Question:
A new poster (and new driver) asked this question in another thread, and it seems like it deserves it's own thread (since it'll open a whole can of worms...)
I'm going to pass on my long narrative for now - let someone else get their two-cents worth in. Come on folks - let's throw some good stuff out here.
Braking in Snow..... ....help me out dak1? JoeTruckDriver?

Answer:
PRAY it's going to stop and keep a piece of wood on your dashboard.

Answer:
Okay, maybe the couple shots I had at the bar next to this Motel-6 are having their effect......but I can't figure out what the piece of wood is for?

Answer:
Knock on wood!
Braking on snow, you learn to talk to yourself too and says things like.
OH S#@t
Mother______!!!
You also learn to talk and yell through the windshield a lot at other drivers.
You idiot.
Don't you dare slam on the brakes.
You stupid son of ____!!

Answer:
Ok, got it. "knock on wood"
I thought maybe it was for some procedure to remove ice from your wipers, or some obscure ritual I hadn't heard about before.

Answer:
I should move that post I just made on tankers over here. There we go.
Try braking on snow with a food grade tanker with 48,000 to 49,000lb of liquid trying to push you forward. That liquid starts moving back and forth, if you have to brake harder, forget it. That liquid has no mercy. You can slow the truck or stop the truck but you cannot stop the liquid.
That's why you need a lot of space between you and everyone else, especialy with a smooth bore tanker.
That's why I hated drivers that would cut too close in front of me after they passed me. They eat up all my safety running.
Tanker drivers need a lot more space, need more braking distance. They take corners and exit ramps much slower than other trucks.
When I had driver driving around on snow that didn't know what they were doing, it was a nightmare for me. I needed 4 eyes working independently to keep an eye on everyone else plus what I was doing.

Answer:
That's how I feel. I'm not worried about MY control. It's others around me that make things dangerous -- and not just newbies either.
I suppose the basic rules are these:
1. Increase your following distance, a LOT!
2. Decrease your speed, a LOT!
3. Give yourself LOTS of extra distance to slow the truck.
4. If you don't feel safe above about 30mph, find a safe haven and wait it out.
Any sudden movement, tug, pull or jerk you create with the brakes, drive train or steering, can cause loss of traction.
And it doesn't have to be sudden -- ANY truck movement that exceeds what the tires can hold on a slippery surface will cause it to break loose (lose traction).
This is especially true when the truck's bent, like in a turn, where losing traction sends everything in opposite directions (jacknife).
When you lose traction, the heavy mass will move in basically a straight line -- and not necessarily in the direction you want it to go.
If the trailer breaks lose (trailer jacknife) it'll try to pass the truck. A little throttle MAY help it slide back in behind you.
If the drive axels lose traction (truck jacknife) they'll try to pass the steer axel. Here, REDUCING your throttle MAY help them slide back into place.
If your steer axel loses traction, you HAVE to get your steer wheels lined-up with the direction the truck's moving before there's any hope of controlling the direction of the truck.
And if you lose all at once....well.....good luck!
You have to regain ROLLING traction. You brakes, steering or drive train have absolutely no affect what so ever until you've regained rolling traction.
This is why it's SO dangerous to drive on snow/ice. Once you lose ROLLING traction, you may have major difficulty regaining ROLLING traction, and in the meantime the truck's sliding in whatever direction each part was trying to go before it broke lose.
So slow way down,
leave lots of following distance,
operate the controls with an extremely light touch.
And most important: If you don't feel safe abofe about 30mph, YOU AREN'T, so pull over and park it.
The only way to get good on snow and ice is understanding how to regain rolling traction. Rules and pat procedures help, but you've got to understand what forces cause the truck to lose rolling traction before you can possibly learn how to regain rolling traction. It's all just common sense - but sometimes difficult to comprehend at first. Experience helps.
.
[This message was edited by Shuffler on December 08, 2002 at 02:55.]

Answer:
I'll give you a hint on driving long distance on pure ice. If there is snow or crunchy ice in the breakdown lane. Put your right set of tires on the snow or crunchy ice just over the line on the break down lane. This will give you better traction. Just keep your eye out for parked vehicles and narrow parts of the break down lane, ie bridges, overpasses. You need to give yourself plenty of room to ease over and release the fuel peddle.
There were numerious times I'd be driving late at night on ice. One time going to Toronto about 100 miles of pure ice. The Road crews were on strike at the time. Me and another Canadian driver drove to Toronto were they finaly treated the roads. There was hardly anybody out there running. We passed a few wrecked Semi's allong the way but other than that, we were the only nuts out there.
I wanted to beat the day traffic, I don't want to be running in that kind of weather in rush hour traffic. I pulled into my customer in Brampton about 3am.

Answer:
Ditto. Some shoulders also have rumble strips just past the fog line which also offer a little traction.

Answer:
Excellent tips being provided here, applicable to snow ..ice ....and off course WET pavement condition.
Emphasis is placed on TRACTION ....and TRACTION is the key...here is a little tip when you go down that nice highway and it's raining. (Probably not valid when u are hauling 40000#)
But 4 wheelers and/or deadend cruising...on wet pavement..look in your rear mirrors and see if your tires are leaving trail marks on the pavement.
If they are not..you are aqua-planing..(floating over the pavement)..hence your tires have very little contact with the pavement and you are travelling to fast for the road conditions! When comes time to braking you might encoutered the challenges described in this thread. So reduce your speed!!!
Learn to brake if you do not want to break!
NewBee

Answer:
In my experience I qualify the type of conditions I am dealing with first.
1st - Wet conditions nearing freezing temperatures.
Option: Extreme caution, these conditions can become very dangerous without any warning. Your best option depends alot on your equipment. How powerful is your engine? What style of braking system does your equipment have? ABS systems can be very unpredictable.
2nd - Skiff of snow just starting to stay on the ground.
Option: Often times these types of conditions vary, more common that not, you can treat this as a traditional wet surface. This should be reacted to with reducing your speed as a precautionary measure.
3rd - Dry snow (generally found in very cold conditions).
Option: Generally this type of driving offers reasonable traction. Although road surfaces can alter the braking affect. ei: Concrete vs Asphalt
4th - Heavy Wet snow, traditionally found in High snow area's. Mountain Passes, This particular snow is generally extremely prone to turning into packed and icy conditions.
Option: This is the more hazardous type of condition. This often times has ruts to deal with and icy spots, also slush. These factors can be extremely unpredictable.
5th - Heavy packed and Icy conditions with very cold temperatures.
Option: This is my prefered condition (other than dry conditions), Mainly because the cold temperature creates ice crystals, these ice crystals act almost like pavement. Good or reasonable traction. Still this is a surface that can be hazardous. (warm pockets) Always slow your speed. Always be extremely cautious when appling any brake pressure. Typically your trailer brakes will lock first, if this happens you must get off your brakes immediately, your lag will not allow your wheels to roll for about 3 to 5 seconds. If your trailer is moving to one side or another, 3 to 5 seconds will put you into a jackknife, Slope of the road, Grade of the mountain, curves and banked curves. These are all variables that need to be considered. This is what creates the real challenges.
All in all, your center of gravity is the most important part and driving as if you have no brakes at all.
That is the main reason for having maximum distance to work with. And reduction in speed is crutial.
My thoughts on the subject. Keep in mind. To relay all my experiences would be a book... I would put you to sleep with all the variables.
Safety is No Accident

Answer:
there are times you have to almost stop at a green light just in case it turns red