I've been working at a client site in Wembley, Middx today;
I left the "office" at 5:30 got in my car (3.0 Omega) managed to get out of the car park OK, but once I was on a side road I got "stuck" but somehow managed to park it up. At this point the roads are completely gridlocked - I've never seen it so bad.
I thought - "Ok, no big deal, I'll get the train to Watford". Left my valuables from the car, with in the client's office overnight and walked to Wembley Central stn(Bakerloo & BR) about 3/4 mile away, time 6:15pm, to hear that there were no Northbound trains past Harrow! Alright, I thought, there's always Wembley Park (Met line), walked there (2 miles), time 7:00pm to hear that there were no trains past Preston Road!
Now this is turning into a proper nightmare, walked back to the car and thought I'll give it one more go and if it doesn't work, I'm going to have to book in to the Wembley Plaza tonight.
Managed to unstuck the car and join the virtually static traffic at almost 8:00pm. Moved about 1 mile in the next one and a half hours and finally gave up when the double decker about 6 cars in front, on an incline, did a piruette and ended up faced us.
To say I'm not in a good mood is an understatement of gargantuan proportions but at least I'm in my room it's 9:30 and I'm looking forward to a soak in the bath. I've had a chat with my wife earlier and said "goodnight" to my daughters, so I'm starting to feel better.
There is no real reason or point to my post, I needed to get it off my chest....
Goodnight,
Chad.R
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p.s. should have added that the bus actually managed to mount the kerb and block the road too!>> I've been working at a client site in Wembley, Middx today;
Moved about 1 mile in the next one and a half hours and finally gave up when the double decker about 6 cars in front, on an incline, did a piruette and ended up faced us.
Chad.R
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Walk to the nearest pub and contemplate!
Regards.
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no Northbound trains past Harrow!>> to my daughters, so I'm starting to feel better.
Silverlink's (lack of) communication skills strikes again. The DC ie third rail trains were not running beyond Harrow, but unless things got markedly worse after I left euston at 17:20 the AC service on the main line was OK.
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Simon,
When I first got to Wembley Central just after 6pm, they said that the AC trains where going upto Watford and I'd have to wait about 30 mins, after about 20 thought they said that ALL trains where not going beyond Harrow & Wealdstone.
Chad.R
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I chickened out on taking the motorbike home 40 miles when I looked out of the office in central London at about 4.45 and found the snow settling.
Eventually left about 5.45 and got to Gt. Portland St. to find the ticket office closed due to "staff shortages" (surely all the Central Line staff must be sitting around?) so had to fish for change for the ticket machine to get to Liverpool St.
No underground trains were stopping at Kings Cross (reason unknown).
At Liverpool Street had to queue up for a main line ticket so missed the 6.20 and got on the 6.32.
To Chelmsford at 7.15 (only about 10 minutes late so not too bad).
SHMBO insisted on picking me up rather than me waiting for a bus, but by this time the snow was really coming down so had a 5 minute wait as it took her longer to get there.
The normal 10 minute 2 1/2 mile drive home took half an hour at no more than 15 mph max, so got home at 7.55.
After the computer crashing today and losing two files it was the perfect end to a perfect day - NOT. It had taken nearly 2 hours to get in this morning due to, I suspect, the timing on a particular set of traffic lights being "adjusted".
I'll see what it's like in the morning but am tempted to take a day's holiday!
Brian
Still learning (I hope)
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(sigh)
I've only just got in, worn out by it all.
Highlights include:
Bedford to Heathrow 6 hours
Heathrow to Bedford 3 1/3 hours
(both using every taxi driver & courier trick, short cut etc in the book)
Nearly getting stuck in a snowdrift on the B660 at 3am
One of our drivers going from Bedford to Cambridge and back in 7 hours
Another doing Bedford to Letchworth in 4 hours, then 3 hours back
My dad ringing me at 6.15pm to say he was in a queue 1 mile short of M1 northbound J10
My dad ringing me at 10pm to say he'd just got off the M1 at J10
Listening to the local radio all evening, with others phoning in with worse tales than mine
Time for bed now, going to make SWMBO breakfast first (Her alarm goes off in 7 minutes!)
Dave TD.
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Interesting to read everyone's comments and experiences!
Seems that the general concensus is that:
- massive investment in hi-tech solutions isn't justified because the problem only occurs sporadically in the UK;
- therefore, stick with low-tech solutions (timely gritting, provision of stocks of grit/salt in bins, etc.);
- drivers should be better prepared, know their limitations, and if there is no option but to drive, be better trained in their driving techniques in response to the problem.
Oz (as was)
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For £35 you can have a set of snow chains in your boot that will help in most UK snowfall. Trouble is, you are reliant on others taking the same approach, otherwise your journey will still be blocked by spun range-rovers and ditched scoobies.
Grrrr.
No Dosh ** Quick, talk motoring, Mark's coming! **
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Anybody know what the M1 is like right now ? I have to drive down to Watford.
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See www.vauxhall.com/trafficnet/ - it looks slowish dahn sarf (12 down to 9 particularly)
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Weird, now it's updated it is suddenly clear. It was showing 5 mph.
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OK so it snows in the UK once or twice a year (excluding northern Scotland and higher ground) and this makes it uneconomic to have fleets of snow ploughs.
However as this happens every year isn't it irresponsible of drivers not to be prepared. Sure the drivers on the M11 are unlucky but shouldn't all drivers in this weather take some food/water with them as well as a blanket in case of a breakdown etc..
Also what about snow chains? I happen to have a pair (for use going skiing) but I put them in the car in this country when I know I am driving away from home and that snow is forecasted. Also why don't we (me included) change tyres when it comes to winter?
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Just in UK for a week between spells in the frozen wastes of Scandinavia. (-20 next week)
Have to confess a certain Growler-esque amusement at the pathetic behaviour of UK motorists and authorities.
OK so folks would object to the level of investment needed to deal with even this mild level of winter weather but Britain really is the engineer of its own problems here.
Only major and bus routes are cleared and gritted these days. These are already almost at capacity traffic wise so when an extra volume flows onto these routes, especially of ill prepared motorists, then the councils can't get to clear & grit even the major routes, the snow is compounded down to ice and you get what happened.
And as for motorists being so ill prepared as to run out of fuel on such as the M11. Words almost fail me.
My car uses a max of about one fifth of a gallon per hour when idling. Therefore for a twelve hour delay to cause me to run out (theoretically) would have had to set off knowing that during the journey the low fuel light would come on. I wouldn't do that in summer let alone in conditions forecast since last weekend.
It will be interesting if the global warming theorists are wrong and we really are heading into another mini ice age.
Anyone want any spiked tyres, can I do any deals? hur hur
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In a large 4WD and having lived in snowy places, I am better prepared than most for the conditions, but a number of things amaze me;
Someone tell 4WD owners that the car may accelerate better than 2WD due to its extra grip, but it sure as $%&@ doesn't stop any faster and given its weight, it can take a loooong time to stop, and they ain't that great around corners when its icy, either.
Someone tell the idiots on the M1 that tailgating at 80mph is stupid in good conditions, but is insane in weather like it was yesterday.
Someone tell the other idiots on the M1 that 5mph on a motorway is $%&* dangerous as well.
There's nothing wrong with the condition of the roads here, not to say that they are perfect in the snow, but the main roads are perfectly drivable. The issue is the standard of driving. Goodness only knows what would happen if these people had to deal with real quantities of snow.
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Absolutely spot on Mark, when I got onto the M1 at Brent Cross at about 1.30am, the cars in lane 3 were doing 35mph, the cars in lane 2 were doing 30mph, and there weren't any cars in lane 1! This could well have been because nobody had the guts to plough through the 3" high ridges of snow and salt between lanes. (The bottom 20 miles of the M1 had an almost uniform 1" thick layer of salt on it by that time!) I was quite safely changing lanes where necessary, crossing these ridges of snow/salt at 40 mph with no effect on my speed, direction or stability.
A lot of people were phoning the radio station to complain that
a) They'd been stuck in a jam for 12 hours
b) They hadn't seen any gritting lorries drive past!
It's about time someone explained to these motorists that gritting a road on its own won't magically make all the snow go away, it needs passing traffic afterwards to work on it. I'm glad to have done my bit in ensuring the M1 was usable by the rush hour this morning! ;-)
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"The issue is the standard of driving."
Agree completely. I was on the M25 early Friday am. Two lanes had been treated and had with a lowish temporary limit (30mph?). The outside lane was untreated (it was -2C outside) but there were still fools doing 50-60 mph....
Peter
BTW the adverts for the X-type don't help. It may have 4WD but driving at speed on snow is rarely a good idea.
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Whenever snow strikes, the standard of driving always looks inept. In case it makes you all feel better, I can state that during the few years I lived in the Canadian prairies (a long time ago now) the same thing happened every Oct/Nov with the first snowfall - small shunts until everyone remembered what to do. Problem here is that the majority have never learnt, so can't remember.
By the way, can't see what you're all on about - glorious sunshine in Cheshire and not a flake to be seen!
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I have a set of chains in the garage which I bought for my Renault 18 back in the mid 80s. They are the proper Renault item specifically to suit that model. I didn't use them much because they were a major hassle to fit on a snowy surface and incredibly hard on the drive train of the car if driven on any stretch of tarmac.(Catch 22!)
When I did use them they were pretty effective, mind you - until I once saddled them up about 3 miles from home one day. I rumbled on manfully for about 2 miles and the snow was getting deeper and deeper (2 - 3 ft drifts) Still the R18 clawed itself through until eventually it hit a really deep one! It crawled right over the top of it and did a belly flop on top with wheels spinning away in mid air at the front!
That, sadly, is not the end of the story! I walked the last mile in a raging blizzard and found a neighbour with a tractor. We set off to retrieve the car and tied a rope through the front towing eye. (No, I know better now!) I got into the car, the tractor revved up and took off merrily down the hill - with my front bumper twisted around like a sardine tin trailing along behind!
I changed the car soon after and subsequent cars have not had the same size tyres, so have been afraid to use them. Bear in mind that if a chain snaps or comes loose it could do lots of damage!
Graeme
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When I saw the title of this thread I thought you were talking about New Labour getting elected.
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Oh Lor' here comes another from Growler's History of Motoring Through The Ages.
These posts put me in mind of New Year's 1963 when there were record snowfalls across the country and much of it ground to a halt. Of course only about 3 of you are old enough to remember that. At that time I had no car, my old Chevy having bitten the dust a week prior. My mate Neil and I were invited to a bit of a do in Pinner by our then young lady friends. The Red Lion I think it was. Well to gloss over all the details we were neither of us fit to drive, heavy snow had begun to fall and Penny and Judy suggested we go back to P's place and sleep over. This offer was gladly accepted. Having got there the girls cranked up a glorious log fire, made coffee and we watched That Was The Week That Was. Millicent Martin where are you now?
About 12 mn Penny's parents call to say we're stuck up here in Caterham we simply can't get back with this heavy snow.
I do not need to spell out the rest. Of my many passages to manhood I remember this the most fondly. We literally couldn't get out of the house for 2 days. But we paid for our pleasures:
a Ford Popular 103E with all the core plugs popped out. Neil: yeah sorry but I forgot about the anti-freeze.....
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Great story Growler! Maybe some present-day types should just slow down and chill, it might help! By the way that winter of'63 is one of my earliest recollections!
<<<
Here in Wales I turned the TV on last night to see what all the fuss is about - snow? I could see about 3 inches or so! Looking forward to when we get some REAL snow.....!
BAz
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Remember it well growler. The worst winter since 1947.
Thousands of HGVs stuck at the side of the road with the diesel waxed up. Many with fires burning underneath the fuel tanks. The remedy was for a garage to get out to them and get paraffin into the tank. The following year the fuel suppliers introduced winter and summer fuel.
My vivid memory of that winter was February when my wife was due for our first child to be born.
We lived in a small village in Derbyshire and in common with most small places all the roads were covered in about 6 inches of snow which was frozen solid.
The maternity home about 7 miles away had given instructions to ring in when the time came.
And of course the time had to be in the middle of the night around 3.00am.
In those days very few people had phones so it had to be a call box. Out into a searingly cold grey night to the village phone box. It?s door was frozen solid and Charles Atlas (remember him) couldn?t have opened it.
Then getting the wife into the old Moggy Minor ,clearing the ice off and pleading with it start. Which it thankfully did.
Trundling along at 20mph on the packed ice through countryside with huge icicles hanging from the trees. Finally the sheer relief of arriving and the Matron scolding me for not ringing to warn them and her staff competently taking control.
And it?s Alison?s 40th birthday on the 16th of this month and what a blessing she has been.
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Alvin - I remember that winter of '63. I had passed my test the year before. Parts of SW Wales were snowbound for several weeks, and I recall going up the Wye Valley - A-road had one lane cleared in the middle. 10-foot ice floes going down the river. Today's lot have no idea what it's all about.
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1963
15ft snowdrift blocking Oxford Circus
Pack ice off Margate
Sheet ice stretched for 2.5miles out to sea from Herne Bay
etc
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Winter '63 - no school for weeks! Often fine and sunny but v.cold after initial snowfall, endless tobogganning, polishing sledge runners with all sorts of strange "wax" concoctions to get the last edge of speed over rivals and our own winter Olympics - great days!
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1963 snow, unable to get to school for fortnight til I mooved snow blockage and abandened council snow plough / gritter from lane( approx 1/4 mile) where we lived with JCB ,then school bus could get through.
chris
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Growler - AFAIK, Millicent Martin is the lady who now plays Daphne's mum in the sitcom Frasier.
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I mooved snow blockage ,then school bus could get through.
I bet you were popular with the kids!!
That reminds me of the episode of the Simpsons where Homer buys himself a snowplough (Mr Plow) clears the road to the school, and then Bart gets a volly of snowballs thrown at him by disgruntled kids in the playground.
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Are snow chains an 'over the top' buy for the average UK driver who seldom drives in snow, lives in a normally accessible location, and doesn't drive away on skiing holidays or to other snowbound destinations?
Clearly they have to come off again as soon as you're on tarmac otherwise might damage the road, not to mention the car itself.
Oz (as was)
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>>Are snow chains an 'over the top' buy.................?
I would have thought so. BTW, in the US I always used these things called wires. Rather than actual chaines it was a web of thick wires that fitted over the tyre - still not good on tarmac, but ok for brief moments.
Frankly I have never used chains/wires unless I am driving on a surface which is solely compacted snow. I don't think they'd be much cop for the loose snow we have here, and you'd be forever putting them on and off.
Just drive carefully.
M.
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Thanks Mark - I'm always keen to buy extra bits of kit but this was the conclusion I was coming to.
Oz (as was)
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and by the way, they are incredibly unpleasant to drive with unless you are on quite thick, soft snow.
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I can well imagine. Might be a cure for certain metabolic disorders though (or the cause of others) ... ;-)
Oz (as was)
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