On 1/21/2016 11:50 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 1/21/2016 11:28 AM, Justan Olphart wrote:
On 1/21/2016 11:04 AM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 21 Jan 2016 09:33:42 -0500, wrote:
We had a minor "clipper" pass through the area last Sunday night/Monday
morning. Nobody thought much about it because the forecast was for a
"dusting" to maybe an inch. The dusting or inch turned into 5-6 inches
all along the south shore from Marshfield to the Cape. The highway
departments didn't bother pre-treating the roads and the results were
ice packed roads and numerous fender benders.
The handicap equipped van I drive is absolutely horrible in snow or ice.
No traction at all. I have one client who lives on one of the many
hilly back roads in North Plymouth, plus her driveway is a long hill
going up from the road. I have to make sure I have a running start
going up her driveway, slowly easing up on the gas as we go up, hoping
that I timed it right to make it to the top. So far I've done ok.
Then, after loading her in the van, I turn around, make sure there is no
traffic on the road in either direction and do a controlled slide
back down her driveway. After that, the road is another steep, long
hill down to a major road. Ice packed, of course. To navigate that
hill, I put the transmission in "1" and crawl down the hill without
touching the brakes and letting the engine/transmission keep the speed
down. If I even touched the brakes, it would put the van in a slide and
who knows what would happen. Nerve wracking when you have 9 or 10
people yacking away behind you.