Tips on alpine driving

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 394, 9 July 1991, Page 7

Tips on alpine driving

The first thing a driver needs to do if heading up the Ohakune Mountain Road is check the conditions before leaving, says Department of Conservation officer Rob McCallum. "Find out -do you need chains - is the road icy, and prepare yourself before you head off. " Before leaving town: practice putting on the chains so that you know that they fit and fit properly and that you know how to fit them. "It is not a good idea to learn how to fit chains on the road with a few hundred impatient people stopped behind you," he said. "If you have a choice of vehicle, take a heavier rear- wheel drive vehicle rather than a light front wheel drive vehicle." For safety the windscreen must be cleared properly, because once on the mountain road the sun shines directly into the driver's eyes. Driving on snow needs extra care, said Mr McCallum and both the uphill trip and the downhill trip have hazards. Traction "To start off on ice or snow on a slope, with chains, you should have your handbrake on, the car in first gear and slowly , slowly let the clutch out, and as you begin to move forward, slowly let off the handbrake.

"If your wheels start to spin you have to stop and try again. - don't try to 'bury the boot' - it doesn't work. You just loose traction and damage the chains, sometimes throwing them off the tyre. Progress should be fluid and relaxed. "It pays to have as much weight over the drive wheels as possible." Home trip At the carpark the vehicle should be left in 1st gear with the handbrake off. In cold weather the brake cable can freeze locking the brakes on. Travelling down the road, keeping speed down is allimportant. "On ice and snow, you must drive slowly, in a low gear. Speed is incredibly easy to pick up but on ice, very 1 hard to lose. Avoid using the brakes but if you have to pump them gently to prevent them locking up. "If the wheels are revolving you've got traction and steerage and therefore control - if the wheels lock up the car becomes a sled. "If the car begins to skid turn the front wheels in the opposite direction to the skid and apply just a little bit of accelerator to straighten up the car." "Biit the heart of the matter is to keep your speed down on ice."