Stopping in cold weather can be an art firm but a quick touch of the brakes at low speed regularly will give you a good idea of traction & how it affects stopping distance. Dial back some for added safety & drive on. It's not rocket surgery.
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It's not really an art form, just applied physics. I used to teach a performance winter driving course and did ice racing and other crazy things. If the idiots going up hills in FWD at 5mph were not on the roads, 60 mph would be rather pedestrian in all reality.
Pop quiz: All else equal, rank the amount of "traction" you would have in the following conditions:
a. 0F on ice
b. 32F on packed snow
c. 90F on wet worn asphalt
most to least: b, a, c?
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All I know is that the elevated portion of I-70 WB was slicker 'n greased whale snot this morning. I was running about 40 in the right lane after traffic started to open up, tried to accelerate to about 45, and felt the truck starting to go sideways. I backed off the throttle a smidge (technical term), and it straightened right out, but it was a bit unsettling. For some reason, I didn't see the need to panic, or put the truck in 4 wheel drive, just slowed down until I was off the skating rink...
This reminds me of a snow storm in Boulder back in 2006. I was near Walnut and Broadway and watched a car turn left onto Broadway from (not Walnut because thats a one way there), anyways, about 6" of snow on the ground and she was turning left while talking on the cell phone. Her back end broke out and she couldn't turn, was headed straight for the stop light and also didn't see the need to panic or drop her cell phone as she slammed into the light pole. After she stopped, she kept yakking away. [Shake]
I was laughing SO hard at the californian blonde.
Did a full 360 in the middle of the street leaving work today. Not even on purpose this time.