Posted on January 08, 2010 by Fiona Hilliard

As this photo illustrates, you can’t rely on Dublin Bus to get you from A to B in wintry weather like this. On Wednesday (January 6th), thousands of commuters were let down by transport services in the Irish capital, when drivers decided to suspend all operations at 4pm.  Dubliners were left stranded at bus stops all over the city as Dublin buses pulled in to the side of the road and emptied passengers out onto frozen pavements.  Those in cars, vans and trucks motored on and although many delays were in place, they eventually made it to their destination. 

If you are planning to brave the wintry roads this weekend in Dublin, you should exercise extreme caution and cancel any unnecessary trips.  Of course, in some cases this is unavoidable, so clearly you will have to consider your personal safety before you head out on the open road.
 

Be prepared!

Put together a safety kit just in case your car runs into difficulty.  Carry a small piece of old carpet or a mat in the boot of your car.  This will come in handy for placing under a driven wheel that has become stuck.  You should also carry a small garden shovel, as well as a mobile phone – and very importantly an adaptor for charging it in the car, a high-visibility vest, anti-glare sunglasses, a cosy outer jacket, a hat, gloves and a blanket.

When picking up your Dublin car hire, make sure you find out whether it is a front-wheel or rear-wheel drive.  Cars behave differently depending on their drive type, driver input and weight.

Front Wheel Drive

Front-wheel drives behave much better than rear-wheel drives in icy conditions, as the weight of the engine depends on the front wheels. You should always use the torque of the engine, not the revs.  When releasing the clutch, keep things smooth and feed only enough power to get the car driving, too much power will force you to skid.

Rear Wheel Drive

Minimal weight over the rear-wheels means rear-wheel vehicles have less grip on the road. This results in the vehicle sliding on corners, where rear tyres force the car to go straight instead of the direction of where the car is steering.  If you have to drive a rear wheel vehicle, try adding extra weight to the boot of the vehicle to improve your traction in icy conditions.

Before setting out on your journey, make sure you have enough fuel in your vehicle and bear in mind that you have enough fuel for emergencies and long delays.

Skidding

Front-wheel drivers should slow down or stop by keeping pressure on the brake and steering smoothly around whatever caused you to brake.  When turning corners, allow your car to run wide, as tyres won’t have the same grip and you may end up on the footpath.

Rear-wheel cars usually skid because the rear of the vehicle slides away from the driveline chosen by the driver.  This happens because too much power has been applied to the rear wheels as the car was turning a corner. This can happen because too much power has been applied to the rear wheels as the car was turning a corner.  If the car begins to slide as it is turning left, the rear slides to the right, making it go straight in effect. The driver should then keep steering smooth to the right and ease off the throttle. You should also be prepared for a secondary skid as the car comes back into line.