MOMENTUM, fric-
tion, traction and the
lack thereof. Gravity.
Ahh the joys of physics
in the wintertime.

Pm getting a little
annoyed by ail the visitors
from east of the Rockies
coming into beautiful B.C.
3rd complaining about us
west-coasters who, apparent-
ly, can’t drive in the snow.

Curiously, a Calgarian
friend of mine was smugly
spewing just such a com-
ment as she skidded into a
ditch one snowy afternoon.
I kid you not. I laughed, she
was dumbfounded.

Speaking of Calgary, f
saw on the television a while
back that the Deer Lake
Trail, a major road in
Cowtown, entered the
record books by having a
snow-related motor vehicie
collision on each and every
of its off-ramps.

There are reasons for
Vancouver's above average
crash rate on snowy or icy
days. I certainly won’t make
any apologies on behalf of
—@es plethora of boneheads
driving in our fine province,
nor will I comment on our
inadequate infrastructure
and overabundance of cars. |
will, however, relate the
physics of it all.

A part of B.C.’s beaucy
stems from our mild climate
but, and I don’t claim to
understand why, it is rwice
as slippery at -1 degree
Celsius than it is at -20.

Another part of what
makes B.C. so beautiful is
our mountainous terrain.
This means huge hills, steep
streets and a big opportunity
for gravity to do its thing —
which is something our far.
land brethren from the east

‘CAMRYS -
__PRE

don’t always take into
account when commenting,
on our notoriety, nor, it
seems, is it somethiag they
take into account when they
are driving here.

Gravity directly affects
the inertia of a motor vehi-
cle regardless of its licence
plate. Moreover, ice and
snow directly affect the
amount of traction wheels
have on a driving surface.
I'm surprised that I have to
point this our but, hey folks,
it's very difficult ro stop a
car on a slippery surface and
even more so when you're
going downhill!

Skidding unccntrollably
is the biggest problem a dri-
ver faces when confronted
with ice, snow and slopes.
So what do you do when it’s
snowy or icy and you have
to drive in it?

Some tips:

* Slow down. Duh. Your
car has less momentum at
lower speeds which makes
stopping that much less of a
chore for your braking sys-
tem;

* Have good winter tires
(on your car, not in the car-
port). These give you better
traction and therefore less
chance of slip-sliding away;

* Avoid driving on hills
(duh again). You have less
momentum on flat land. If
you must drive on a hill,
have your car or truck in a

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Driving smooth and

low gear and attack that hill
ata snail’s pace (shifting
once you're on a hill can jolt
the drive train and cause a
two or four wheel lock up
and/or skid):

¢ Drive - sooth. think
metlow. Drive your vehicle
as if it were in a china shop.
Sudden acceleration, decel-
eration and jerky movements
in general will invoke the
nasty facts of physics;

¢ Use the brake only
when necessary. If vou’re
not pushing the brake pedal,
the wheels can’r lock-up bur
remember that you should
be driving slow for this to
make a difference in the
grand scheme things;

© Pump the brakes (when
necessary). This technique is
often misused by those folks
who don’t know why they’re
pumping. You are “thresh-
old braking” which means
youre pushing the brake
pedal until rhe wheels skid,

releasing the brakes, then
pushing the pedal again with
slightly less force and : jocat-
ing this procedure until the
brakes are effectively applied
but not skidding (if you just
bang ti: : pedal on and off,
you're just banging).
Incidentally, this is what the

ir’s traveling on a slick sur-
face;

* Keep a huge space
between you and the cars in
front of and behind you.
This is your “safety cushion”
and it is your best friend.
Watch the vehicle(s) way
ahead of you but react to

“Drive your vehicle as if it were in
a china shop. Sudden acceieration,
deceleration and jerky movements
in general will invoke the nasty
facts of physics.”

much-touted Anti-lock
Braking System (ABS) does
for you — however, ABS is
pathetic on ice and snow
because of a litte computer
chip telling your car that it
can’t stop right now because

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therm as if they were only
inches away, all the exera
space will give you plenty of
ume to react smoothly.

If you use all of the
above techniques you'll be
using the laws of physics to

thinking mellow

your advantage.
Unfortunately, there are still
the boneheads.

Many drivers won't
appreciate your slow,
smooth, mellow behavior
and will rake any opportuni-
ty to get past you. It amazes
me te no end the number of
four-wheel-drive owners, for
example, who boogie about
in the snow only to discover
that their ability to stop is
no greater thar their nvo-
wheel-drive counterparts.
Flatlanders seem to have the
same problem.

Do whatever you can to
let these aggressors get
around you. Don’t enter a
street until these road war-
riors have left the area. Odds
are you'll be passing them in
the near future as they
struggle to understand the
laws of physics, why they’re
in the ditch. And why you
are not.

Be safe.

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