Why are minivans and pickups so bad in icy driving

[IndyIan]

Yep, once you stop with a well loaded fwd vehicle pointed up an icy hill, it is tricky to get started again. That is where AWD/4WD starts to shine even for road driving. On my driveway I've had to transfer a couple 90lb bags of feed from the trunk to the front passenger seat to make my way up.
A lot of people don't know to turn off the TC either which may help a lot in some conditions.
There are a lot of variables, and tires and driver experience are big ones too.

 

[Vikas]

The smart people decided NOT to drive on the ice and stayed home.

 

[HangFire]

The days are long past when pickup trucks didn't require the same level of rollover tests, lacked door side intrusion protection, etc. Pickups are more likely than sedans to roll over simply due to the higher center of gravity.

What you saw may have been a flash freeze situation. A few years ago I came upon a freakish scene of flipped and spun-out cars along a several mile stretch of I-70. Apparently the same thing happened this year on Jan 18/19. In this case it's just a matter of conditions suddenly changing from "wet" to "wet ice" and vehicles are still going at highway speeds.

I was perfectly safe because I saw flashing taillights from two hills back and slowed down. An SUV driver angrily passed me and had gotten himself sideways when I caught up, but he sorted himself out without further incident.

I think 50 years ago more people carried sand in their trunks, or just stayed home.

 

[HerrStig]

I have been seen backing up a hill near my house when driving a SAAB 900.

 

[hattaresguy]

Its the drivers, a lot of minivan drivers are just bad and a lot of pickup buyers get a false sense of security and don't adjust their driving to the conditions.

Tires play a part as well, nothing does better than studs on ice.

 

[meep]

driver skillz play a big part. Our T&C has GY triple treads on it and had a surprising amount of grip, even on solid ice. It was impressive what it was able to do.

also an old trick i learned years ago was to air down if the snow was really bad. Like 12psi. That kept me from being stranded after I stood there in the snow looking at my stuck car (older T&C) years ago. dropped the air until I saw a bulge starting to form in the sidewall, and then crawled out and got home.

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
The smart people decided NOT to drive on the ice and stayed home.



DING DING DING DING DING! You win the prize.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Originally Posted By: Vikas
The smart people decided NOT to drive on the ice and stayed home.



DING DING DING DING DING! You win the prize.


This route taken was weekend skiiers and tourists and a flash freeze to boot on Sunday PM back from ski mountains. Not sure how you stay home when you are away. My guess is the locals stayed home for sure.

 

[tmorris1]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
The smart people decided NOT to drive on the ice and stayed home.

In this part of the country you would be staying home an awful lot. Hopefully you can work from home.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
It's the driver, not the vehicle.


Yeah, the driver makes all of the difference.
If you've driven many winters in places where you really see one, then you've developed a feel for conditions and you can get through in any vehicle on most any tire.
Those who lack winter driving skills are just low on the steep learning curve.
Those foolish enough to speed on through may not live long enough to climb very far up the learning curve.
Momentum is always your friend in deeper snow and dealing with a litle squirming and tail-happiness is sometimes a part of the deal.
Momentum is also your friend uphill on ice, so it'll often pay you to creep along behind other traffic, giving yourself plenty of room to avoid coming to a complete stop.
The difference is that taking your foot off in deeper snow is just like moderately hard braking while trying to brake hard on ice is just like not using the brakes at all.

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Originally Posted By: Vikas
The smart people decided NOT to drive on the ice and stayed home.



DING DING DING DING DING! You win the prize.


This route taken was weekend skiiers and tourists and a flash freeze to boot on Sunday PM back from ski mountains. Not sure how you stay home when you are away. My guess is the locals stayed home for sure.


Sorry folks. Since I live in North Texas these events are few. The roads have huge numbers of elevated, curved portions, and no one has winter tires. If I lived in a region in which these events were common I might have a different approach. I would make mention of the lack of skill of Texas drivers, but I think that is pretty much characteristic of many these days. Anything that requires effort and focus to develop pretty much falls by the wayside.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster

Sorry folks. Since I live in North Texas these events are few. The roads have huge numbers of elevated, curved portions, and no one has winter tires. If I lived in a region in which these events were common I might have a different approach. I would make mention of the lack of skill of Texas drivers, but I think that is pretty much characteristic of many these days. Anything that requires effort and focus to develop pretty much falls by the wayside.


My Uncle used to live in the Dallas, and My Brother Currently lives in the Mid-Cities. both of their observations are that it's not the Texans that are wrecking/spinning out/etc. on the icy days, They (the Natives) are Smart enough to stay Home. it's the Northern Transplants, who see little-no snow, and don't really understand Black Ice. (most folks don't get it up here either) not to mention, they don't spread Salt down there, just sand, and maybe some magnesium,and just on the intersections.