Had my first real challenge in driving on snow and ice tonight on the M2 (I was suppose to head to Kent but was forced to go back to London as conditions worsened). Road conditions were initially fine with light sleet which gradually worsened. I didn't really pay attention as I travelled at 75mph on cruise control and it didn't bother me.
After entering Kent, the road had some small white patches, which yet again, with me being an idiot, didn't really pay attention to. After overtaking a gritting lorry that was hogging the middle lane
I felt the car judder whilst losing and gaining speed at random. At this point, I knew that one or more of the wheels was losing grip whilst plowing through the M2 at 75mph, cruise control unable to decide whether to accelerate or brake and the Mondeo on the middle lane wondering what the hell I was doing as I started to slide towards him at one point (loss grip on all four wheels at one point and yes, I am an idiot) 
The BMW driver behind me still insisted on keeping up with me at 75mph until I switched on my hazard warning lights and the driver finally got the message of the approaching danger when his car twitched towards the central reservation. From there onwards, the middle and outer lane was pretty much undriveable with the inside lane starting to show signs of danger (grit lorries haven't reached pass Junction 4 at the time). Driving at 40mph was nearly impossible.
As I exited Junction 5 and took the flyover to head the other way, I saw a car swerve and crash onto the embankment on the hard shoulder (car was on the M2, I was on the flyover)
A patrol car nearby quickly stopped to assist the driver, who was only in shock but not hurt. 2 more patrol cars got there before I rejoined the M2 towards London. What should have taken less than an hour to get home took nearly 3 hours as I drove like an OAP.
My main question for this thread is: How would you go around driving on snow or ice if it suddenly hits you? I wasn't expecting it, there was no weather warnings issued either.
I'm obviously inexperienced in these conditions and would appreciate some sort of guidance due to a rather unpleasant experience earlier today (obvious solutions like "don't drive in these conditions" won't work when it is necessary for me to get to a particular destination
). Winter tyres would come in handy but it is April... you can't be serious about sticking them on or carrying it with you when you are half way through your journey.
After entering Kent, the road had some small white patches, which yet again, with me being an idiot, didn't really pay attention to. After overtaking a gritting lorry that was hogging the middle lane
I felt the car judder whilst losing and gaining speed at random. At this point, I knew that one or more of the wheels was losing grip whilst plowing through the M2 at 75mph, cruise control unable to decide whether to accelerate or brake and the Mondeo on the middle lane wondering what the hell I was doing as I started to slide towards him at one point (loss grip on all four wheels at one point and yes, I am an idiot) The BMW driver behind me still insisted on keeping up with me at 75mph until I switched on my hazard warning lights and the driver finally got the message of the approaching danger when his car twitched towards the central reservation. From there onwards, the middle and outer lane was pretty much undriveable with the inside lane starting to show signs of danger (grit lorries haven't reached pass Junction 4 at the time). Driving at 40mph was nearly impossible.
As I exited Junction 5 and took the flyover to head the other way, I saw a car swerve and crash onto the embankment on the hard shoulder (car was on the M2, I was on the flyover)
A patrol car nearby quickly stopped to assist the driver, who was only in shock but not hurt. 2 more patrol cars got there before I rejoined the M2 towards London. What should have taken less than an hour to get home took nearly 3 hours as I drove like an OAP.My main question for this thread is: How would you go around driving on snow or ice if it suddenly hits you? I wasn't expecting it, there was no weather warnings issued either.
I'm obviously inexperienced in these conditions and would appreciate some sort of guidance due to a rather unpleasant experience earlier today (obvious solutions like "don't drive in these conditions" won't work when it is necessary for me to get to a particular destination
). Winter tyres would come in handy but it is April... you can't be serious about sticking them on or carrying it with you when you are half way through your journey.
The Mondeo driver next to me probably had a scare when I was fighting to keep my car in control and nearly crashed into it whilst the BMW driver behind me probably didn't know the word death until his car started to lose control.