Maybe Jamesbo or someone from the south can answer this question. We had a bit of ice storm around South Carolina this weekend. It started Friday about midday. I saw these trucks with very large liquid tanks like a farmer would use on the backs of these trucks spraying a liquid all over the highway. Is this "salt" mixed with water or antifreeze of some type. Before this time I have only ever seen sand trucks spreading sand on bridges (which freeze 1st overall) I just hate to see us southerners lose the claim to saying "a clean southern car with all it's original panels." Are we losing our fight to the mighty corrosion tsunami known as rust. Maybe it is like Neil Young says "Rust Never Sleeps" thanx for the help understanding this. Oldsdroptop

 

They use a brine mixture here. Salt and water and ?

 

I gotta friend here in Indiana that says he's going to give me some bags of this substance that melts the ice/snow but doesn't harm your cars. It costs around $20/bag, but he has a ton of them. Do you guys have any idea what this might be?

 

It's apparently some sort of beet-juice mixture. They use it here in the DC area also. I don't know how corrosive it is or is not, but in any case I would not drive a car that I cared about under winter conditions. You'll find a mix of salt and non-traditional ice melting materials used in different jurisdictions, and more importantly, it's the idiots in the SUVs that think they're invincible that worry me more.

 

Around here they own up to it being a brine mixture. They'll spray it 24 hours before the storm if they get a chance and then it takes forever to get it off the roads after the storm.

I have to replace a mailbox thanks to the damn snowplow. On the way out to the country house this morning I noticed a few knocked down on the 2-lane and thought hoo-boy. Sure enough, when I got to the house, the mailbox was laying over with a broken post. So tomorrow is call the VDOT residency and chew on some hindparts.

The snow just before Christmas, they managed to knock over a bunch of them then too and my cousin and uncle raised enough hell I figured they'd be a little more careful. When I met the plow coming back down the 2-lane he was traveling a good 50 mph and knocking snow everywhere.

 

Yeah the other night when it was snowing bad. There was a few SUV in the ditch and FWD cars with them in the ditch. My 2WD truck drove just fine with no problems, but I know I'm not invincible.

 

Around here it seems like the only vehicles that slide off the road are SUVs. That may be partly due to the higher percentage of SUVs in the total vehicle population, but I think it is more due to a lack of understanding of the concept of coefficient of friction.

 

Agreed Joe. I also note that in some northern states they have road side markers which will hopefully stick up higher than the snow banks and allow the plow drivers to stay on the road and off the shoulders, hopefully preventing unwanted removal of mail boxes and driveway markers.

 

The Myth is that the Gawga red clay acts as a second undercoating.

Gong- It sits in wheel wells and causes rust. I've seen Cheby truck lower fenders hold a few pounds

 

Those are the people that pass you when the roads are bad. Thinking they can drive how they want. About a mile later you see them on the side of the road.

 

The tires on the some suvs are not snow tires, if there is a crown they will spin and into the ditch they go ...

I they had a lite foot they'd make it ...

 

That's not the problem. The problem is that companies like Mercedes and BMW air commercials showing their AWD vehicles zooming around in the snow. They never show them stopping or cornering. Idiot drivers don't understand the concept of coefficient of friction.

 

Or the difference between just snow and ice for the simpler minds...
Snow is drivable if your careful. However, no amount of ABS and traction / stability control will allow one to drive like a maniac on ice.
New cars need a better feature, such as stupidity control. Auto brakes and an ejector seat for the driver comes to mind...

 

I like your idea, Rob!! The SUV's around here are unreal! They fly down the roads... I had one go around me last night on a 2 lane road - it was snowing hard, the road was slushy and shiney - they had just gotten done talking about black ice on the news before I left home. It's hard to tell if the road is just "wet" or icy! I was going 35 mph - the speed limit on the road, and this idiot gets right up on my bumper, goes flying around me, slinging the salty crap all over my little Olds, just to turn into his housing development 500 feet ahead! Friggin idiot.

Sorry, but I love to see the SUV's off the road in the ditches! It gives me great pleasure!!! They just think they're invincible.

 

It would have light come on when they are trying to start there car. The light says "You are too stupid to drive this car".

No matter how much they turn the key nothing happens.

 

They they are ejected.

 

I just read a magazine article talking about how more safety features on their cars make people take more chances. They say people are just like that - they adapt to their virtual 'comfort zone', whether it is safe or not.

 

I thought it was discriminatory to call ice "black" We could call it dark ice, it's just regular old slippery ice...the colder it is the less slippery

 

Snow is "white", we could call it light colored snow, unless the huskies are around.


SUV's have drivers Sandy, the vehicles are just lifeless metal, rubber and plastic.
They really can't think they're invincible or do anything without the nuts behind the wheel .

 

Call it what you want but you can sure slip on that stuff. (even on foot.) Andy

 

wow you guys are old. Like strocker ace would say you gotta stand on it son let it hang out sidways and have fun with it.

 

I plow for the state of mass.and people are so impaitent we plow at a slow speed to clean the roadways and their is always an idiot in every store that passes us plowing because he cant wait ,then ends up in the ditch .as for the liquid some states like CT. i think call it some kind of cloride mix it tought to wash off but if you wash your car after storm should be ok but if you value you olds drive a FORD in the snow