un controled bad slide, that is until,,I got my 04 VEC 1.8, now here is my problem, last january I had a bump, it had snowed a bit on top of ice, 200 yds from my house is a steep hill, with a 90 degree left hand bend, I was in second gear doing well, THEN I SAW LOCK UP SKID MARKS IN THE SNOW, right on the bend a old cav had lost it, he had bumped his car down the kerb until it stoped, right on the 90degree bend, as I was passing him the BACK end of my vec droped to the left the road has a bad camber my rear left hit his rear right, he was stoped I wasn't,,, my fault, IN over 40 years of driving and nearly 2 MILLION accident free miles (LORRY DRIVER), my fIrst BUMP, I had FALKEN 912s on with just over 6 mil of tread,, NOW we have a skit of snow on to a frozen road, Mrs CLOMP wants to go out,, well my heart rate shot up sweat on my head,,, no chance of going out,, I live on carers allowance 53 quid a week so can not afford winter tyres,,, EVERY day I think why did the back end let go, any advice please, thanks ANT.

[Derek Mc]

I can relate but it really is a case of falling off the horse. The incident you describe would have caught anyone out as it was obvious black ice and camber that trew the car off and not your ability. Sure, reaction times might have altered the outcome in some way but as soon as you turned that corner, you were a passenger.
In this weather velocity is the key but once the tyres break nothing can bring them back except a solid object.
I usually aim for grass verges rather than stone kerbs if I can but it makes no odd's this weather it is all about care and time.

Just go easy, I'll be thinking of you.

[CLOMP]

I can relate but it really is a case of falling off the horse. The incident you describe would have caught anyone out as it was obvious black ice and camber that trew the car off and not your ability. Sure, reaction times might have altered the outcome in some way but as soon as you turned that corner, you were a passenger.
In this weather velocity is the key but once the tyres break nothing can bring them back except a solid object.
I usually aim for grass verges rather than stone kerbs if I can but it makes no odd's this weather it is all about care and time.

Just go easy, I'll be thinking of you.

Thanks Derek, well there was 13 bumps that Sunday morning within a few hundred yds,,,,, no grit

[Derek Mc]

See,,,,,,,,, its more about the situation than the driver mate

[CLOMP]

See,,,,,,,,, its more about the situation than the driver mate

strange thing is I have droped a few motor bikes in the Snow but just got back on no problem, but my first ever bump in a car has got to me.

[Wolflinn]

I understand Clomp , but you are thinking to negative.
Think how many times you have driven in snow with no problems.
Do not focus on the one time you had a small mishap.
Also a small amount of nervousness in bad conditions, is very possibly a good thing.
I see so many over confident people on the roads going far to fast for the conditions.
Do short daylight runs to build yourself back up again.

Good luck m8, I know what it is like after brecking my leg on a 250cc bike when I was 22 it took me ages to enjoy riding again.

[Grumpy1954]

I can relate but it really is a case of falling off the horse. The incident you describe would have caught anyone out as it was obvious black ice and camber that threw the car off and not your ability. Sure, reaction times might have altered the outcome in some way but as soon as you turned that corner, you were a passenger.
In this weather velocity is the key but once the tyres break nothing can bring them back except a solid object.
I usually aim for grass verges rather than stone kerbs if I can but it makes no odd's this weather it is all about care and time.

Just go easy, I'll be thinking of you.

Just had similar conversation with my wife, once it lets go, just try to minimise damage. Take it steady, try not to stop moving other than when needed.

[sshooie]

it may be worth considering a decent set (4) of snow tyres and steel wheels for a couple of months. It's illegal in some countries not to have them on in certain months and they do make a massive difference.

[felixx]

See,,,,,,,,, its more about the situation than the driver mate

From one waggon driver to another,s**t happens.
It wasn't your fault in the least.You can only do what you can do,the rest is just fate.You go out every day and see all the idiots out there,sometimes you must have thought that they have a death wish?,of course you have.Motor vehicles and crap weather don't mix,that's why incidents are called "accidents",because they happen.We try everything to avoid them but they just happen.Nothing you could have done would have prevented it happening,well,apart from staying in bed!!.Now there's a great idea for a cold snowy day!!. FELIXX.

[111]

Try something like this in the bad weather as long as your not going to far,
http://tyre-grip.com and if people tell you it wont work, it did for me, I used it last year in shocking weather when I got stuck on a bank with about 15 other cars, there was enough to do 6 cars "2 tyres only" and every one got up the bank, that was enough proof for me. just need to get another can of ebay if its still for sale there as I never replaced it.

This isnt what I used but it looks like the same type of stuff
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Liquid-Snow-Ch...item19c13d250e
its gone up in price but is cheaper than a bump.