Fun in the snow, what are your views on it?

daveharnett

jozi wrote: »

I'd love to know of a nice big open area that I could practice on. My road is pretty wide but I can't keep going in circles around the neighbourhood. I don't think I'd even mess around up in Clearwater tesco, security couldn't be to happy about it?

According to the internets, tesco clearwater is 24hr, so that'd be right out in my book. I would be inclined to look for somewhere that's completely deserted - take a peek around the nearest industrial estate.

Gumbo

daveharnett wrote: »

According to the internets, tesco clearwater is 24hr, so that'd be right out in my book. I would be inclined to look for somewhere that's completely deserted - take a peek around the nearest industrial estate.

Lidl carpark at the St. Margerets Road / North Road junction.
Nice and big, open sapce, no columns etc etc etc

tomaoo7

haven't seen nothing like this since 1963:)

jozi

Might go and have a look, very busy studying for exams (clearly easy to distract judging by my recent post count).

I must admit I had a nice drive around an industrial park nearby. Was only going to look for an open area but ended up sideways on all bends with good visibility and slightly lost as well, which I didn't mind to much. This was just after fresh snow, not sure what it would be like now judging by the ice covered roads around me.

CianDon

I saw a lad in an Evo sliding around a frozen roundabout on St. Stevens night. In fairness to him he did stop when we got to the junction and waited for us to crawl past before starting up again.

xFROSTY Gx

Was out in the B&Q carpark in Waterford today. This carpark is huge. It has 2 sections too it. A front and rear section. Obviously today with the snow Waterford got, there were people skidding around in the rear section of the carpark. There was no cars parked in the rear section and only a few parked in the front section. There was about 6 cars sliding around at one time. Some of the people had there kids in the car as they were sliding around and people driving past just seemed to be smiling and laughing at what they were listening.

Anyway, I decided to join in on the fun and started to slide around the car park. Was great fun and it actually gave a better idea on how the car handles in these conditions. After a while all the cars headed off and i headed off aswel. 2 mins after pulling out of the car park on my journey home saw an unmarked Garda car behind me. He pulled me over and gave me a €80 fine and 2 points on my licence for careless driving. He said he had been sitting there watching all the cars for a good while.

Now I agree what I done was wrong and the fine doesnt really bother me. Just a word of warning that even though you think it may be ok(which I did, but no longer do) just be weary that the guards may be watching and may possibly fine you or bring you to court for careless driving.:rolleyes:

jozi

I can understand the careless driving if it was on the main road but an empty car park...

ianobrien

Is it a private car park (ie not local authority)

If it is a private car park, I reckon he can't do much. Then again, I could be wrong.

Also, given the weather, can it be an unintentional lack of control, rather than on purpose (although given that he saw it, I'd say not)

TestTransmission

ianobrien wrote: »

Is it a private car park (ie not local authority)

If it is a private car park, I reckon he can't do much. Then again, I could be wrong.

Also, given the weather, can it be an unintentional lack of control, rather than on purpose (although given that he saw it, I'd say not)

They can do whatever they want to,the public has free access to it

xFROSTY Gx

ianobrien wrote: »

Is it a private car park (ie not local authority)

If it is a private car park, I reckon he can't do much. Then again, I could be wrong.

Also, given the weather, can it be an unintentional lack of control, rather than on purpose (although given that he saw it, I'd say not)

Ya he explained to me when he stopped me that when the barriers are open its a public place and that they can operate in it, but once the barriers are down that its private property. Btw the barriers were open:)

I would have thought that a private security group would have handled it and asked us to stop if it was causing a real problem instead of the guards having to come out.

W.Shakes-Beer

ah yeah, last week I'd be closing up in work fairly late, big empty carpark covered in snow. About 3 of us close and we all have cars so tend to have a bit of a waltz after work :P

I think its all good fun when theres nobody about and in a relatively safe area.

I've seen far too many eejits givin it loads on public roads.

One dude on my road decided it'd be great to go up and down the road (big main road) pulling handbreakers etc. only to have a squad car pull up :P

has anyone actually had the guards come across them while having some fun in a safe environment?

xFROSTY Gx

W.Shakes-Beer wrote: »

has anyone actually had the guards come across them while having some fun in a safe environment?

Yup happened to me earlier today, heres my post I made a few posts back

Was out in the B&Q carpark in Waterford today. This carpark is huge. It has 2 sections too it. A front and rear section. Obviously today with the snow Waterford got, there were people skidding around in the rear section of the carpark. There was no cars parked in the rear section and only a few parked in the front section. There was about 6 cars sliding around at one time. Some of the people had there kids in the car as they were sliding around and people driving past just seemed to be smiling and laughing at what they were listening.

Anyway, I decided to join in on the fun and started to slide around the car park. Was great fun and it actually gave a better idea on how the car handles in these conditions. After a while all the cars headed off and i headed off aswel. 2 mins after pulling out of the car park on my journey home saw an unmarked Garda car behind me. He pulled me over and gave me a €80 fine and 2 points on my licence for careless driving. He said he had been sitting there watching all the cars for a good while.

Now I agree what I done was wrong and the fine doesnt really bother me. Just a word of warning that even though you think it may be ok(which I did, but no longer do) just be weary that the guards may be watching and may possibly fine you or bring you to court for careless driving.

ianobrien

W.Shakes-Beer wrote: »

has anyone actually had the guards come across them while having some fun in a safe environment?

Yep, had them arrive at an Autotest I was involved in (in a private car park, with full insurance and an event approved by Motorsport Ireland).

There was not really a whole lot they could do, so they stayed at watched for a while....

W.Shakes-Beer

xFROSTY Gx wrote: »

Yup happened to me earlier today, heres my post I made a few posts back

Was out in the B&Q carpark in Waterford today. This carpark is huge. It has 2 sections too it. A front and rear section. Obviously today with the snow Waterford got, there were people skidding around in the rear section of the carpark. There was no cars parked in the rear section and only a few parked in the front section. There was about 6 cars sliding around at one time. Some of the people had there kids in the car as they were sliding around and people driving past just seemed to be smiling and laughing at what they were listening.

Anyway, I decided to join in on the fun and started to slide around the car park. Was great fun and it actually gave a better idea on how the car handles in these conditions. After a while all the cars headed off and i headed off aswel. 2 mins after pulling out of the car park on my journey home saw an unmarked Garda car behind me. He pulled me over and gave me a €80 fine and 2 points on my licence for careless driving. He said he had been sitting there watching all the cars for a good while.

Now I agree what I done was wrong and the fine doesnt really bother me. Just a word of warning that even though you think it may be ok(which I did, but no longer do) just be weary that the guards may be watching and may possibly fine you or bring you to court for careless driving.

ouch...ok, now i might just think twice. thats unfortunate to say the least, sorry to hear that

im sure at around 2am you can see most garda cars sliding around carparks anyway. the way i see it, one set of rules for us, another for them.

Flyer1

FROSTY were you the one he had pulled in with the Renault Megane Coupé on the ORR ?

I had my fun on the ice

You know what really did razz me off today. Coming home from Longford this morning. IDIOTS on the open road doing 15mph. Granted there was snow, but there was loads of grip, viz in excess of 5km. I came along doing about 35 - 40mph. Then they became aggrevated ( flashing lights etc. ) when I overtook them with a 1km straight, was nowhere near the car. I drive on average between 700 - 1200 miles a week, and have done so for a long time, i'm extremely comfortable with my vehicle and my abilities.

I just dont get these idiots

xFROSTY Gx

Flyer1 wrote: »

FROSTY were you the one he had pulled in with the Renault Megane Coupé on the ORR ?

Yup that was me. The second I saw the mondeo pull up behind me I knew i was going to get pulled over.

Were you driving the 01 BMW?
I saw it in the car park sliding around and then saw it pass me when I was pulled over.

Flyer1

ahhhh not good :mad:

Nah I was driving a red mk2 golf slammed to the floor. You saved me, I came around the roundabout kind of err, sideways

xFROSTY Gx

Ah ya I remember seeing it. Haha glad I could help

tuxy

They now have started locking the gate in lidl Thurles. Was good fun but will be a lot more careful now that I know you can get points for it, thanks for letting us know Frosty.

fonecrusher1

I drove up to the local rugby club car park just after christmas day. The place was empty & it was dark so i did a bit of playful sliding. The place was deserted.
I left & came back 2 hours later & noticed a single car parked right down at one end of the car park. I couldnt see if there was anybody in it so i thought i'd have another little bit of a sliding session as there was loads of room for error & again i must stress there was not a soul around. Im a safe driver but hey? how often do we get this sort of weather to have fun in?
I managed to do one half skid & the next thing i know a guy gets out of the car i mentioned, walks up to my car & gestures for me to lower the window. He shows his badge, he was a plain-clothed cop & asks me what did i think i was doing.
Anyway to cut a long story short, he told me to leave & if he seen me doing it again i would get a fine & penalty points.
I was angry but i said nothing & left. Never argue with a gard.
Its not so much that i was angry at the guard. Its the sad little curtain-twitching nearby home-owners that must have called the law. They must be the sort of people that pester the local authorities for any reason. Imagine calling the gards on someone on st Stephens day because they were having a bit of a laugh in the snow? Pathetic.
Also tonight i seen a couple of cars sliding all over the local tescos & it was far from empty & nobody was taking a blind bit of notice.

cascade35

I am having great fun in my 95 long wheel base transit, rear wheel drive, great for drifting, coming sideways to a car park near you.

Too many idiots complaining about the weather, its all you hear about in the shops.
Nice to see boardies are having fun.

craichoe

Gah I gave up on Ireland and moved abroad .. to much of a fecking nanny state, even Fireworks being illegal ..

Everythings either illegal or taxed to f*ck so nobody can afford to do it.

Only real fun in Ireland is to be had out in the sticks in Kerry/Clare.

antodeco

xFROSTY Gx wrote: »

Yup happened to me earlier today, heres my post I made a few posts back

Was out in the B&Q carpark in Waterford today. This carpark is huge. It has 2 sections too it. A front and rear section. Obviously today with the snow Waterford got, there were people skidding around in the rear section of the carpark. There was no cars parked in the rear section and only a few parked in the front section. There was about 6 cars sliding around at one time. Some of the people had there kids in the car as they were sliding around and people driving past just seemed to be smiling and laughing at what they were listening.

Anyway, I decided to join in on the fun and started to slide around the car park. Was great fun and it actually gave a better idea on how the car handles in these conditions. After a while all the cars headed off and i headed off aswel. 2 mins after pulling out of the car park on my journey home saw an unmarked Garda car behind me. He pulled me over and gave me a €80 fine and 2 points on my licence for careless driving. He said he had been sitting there watching all the cars for a good while.

Now I agree what I done was wrong and the fine doesnt really bother me. Just a word of warning that even though you think it may be ok(which I did, but no longer do) just be weary that the guards may be watching and may possibly fine you or bring you to court for careless driving.

Strange, but I didnt think they could do you for "dangerous driving" whilist in a private car park? Dangerous driving can only be applied to a "public place".

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1961/en/act/pub/0024/sec0053.html

My understanding is that carparks of business'es are private?

xFROSTY Gx

He told me that when the barriers are down at the carpark its private property, but when there up that its becomes a public place and that they can enfore the law there.

ianobrien

xFROSTY Gx wrote: »

He told me that when the barriers are down at the carpark its private property, but when there up that its becomes a public place and that they can enfore the law there.

So does that mean that private clampers can't operate in any shopping centre or apartment block etc as only the local authority can clamp cars in public?

Is there a notice "All cars are parked at owners risk" signs, as most of them have written in very small print that it's a private car park?

TouchingVirus

I've had great craic in my own FWD pulling the handbrake and throwing the back out, testing the brakes (no ABS so Cadence braking all the way) and other stuff. It helped me react quicker when I did go for a slide around a small bend.

As said many times before, I only do any sort of messing/teaching when I'm on my own in the car with nothing else around like cars/pedestrians etc. Most of it was in a small industrial estate

twincamman

ive a opel omega ,its some craic up in the forestry haha.im looking out the sidewindows most of the time .but if im near a village i just drive normal

hobes

xFROSTY Gx wrote: »

Were you driving the 01 BMW?
I saw it in the car park sliding around and then saw it pass me when I was pulled over.

That was me, ABS and traction stopped working so I went home, luckily it was grand after 5mins. When I went back down, I stayed off the breaks as much as possible

xFROSTY Gx

hobes wrote: »

That was me, ABS and traction stopped working so I went home, luckily it was grand after 5mins. When I went back down, I stayed off the breaks as much as possible

Ah right. Glad the car is ok. Wish I had a RWD haha

wheeliebin

Its very important to know your tyres limits especially if your RWD and automatic. Not a hope for most people getting up icy hills but good fun in a safe environment. You would be surprised at how little a hand brake pull and turn can get a 180 and with a bit more a 360. So always best to test. I drive aVW transporter and have winter tyres on the front and summer on the back. 8 bales of Bord na mona at the back door and a salad spinner in the centre. One thing for sure. Winter tyres make a serious difference. I had to drive up balglass hill at the back of Howth church on New years day to rescue father in law. close to 45degrees. I was a bit dubious if the tyres would work. and hey presto not a bother. They are falken tyres (Japanesei think). If you feel the tyres they are soft rubber while the back felt like pvc windows. I got them free off a mate who sells tyres ,most jap import cars come in with these on so they have to take them off and put irish weather tyres on them. They are not very good above 10degrees celcius so you need a spare set of rims for your usual tyres. This is pretty standard around europe from Nov to march

twincamman

ive forestry rally tyres on the back of the omega.some craic

Slidey

Spotted this.

As someone who has a truck licence this is no easy feat, ice or not. That is 6/7 tonnes sliding there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmNAth0cTHQ