Coldesnt night EVAR!!!1 tonight apparently.

This photo is awesome: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/8447023.stm

According to the BBC its -8 tonight and -14 tommorow where i live..

Rub in the coldness Bear! if the weather would be kind enough to stay cold it wouldnt be so much of an issue, but my street currently has about 15mm of sheet ice all the way down it. Ive called my sis to let her know Im not going.

Ironically out of the two of my parents its my mother whos more keen for me to go out onto the roads. She thinks Im burying my head in the sand a bit, but at the end of the day Im 25 and dont have no claims protection. If I head out it doesnt matter if I stay in control of my car, its everyone else that Im worried about! Id say theres a more than 50% chance if I were to park at uni Id come back to my car to find a ding or worse in it

Rub in the coldness Bear! if the weather would be kind enough to stay cold it wouldnt be so much of an issue, but my street currently has about 15mm of sheet ice all the way down it. Ive called my sis to let her know Im not going.

Ironically out of the two of my parents its my mother whos more keen for me to go out onto the roads. She thinks Im burying my head in the sand a bit, but at the end of the day Im 25 and dont have no claims protection. If I head out it doesnt matter if I stay in control of my car, its everyone else that Im worried about! Id say theres a more than 50% chance if I were to park at uni Id come back to my car to find a ding or worse in it

Do you have winter tyres ?  It is ice under the snow I drove home in but I chose that road just because it does not have much traffic, I rather drive on a bit of ice than in heavy traffic Winter tyres is a must though, regular rubber becomes to hard when cold.

Its southern england, winter tyres arent really something we need normally!

Well when, stay of the roads  Could be a good thing to rent out winter tyres when and make some money

Quote from: zpyder

Its southern england, winter tyres arent really something we need normally!

Well when, stay of the roads  Could be a good thing to rent out winter tyres when and make some money

Indeed!

I tried to have a discussion with my parents last night but I dont think they quite got what I was getting at, lets see if you guys do.

Basically I asked the question "How long would it take before the government puts better snow/ice measures in place?".

I was just curious in terms of how many years of bad winter conditions would it be before the councils etc do more than grit the main roads, such as more snow plows and instigating winter tyre laws etc.

My parents got so far as to say "Its just a blip, I remember when it was bad in the 70s", even though I told them to just assume its not a blip. How many years in a row would it take before people start to wonder whether it isnt a blip?

I think back in the 80s when we had the one year of snow you could sled on down here, the year before and maybe one or two after had snow, but nothing as bad. So far we had Feb in 2009, and now, so will the snowy stuff be a thing of the past in 2012 for another span of time?

The problem being how do you know it is/isnt a blip. The condundrum I posed is that it isnt a blip, but no one knows it. So each year when the conditions hit, people are left hoping that next year will be better. How many times do you think itd take before people decide its time to do something about it?

Admittedly Im not sure how much more you could do, apart from have bigger stockpiles of grit for Hampshire etc, the snow wasnt deep enough to warrant snow ploughs. Mandatory skidpan lessons would be good though

Quote from: zpyder

the snow wasnt deep enough to warrant snow ploughs. Mandatory skidpan lessons would be good though

maybe not of the type found in some really snowy places, but I think youll find the gritters can attach buckets on the front for snow-plough duty.

We dont prepare for it because we usually dont get it, other countrys on our latitude dont have the gulf stream so they do get it regularly, hence they are better prepared.

TBH It would make no sense for everyone in the UK to have to go out and buy a second set of wheels with specialised winter tyres on for conditions which happen a maximum of 1 week in 52. Even if this isnt a blip and we can expect to be snowed in for the first week in Jan every year from now on, I cant see anything changing much except people getting better at driving on the stuff and making sure theyve got a few tins of emergency supplies in their house.

europe gets more bank holidays than us.. balls to it - any snow then im off work   -)