an astute observation bout texans

when I saw you were goin to tejas,,, I thought ?!uhh -ohh,, if jon isgoin anywhere near dallas it is gonna get slick ,,.from there all the way to Toledo.. they are a lively bunch of folx there ,,.. my sister lives between ft worth and big d... 30 yrs ago , the wife and I were drivin around there in feb . with the top down , 80 degrees ,, deep blue dark sky to the north that evenin ,, nextmornin , 25 degreeswith 2 inches of sleet,,. next morning news was like popcorn maker of cars wrecks ,,.I guess everyone thought if they backed off of 80 mph ,,to 60 they could make it alrite ,,..
 
I'll second that. Years ago we took the 2 monster trucks I worked on to Memphis for a show . They just happen to have the first ice storm in 12 yrs that weekend. State trooper was shutting the hyw down when we rolled up , he looked at outer Michigan plate opened the gate and smiled. It saved us 3 hrs of backtracking , as we went by I tossed a dozen shirts at him and thanked him. We sat at out dealer display and watched 50 wrecks at the traffic light. Best entertainment we ever had.
 
Shoulda stayed in Minnesota, the roads are all ice coated for 3rd day now, but its so cold they aren't very slippery. As you know when it gets cold enough the ice really isn't all that slick.

Paul
 
Well, I can"t argue with you about that, but we do not get very much practice at it. Thank Goodness!!! Now, how well can you drive in four feet of water flowing over a highway? I have done that several times in a 1/2 ton truck... you got to put it in low gear and keep a steady foot on the gas pedal no matter if the rear end is getting pushed sideways or not. If you stop OR slow down you"ll get wash away or the water will get up on your engine and stall you out. Each area of our Great Nation has it"s own unique driving situations....
 
(quoted from post at 13:35:43 12/06/13) Texans loose their FREAKIN minds when it's icy. Film at 11.!
here's these idiots here in Alberta too were icy and snow on the roads is normal in winter.
Some people just never learn :roll:
 
May not know how to drive on icy roads but we in the South have enough smarts not to move up North and freeze to death.
 
Up here we get lots of workers from south of Texas...these people have never seen snow and ice, let alone tried to drive on it. That being said...people seem to have to be 'reminded by the first ice storm' on how to drive on it because they sure have problems when the first slick spell shows up.
 
Minnesota drivers are not too smart either on this ice. Three bad accidents not far from home here, two of them single vehicle, other 16 year old girl in her GTO lost control and was broadsided in other lane.
 
When I was going to school in Memphis, TN it started to snow one afternoon about 3:00, with 2" or 3" total.

By the time the 6:00 news came on, there had been over 400 traffic accidents in the city limits. I stayed home and watched TV that evening. You couldn't have paid me enough to have gone out into town.

They showed pictures on TV and it was hilarious. If a car's wheels were spinning, instead of easing off the throttle to let the drive wheels get traction, the driver would floor the throttle with the predictable result of spinning out, usually against one or more cars. And the TV camera crews filming it presented it as if that was the way it was supposed to be. The whole crew was totally clueless.
 
I've been in -30 many times, today I was in tx at 24 and freezing rain. Thank you, but I'll take-30.
 

It's fairly simple ALL YOU SNOW BIRDS just stay up NORTH of the Red River and our driving in snow/ice won't bother you.

Seriously it's not my driving on ice that bothers me it's the other drivers that are in a BIG HURRY.
 
I think there are idiots everywhere. See them going by here in a jacked up 4/4 on icy roads and think they are able to go anywhere. Then they are in the ditch down the road a piece.
 
I don't forget how to drive from year to year, and I bet if you know how, that you don't either. But if you get a different vehicle, you need to learn how it handles and if you have the same tires as last year, they are worn down a bit more and again you need to find out how they will hold the road.
SDE
 
And we who live here in the ice and snow and yet peaceful land are glad that you won't be moving here. Please stay there in the land of snakes, tornadoes and big cockroaches and enjoy.
 
I went to Sioux Falls yesterday, and saw one of those "jacked up 4x4s" that had been through the ditch (about 6 feet of snow) looked like it could have rolled over, but was upright when I saw it. Kind of funny, but I didn't have any trouble at all in my little Ranger 4x4. Maybe age and experience enter into the equation?????
 
I don't know whats funnier, watching southern boys try to drive in snow or northern air head know nothing kids try to the same thing! It's an even bet anymore who you'll see in the ditch first- the kid from, say, Alabama or Louisiana doing 22 1/2 miles an hour sliding off the road or the local idiot in the jacked up 4x4 that thinks 4WD means the laws of physics don't apply to him!

I think anyone in snow country should have to drive a few winters with 2wd just so they learn HOW to drive in snow. Then let them have a 4wd or AWD. I can go places in 2wd the rest of my family can't go in 4WD. Used to be the same at work, the old guys could get anywhere no matter how bad it was. The kiddies couldn't move. Tried telling one kid to put the chains on, he had no clue what, why or how!

Times change I guess.
 
(quoted from post at 14:29:04 12/06/13) May not know how to drive on icy roads but we in the South have enough smarts not to move up North and freeze to death.

Much as I loved living in Az, the 4 seasons of hot, real hot, freakin' stupid hot and stay in the shade or you'll die hot kind of got me longing for crisp autumn air, snow crunching under my boots and seeing anything GREEN that wasn't a golf course or shaped in a perfect circle from an irrigation system. I do love the desert though.
 
Speaking for myself, I have VERY LITTLE experience driving in ice and snow. Plan to keep it that way as long as I can.
 
Those summer and all season tires at freezing temperatures harden up and quit gripping the road.
About as much traction as a kids toy with plastic wheels on a hardwood floor.
Those wide mudder tires make an excellent sled to slide on ice and snow with.
 
The dumbest phrase ever uttered - "That's OK, I got 4 wheel drive".

My wife and I bought a new Ford Escape in 2009. We paid a lot less because we opted for front wheel drive instead of 4wd - both in fuel economy and initial price. I put the snow tires on two weeks ago. We can go anywhere a 4wd Escape can go.

That said, I'll never again own a 2wd pickup. My 2000 Ford F-150 is in 4wd several times a week no matter the season. It has all season tires, but I keep a full set of chains in it for worst case scenerios. Used them a few times, too.

It's about knowing how to drive in bad situations - AND knowing when to stay home in worse situations.
 
lol, yep 2nd that, -35 at this very moment and wouldn't mind to be in Arizona as have never been there but I know how to drive in cold and mud and snow and just laugh at the inexperienced drivers in ditches for no reason at all! put a 5 year old behind the wheel and he can drive on dry pavement also.
 
that not just texans lol while i own numerous 4x4s, the important things are knowing what to do with one and how to set it up, too many people go out and buy one thinking it will be up to whatever they can give it, most of them when new comes with hiway type tires from the factory,those wont be any good except for pretty tame stuff, if it cant get a hold of the ground it wont matter how many wheels have power applied to them , then a lot of these people dont know how to drive they have never been taught about driving in snow and ice and drive a 4x4 in those conditions, like they would a regular car on dry pavement thinking the 4x4 will handel it, it wont
the wife isnt really a truck person so i got her a subaru which does ok as long at there is no ice and the snow is less than 3 inches, we both use our half ton gmc 4x4 its just a stock pickup with 4x4, my favorite is my old chevy 1 ton, 4x4, dually it has snow tires on all 6 wheels, i mean snow tires, not all terraine hiway tires, then power is from a warmed up 454 v-8, 4 speed tranmission and a gear driven transfer case it also has locking differentials just in case it gets stuck, [ it hasnt in 30 years] it has a 12000 lb pto driven deck winch on its flatbed , yes it gets bad gas milage, but there is more to life than gas milage
 
Say what you want about Texas. The observation I see is all the dang snowbirds clogging our south bound highway lanes every fall and north bound lanes every spring !
 
Tripple A done research that shows 97% of drivers when encountering icy roads panic the other 3% are from Texas and say "Hold my beer n watch this"
 
(quoted from post at 21:36:39 12/06/13) Tripple A done research that shows 97% of drivers when encountering icy roads panic the other 3% are from Texas and say "Hold my beer n watch this"
Wasn't any beer involved but my passenger probably wished he had half a case behind his belt at the time. Workplace closed because of ice on roads so I picked up a co-worker to go hunting. He reluctantly agreed to go after I assured him I had drove on worse several times. Not more than 5 miles later I foolishly reached behind my seat and put the car in a skid. I suprised my self by reversing the slid direction then rotating 360* and resumed going straight in the proper lane in the origional direction. At lose for words,I looked at my buddy and said"yea,I believe the roads are in pretty good shape,shouldn't have any trouble today". That was 20 years ago and he still swears I did it intentionaly and threatens to kick my hinny for scaring him worse than he had ever been while he was in Nam.
 
I drove an f150 two wheel drive for five years. I
bought it with worn out tires and never bought a
new tire for it in the entire five years. I put
take off's from the short school buses. I was
always razzed about my slick tires. I drove that
truck everyday to work and back five to six days a
week. never got stuck or off the road. You just
can't be in a big hurry or drive too fast and want
to stop real quick. And you can't take off like a
jack rabbit.

I did not want to buy new tires for that truck
because if I did I thought it would die on me and
I would be stuck with a junk truck with new tires
on it. That truck cost me a little more than
$100.00 dollars a year to drive. Cheapest set of
wheels I ever owned.
I do live in Minnesota
 
A four wheel drive can usually go where a two wheel drive can't. They can't drive any faster on on ice than a two wheel drive. They can't stop any quicker on ice than a two wheel drive either. Least ways that is how it works in Minnesota. The ice and snow may work different in other states, But I don't think so.
 
Remember the Alamo . . . Pie.

And NO Jon, I'm not talking about
Pacific Intermountain Express. LOL


Doc
 
(quoted from post at 21:18:11 12/06/13) A four wheel drive can usually go where a two wheel drive can't. They can't drive any faster on on ice than a two wheel drive. They can't stop any quicker on ice than a two wheel drive either. Least ways that is how it works in Minnesota. The ice and snow may work different in other states, But I don't think so.

Where 4wd comes in handy these days is on trucks or cars that are wearing highway tires and have to get through some mud or snow. I don't care what anyone says, you put a set of these modern, wide, all season radial types on something comes either 2 or 4wd and put them on the 4wd and put some good old fashioned narrow snows, like the old F32, on the 2wd and there won't be much difference in how far they get. In fact the 2wd may do better.

We have 2 Jeep Wranglers, a 95 and a 97. The 97 has 31" or 31.05x15" tires on it and the 95 has, I think, 195/15's. The 95 will go places the 97 can't think of. If you have speed up the 97 is better in mud. Once you stop it's all over. The 95 will do far better in snow, rock, water, ice, etc. The fat tired 97 is useless in snow.

Those old narrow snows were great. Studded they were even better on ice. Add chains and you could go until you were just being stupid.
 
LOL, I had a dash cam for a while and had great fun posting videos of what it caught on FB anf youtube. It broke after just a few months tho. I'm saving my driver points to get a new one and have about enough now. Should have gotten it last week, there was some great stuff yesterday.
 
I live in central Texas. I drove a truck cross country for several years. The last company that I worked for if you were a new hire you had the privilege of going to Winsted, Minn from Oct until March for your first 3 years. Ice is ice anywhere. I had to spend several days layed over up there, some during ice storms. People everywhere have the same problems. You up north can drive on snow better than the folks here but when it comes to ice you can't unless you put on chains or studded tires. Studded tires are outlawed in Texas. Chains only help you go not stop
 
20 or so years ago there weren't as many accidents when it iced up cause there weren't as many folks here. now you can't spread your arms without hitting someone and our Guv. is out recruiting more. my favorites are the ones who move here and then start gripeing about how we do things or our customs. they can just go eat an unpeeled tamale.
 

This is what it looked like in Coyote Flats,Tx this AM.
Last time I hauled new JD tractors from Waterloo,Ia to Texas on the snow covered roads I saw vehicles in the ditch in every state I drove through so it's not just Texas that have STUPID drivers.
mvphoto1538.jpg


mvphoto1539.jpg
 
Another astute observation about Texans - They can't handle a little ribbing at their expense.



(quoted from post at 21:08:47 12/06/13) I drove an f150 two wheel drive for five years.

A 2wd vehicle sure can be a commuter vehicle and not have much difficulty. A 2wd pickup isn't the smartest choice for a commuter in the winter, but is acceptable with a good (or lucky) driver. You can bet your 2wd would be getting dragged out an awful lot if you took it off the road anywhere when it's anything but dry out.

I use my pickup on the farm. My trailer is parked in a spot that is nearly impossible to get it out without 4wd engaged. I'm regularly out in the pastures or the fields and need 4wd to make it through bad spots or back up the hill.

But, 95% of the population doesn't need a pickup, let alone 4wd. They use 4wd as a talisman that will cure all road ills, and it usually lets them down as they skid into the ditch or another vehicle. As has already been said, 4wd doesn't cure stupid drivers.

Most of the drivers out there would be better off with a front wheel drive car or SUV with snows on the front. My wife has little to no difficulty with the fwd Escape with snowy or icy roads.
 
I hate the ones that move down here. Then start telling us. How good it was were they used to live. I always ask them. Then why did you leave
 
We dont have any ice or snow removal equipment down here. So we have to wait for the special road crew to come along and fix the roads.. There names are Mr. Sun and Mr. Wind.. The eventually fix things back up again.

Otherwise its fun fun fun..

Hey, hold my beer while I light a cigarette, drink my coffee, text my buddys and program my gps..
 
not to start a contest, but I'll put eastern Virginia drivers up against anyone for 'GOOD LORD THERE ARE SNOW FLAKES ON THE GROUND!! I MUST RUN OUT AND BUY ALL THE MILK AND BREAD I CAN. PANIC, PANIC, PANIC. MUST DRIVE SO SLOW THE SPEEDOMETER WON'T REGISTER."
 
(quoted from post at 10:38:42 12/07/13) Another astute observation about Texans - They can't handle a little ribbing at their expense.

I'm a Texan and I can handle a ribbing just fine as long as the person doing the ribbing can do likewise. IF you're going to dish it out you better be to receive it back :lol:
 
Define "FREAKIN"? If you mean to cuss then why not use the commonly used word rather than beat around the bush. Course you could have just omitted the word and your idea would still have been received.

And we native Texans can't help where we were born nor can you! But sir I'll tell you this. I'd rather be here than FREAKIN there.

Mark
 

This is kinda funny :lol: We get a lot of retirees around here (N AR) from up north and every time we get a little ice they are in the ditch as much as the kids that don't know how to drive. A couple years ago I pulled a guy out of the ditch that obviously not from around here. He said that he moved from Lansing, MI to get away from weather like this. The biggest problem we have is most counties don't have any snow removal equipment and most of the time the ice has a film of unfrozen water that makes it like grease. It normally isn't frozen solid. That makes a big difference, I've driven on bad roads from WI to Dallas, I'll take WI any day. Back in the late 70's we had several winters where the snow was on the ground almost all winter. Nobody had a 4wd but we still managed to get along alright. But at that time everyone realized that they were responsible for their own safety.
 
Yeah sure ya betcha. I've been everywhere in this
fine country and there is no doubt that each region
has their quirks.
 
I had an 87 4-cylinder 2wd Dakota in high school. When the busses beat everyone out and the lot was slick we'd all do a couple cookies and head for the road. Well, I would, most everyone else was sitting where they skidded to a stop because their now warm tires couldn't get any grip.

I've got an Isuzu Amigo, that thing will go places and jump ruts in low range with the hubs unlocked, that would hang up most full-size 4x4 pick-ups and 4-wheelers.
 
(quoted from post at 10:24:06 12/07/13) Define "FREAKIN"? If you mean to cuss then why not use the commonly used word rather than beat around the bush. Course you could have just omitted the word and your idea would still have been received.

And we native Texans can't help where we were born nor can you! But sir I'll tell you this. I'd rather be here than FREAKIN there.

Mark

Uh, if you're referring to me, I would never use the "other" word. Freakin' or freaking is a common word around here friend. One you can use pretty much anywhere and everyone understand it means "abnormal" or "unusual", as in "a freak accident". Sorry if you're somehow offended.
 
Down here it means the other word, just a publically tolerated
variant. Not offended in the slightest other than say what you mean
and that's not offensive to me at all. Course if that's what you
mean fine. I say what I mean whether anyone likes it or not.

And as far as staying in Texas that's what I do. Have no aspirations
to go/be anywhere else.

Mark
 

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