Mulkey

So you don't think driving on ice is anymore dangerous than driving in the sunshine as long as you have chains/proper equipment? Obviously you have driven in SC when a ice storm hits.

brian2sun

With experience and the right gear, I think driving on ice/snow is perfectly safe under most circumstances. Driving your car is more dangerous than sitting at home, so technically I'm risking my life every time I leave the house. Just being alive is risking your life.

I feel absolutely confident in my winter driving abilities and very safe when I'm on slick roads. If was unprepared or if I had 2wd and bald tires w/o chains then I would agree that I would be taking more than a reasonable risk, but you have to know your own limits and be able to judge the conditions correctly. Experience is key.

I have driven in very different kinds of snow and ice storms all over the country, not in SC, but I was just responding to your comment that chains won't help in an ice storm and the OP should make the other paramedics pick his wife up. What about their safety? Someone's got to take the risk, it's the nature of the job. If his wife was an accountant, then I would say stay home too.

Yukon

Well, If your getting new tires anyway, get some good snowtires, and stud them? You wont get the offraod traction of chains, but you can go faster, drive with them on dry pavement, and... more.

If you've got the tools, might take a few more minutes to put on than chains!

Mulkey

He doesn't have much experience driving in ice/snow b/c he lives in South Carolina where it might snow once a year. If they're driving around rescuing people and responding to calls- I assume they have the right equipment to being driving around in crappy conditions unlike the OP. The nature of the job is helping not risking your ass driving to work in an ice storm.

Mulkey

Snow tires with studs for South Carolina- he'll use the hell out of those.

muddpigg

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, the guy is a hundred percent right. There are jobs that will fire you for doing what the rest of you reasonible ppl think is right. That means not calling in on account of the weather. It is the same for police, fire, and medic. I bet if it was your loved one you would hope and pray that the ppl who respond to 911 calls didn't decide to play hooky because of the weather. Yes, they do risk their lives. http://www.timhayes.org/ he was injured in Charlotte not 25miles from the SC border. I spent 14hrs stuck on a bus between Atlanta and Charlotte because of Ice and Snow last winter. While on leave before going to Iraq.

I salute your wife and applaud you for seeking advice on something most ppl in SC will never need and laugh at you for searching. Your wife's worth it. Even if she only needs to you the chains once or twice a decade.

Ironmike4x4

Just for the sake of argument. I'm not the one going to be driving. My happy butt is staying at home and would rather ride my 4wheeler on my property having fun instead of driving like other idiots do and getting into serioius trouble. The police will give you a ticket in these events for "too fast for conditions." My wife has asked her LT. at work about this issue. They are not "required" to come into work but if others call in too and there is no relief from the station then they will get into trouble and depending on if you are a habitual offender; they will fire you. They DO offer a ride by the county administrators only if you live in the county. We do not. From what I've researched, studded tires are not legal in my state and chains are if the condition that will cause a skid will allow for chains. To close all arguments, I'm going ahead and getting tires as I do need them for daily driving anyways, and I'm also getting a set of chains for my 4Runner. They will stay in my emergency tool box in the back along with all of my other recovery gears and tools.

Granted we do not get as much as you Northern states do, we do get snow/ice weather and no matter what tires you have we tend to end up in the ditch. We aren't used to it at all. Even you guys laugh at us and for good reasons, it's probably an everyday thing for you guys; not us.

Since I've gotten the answer I feel I need, here's another question. Put them on before she leaves or put them on when she is slipping on the roadways? I will personally train myself and her to put them on quickly and safely.

EDIT: the county does use snow chains on ambulances, fire trucks, and police vehicles; but from what my wife has told me not many of the drivers know how to install them. Also the County shop does not install them for them because they are usually out running the wreckers because of the same emergency vehicles are stuck in a ditch somewhere.

Mtn Mike

iTrader: (1)

I really have an admiration for public service personnel who put themselves at risk to help the rest of us. Police, fire, EMT, military, whatever. Your wife deserves our thanks. Around I think the police and fire vehicles all chain up on a regular basis in the winter by necessity. During our 1-2 foot snow storms they wouldn’t get anywhere with their 2 wheel drive cruisers and trucks. After reading this thread I have few more thoughts and comments:

1) I've been driving on snowy and icy roads for 20 years and I've only been in two situations where I could have used chains. One was driving a rear wheel drive BMW with bald tires, and the other was driving my 4Runner down a mountain pass that had become completely iced over. I would like to try chains on my 4Runner, but I can’t foresee regular situations where I’ll be able to use them again. If I lived in an area where I had to cross mountain passes in the winter on a regular basis, I would definitely have them in my winter “kit”. I’m not sure how practical that would be in SC.

2) Being from South Carolina, you and your wife probably don’t get a chance to practice winter driving. Winter driving is definitely a learned skill, just like driving off road. Do you ski? How about taking a ski trip up to good ol’ West Virginia and call it winter driving practice J . One of my first snow storm drives was driving through WV on the way to a ski resort. New teen age driver + stupid friends in car + snow storm…luck was on our side J But seriously everyone has scary moments when they are learning to drive in the snow. In fact, here in Spokane we joke that everyone has to relearn to drive in the snow during the first snow storm of each year. The first storms always see the most crashes

gpcollen1

You do not need chains - period. Get some good tires. like everyone else said to do. I know you THINK you need chains but you do not.

brian2sun

I wouldn't let others decide what you need or don't need (including myself), you make those decisions. I was trying to answer your specific qustions about chains and their applications, but I don't pretend to know what you need for your circumstances.

I know in my area, often people w/ 2wds would not get anywhere w/o chains period, and sometimes they even require them for 4x4s. But where I live, it's not totally out of the ordinary to have 4 or 5 feet of snow within 3 or 4 days. We feel like we're getting let of the hook if we only get 6" of snow.

Yukon

about as much as hell use chains... Think about it, see nasty weather in the forcast, swap on the tires. Then you can run them for the duration of the event, on dry pavement if need be, heck you can even run them all season long. AND you can go over 40 mph if the roads clear up, just an easier solution in my eyes.