Many countries have been laughing at the UK after one of its worst winter’s for decades, along comes some snow and the whole country comes to a halt. Driving has been a nightmare in most counties, with advice not to drive being ignored at the same time employers, telling employees they will not get paid unless they turn up for work. We also must not forget the emergency workers, who themselves first have to get to work, car or no car and then attend the many accidents and cold related issues up and down the country.
Police cars, ambulances, fire engines all need to get to where they need to be and unfortunately, our inability to handle snow and grit the roads has once again had the world in stitches as they go to work as normal in with snowfalls twice the size as ours. The roadside assistance emergency services have reported record call outs with AA quoting 20,000 call outs in one day and long waits for those without their cars.
Certain other types of vehicles have been string through, like the mini excavator or mini diggers that have been used to clear snow throughout businesses across the UK. These vehicles are excellent for during on snow as their rubber tracks spread the weight across a larger surface area, so they do not get stuck, or rarely anyway. Many excavator parts suppliers have seen record sales over this cold period for that very reason, no wonder they use these in typical ski resorts.
The 4×4 owner has had some stick recently with CO2 emissions and taxation etc. But by did most of us wish we had one as they sped by us on the roads. Let’s be honest this winter was unique and we will always get stuck in the snow, because unlike other countries we never can guess when it will come. The roads are clear now, so make sure you have your antifreeze in the radiator, and hope the snow fall has ceased for another year.