I have lived in places where it can snow during the winter. Every snowy winter, I watch people speeding around in their large vehicles. As they roar past me on the road, I silently caution them to be careful, knowing what can happen if they try to stop and instead, hit a patch of unseen ice.
If you think you’re invincible in four-wheel drive, you’re not! I found this out one particular night. Want to know what happened, keep reading.
What happened to change my mind about four-wheel drive
Back in 2016, my husband bought a Cadillac SRX (He sold it in 2019). It was one of those nice, big SUV/crossovers. It was white, with a leather interior, lots of space, and that little dash cam that comes up when you’re backing up. It was beautiful!
Well, that winter it snowed. Anytime it snowed, I wanted my eighty-something-year-old grandmother with me in the city. She lived out in the rural part of the county, and the roads out there would get nasty. So by having her with me in the city, it would be easier to get her medical attention if she needed it.
Well, on this day, there was a snow front headed for my area. I called my grandmother, and she agreed to come and stay with me. I made it out to her house okay. We hurriedly packed necessities and then left. Unfortunately, it was dark when we left her house.
When I turned onto the main road, I noticed parts of the road were iced over. As I drove further, there seemed to be more and more ice. Half way down the road, I reaRealizing this wasn’t going to work, I decided to turn around and try a different route. To do so, I used the nearest house’s driveway to make a quick turn.
Photo by shawnanggg on Unsplash
The house used to be a little grocery store. So, there was a paved area out front for about five cars to pull in and park. As I pulled into one of the spots, I realized I had pulled onto a solid sheet of ice. In my heart, I knew this was not going to end well, but I hoped for the best.
I put the car in reverse and proceeded to back up; but the vehicle didn’t move. I put it in park and tried to back up again. The SUV didn’t move though I could feel the tires spinning, and then suddenly, the car slid to the right. I quickly took my foot off the gas and put the vehicle in park.
Crap, I thought. I’m stuck on a solid sheet of ice! I can’t go forward, and I can’t go backward.
As I sat there and thought about what to do, the homeowners came out. They told me about the ice patch, and then I realized their cars and trucks were parked on the other side of the house! At that moment, I felt like an idiot! I had thought four-wheel drive would give me enough traction to get off the ice. but nope it didn’t!
As we talked, the lady homeowner told us that her husband was on the way home and would be able to help us. He was contracted with the city to plow the streets. So I was hopeful he’d be able to help me.
About twenty minutes later, her husband showed up. He hooked one end of a chain to the back bumper of my vehicle and the other to his plow. After a few minutes of tugging, he pulled it off the patch of ice. I was so thankful to him!
Image by byymee from Pixabay
What I have learned
What I learned is I wasn’t invincible in a SUV with four-wheel drive during snowy icy weather. While these vehicles are awesome in snow, they are like any other vehicle when they are on ice; out of control!
Unless you regain traction, no matter which way you steer, the vehicle is going to go where its momentum takes it.
The takeaway
So, the moral of my story is that when you are driving in icy weather, there is one thing to remember when using four-wheel drive. Please proceed with caution and common sense.
If you want to learn more about driving in snowy, icy weather, Business Insider has an article that discusses 14 things every driver needs to know before driving in the snow. Check it out!
Just saying!
If you have four-wheel drive horror stories you’d like to share, please put them in the comments section. Your feedback is invaluable! Thank you for reading.
