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Cobh On Ice

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IMG_3305Terrible weather conditions in Cobh and across the Country made life absolutely horrendous for the commuter over the past few days. Travelling the main roads through Cobh this morning wasn’t too bad as it appears that the Council have been out gritting overnight, however, Tuesday morning showed no signs of any such gritting the night before. Travelling out by the Cross River ferry on Tuesday morning traffic was moving very slowly, but even at such a low speed (15KM) the corner by Peg’s Pub was absolutely lethal. My own car spun around in a full circle, twice and ended up with the car pointing back to the direction of home as opposed to it’s original destination of Cork. We were lucky that the car came to a halt before hitting anything and particularly lucky that there was no other traffic in each direction. Even at that speed of 15km and new tyres this was able to happen. We remained there for some time  with hazzard lights on and flashing the oncoming traffic to warn of the dangerous patch ahead but the first car took no notice of our signals and ended up hitting the wall with the side of his car, however, after that incident the rest of the traffic took notice.

IMG_3300It’s blatantly evident that this Country is in no way prepared for these sort of weather conditions but this should not be the case. Authorities do need to get their act together when winter approaches. Most European countries have laws that force drivers to change over to winter tyres before a certain date, and then change back to summer tyres again by another date. I wonder is it time for such a law to be introduced here in Ireland and by doing so the driver is at least as prepared as he can be to tackle the icy conditions. There has no doubt been many accidents that have occured in Cobh over the past few days and maybe some, if not all of these could have been avoided had we had the thinking caps on.

Residents of Rushbrooke Links are having a great deal of trouble getting in and out of the estate as the main links avenue is what one could only describe as a Ice Rink with motoring reduced to 5km per hour. Local Councillor John Mulvihill Jnr is exhausting every avenue possble to see what can be done to reduce the risk of serious danger on the road there. Ultimately the responsibility for gritting the Links is down to the developer ‘Flemmings’ who have not yet handed over the area to the Council(s) and currently going through examinership. Cllr Mulvihill has been on the phone for hours last evening and this morning to try and resolve this but it does look like Cllr Mulvihill (who is a Links resident himself) and the Residents Assoc will have to enlist the help of a private contractor to either salt or sand the main Links road to ease the dangers of a serious accident occuring. ”At least someone is trying to do something about it for us and we appreciate that”  a couple of residents said this morning when told of Cllr. Mulvihill’s efforts.

Driving in Snow and Ice

The best advice for driving in bad winter weather is not to drive at all, if you can avoid it.

Don’t go out until the snow plows and sanding trucks have had a chance to do their work, and allow yourself extra time to reach your destination.

If you must drive in snowy conditions, make sure your car is prepared and that you know how to handle road conditions.

It’s helpful to practice winter driving techniques in a snowy, open parking lot, so you’re familiar with how your car handles. Consult your owner’s manual for tips specific to your vehicle.

Driving safely on icy roads

  1. Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
  2. Brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.
  3. Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.
  4. Keep your lights and windshield clean.
  5. Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
  6. Don’t use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.
  7. Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
  8. Don’t pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you’re likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
  9. Don’t assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.

If your rear wheels skid…

  1. Take your foot off the accelerator.
  2. Steer in the direction you want the front wheels to go. If your rear wheels are sliding left, steer left. If they’re sliding right, steer right.
  3. If your rear wheels start sliding the other way as you recover, ease the steering wheel toward that side. You might have to steer left and right a few times to get your vehicle completely under control.
  4. If you have standard brakes, pump them gently.
  5. If you have anti-lock brakes (ABS), do not pump the brakes. Apply steady pressure to the brakes. You will feel the brakes pulse — this is normal.

If your front wheels skid…

  1. Take your foot off the gas and shift to neutral, but don’t try to steer immediately.
  2. As the wheels skid sideways, they will slow the vehicle and traction will return. As it does, steer in the direction you want to go. Then put the transmission in “drive” or release the clutch, and accelerate gently.

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