Car Pool

One of the most memorable adventures in my life is when I was paid to drive a car across country. I was in for quite a surprise, because the weather had dumped a thick blanket of snow across the province and it was bitterly cold.

As the hours passed, the temperature dropped and I remained in my down filled parka with my gloves on since the heater in the car was only warm enough to melt the snow off the windshield and nothing more. I stopped for gas late that first night and was surprised to find that I had flat tire. It was so cold that I paid the gas station attendant to change the tire while I stomped around the gas station in an attempt to stay warm.

While heading west from Winnipeg late Saturday afternoon the white out conditions on the highway were so severe that I was forced to return to the windy prairie city with a plan to get an early start the next day. I pulled into a motel that had a parking lot covered in ice so smooth you could have played a game of hockey on it. As I approached a stop sign in the parking lot I applied the brakes only to discover that the only options available to stop the vehicles momentum would be time or a collision with another object. The object turned out to be an oncoming vehicle. A $50.00 contribution to the driver and a promise to not call the police or insurance company allowed me to skate through this one, for the time being anyway.

Sunday’s dawn ushered in a blue sky that was so bright that it momentarily made you forget the reality of the frigid temperature. This day was going to be spectacular or so I thought. It was near Portage La Prairie when the demons of my adventure made an abrupt return. I was alerted to trouble when the car exhibited a sudden loss of power and I heard a painful dragging sound. Inching over onto the shoulder of the highway I took a quick look underneath the car to see one end of the drive shaft hanging from a u-joint and the other end wedged into the frozen asphalt. If one recalls correctly, wireless communication was limited to Dick Tracy comic books so there was a reliance on passing motorists to stop and offer assistance when it was required. Sunday mornings were still sacred so finding a garage open also presented a challenge. Finding the correct parts on Monday proved to be difficult so an order was placed and two days later I was back on the road. When I turned onto the Yellow Head Route I felt a sense of relief knowing that my adventure was coming to an end. There was one more surprise to come.

As I motored toward the Oldsmobile’s final destination an oncoming tractor-trailer swerved into my lane forcing me to take evasive action. The fluffy white snow cradled the car softly as it came to a rest in the ditch. A tow truck was summonsed and I was soon back on the road.

The auto dealer examined the Oldsmobile, which by now looked like it could have a starring role in a National Lampoon movie, and offered the owner $1000.00. As I added up the costs of the trip it was clear that the owner did not meet his expenses through the sale of the car and would have been better off trying to sell it in Ontario. As for me I completed my first significant long distance solo drive under some of Canada’s harshest conditions and learned that when it comes to travel one must always expect the unexpected.

Also see: Safe Driving > Safety Rules to Follow when Driving

There is no doubt that each one of us enjoys driving. The good feeling is even more when this driving is on a long, smooth uninterrupted stretch of road. But such experiences are only short-lived as most of the time we are driving in the city or in the country-side on a rugged terrain. Each of these conditions presents an entirely different experience as each has its advantages and disadvantages. Some people are more comfortable driving in the city, while others detest it. Others prefer rugged driving.

City driving is soft on the vehicle. There is less wear and tear on the vehicle, there are fewer breakages and therefore the cost of repairs and maintenance where a car is primarily driven in the city is very low.

However, the incessant traffic jams make the cost of running the car exceed the cost of traveling to the moon as a tourist astronaut. While in heavy traffic, the vehicle must be driven very slowly, thus covering fewer kilometers, but it also consumes more fuel. This is compounded by the trend nowadays where people are more inclined to own fuel guzzlers in the name of sports utility vehicles or SUVs.

Drivers who get stuck in traffic grids are highly likely to vent their frustrations on fellow drivers. Therefore city driving requires one to master the art of controlling road rage either aimed directly at you in the form of swear words or demeaning signs. One has to maintain their calmness at all times.

Breathing Fumes

While stuck in traffic, we breathe fumes emitted by the clogged vehicles. There is no fresh air. This means that people have to drive with their windows rolled up to reduce the amount of bad air they breathe in. The only thing that saves you in such a situation is your vehicle’s air cleaning system. It is a pity for those of you if the temperatures are high and your vehicle has no or poor air conditioning.

High Chances of Crime

Everyone driving in the city has to be extra careful because there are high chances of criminal activity target at you taking place. One has to keep there valuables out of sight as these tend to attract perpetrators of those criminal acts. A friend was once driving in heavy traffic when his phone rang. Undeterred and probably bored, he picked the phone and answered it. He was deep in the conversation and didn’t notice as a young man casually approached his window side. A few seconds later, his phone was gone.

The same goes also when parking. Put your valuables away, in advance. Another workmate parked her car in the public car lot. But she remembered to take her laptop out of the rear seat and hide it underneath the one of the front seats. Little did she know all her movements were being closely monitored by some lazy fellow just around the corner. No sooner was she gone than the window was broken and the laptop computer together with a digital camera were stolen from the vehicle. The computer had very valuable sales information for the company we worked for.

Also see: Driving > City Driving verses Rugged Driving

Driving in the mountains can be fun or a bore depending on the type of vehicle you have on the trip. Since everyone wants to enjoy their driving experience then this article is going to show you just which type of cars are the best for the task at hand. In case your car doesn’t match the minimum specifications set out here, then you are free to either rent one or borrow a friends matching vehicle.

Suffice us to start by saying any vehicle can be driven in those hilly or mountainous regions. So if you have limited options with your vehicle, don’t worry, follow a few basic safety tips, do some defensive driving and most of all follow your common sense.

Situations in the mountains may vary based on prevailing weather conditions. For example, a seemingly smooth road will turn extremely slippery with just a few rain drops. So start by having a good knowledge of driving in different weather conditions. Then choose a vehicle.

Vehicles with a wide wheel base have a lower center of gravity. This makes them more stable and less likely to topple over when moving at high speeds around blind bends. You see, gravity tends to pull at a central location, usually the midpoint, on all objects. So a sudden change in direction of the vehicle leaves the centre of gravity at the previous point, making it more culpable of toppling over. But if the center of gravity is intentionally kept very low then even the most sudden of changes in direction do not destabilize it. In the mountains, you and your loved ones will be much safer in a vehicle with a wide wheel base rather than a narrow one.

This wheel-base effect can be improved by increasing the amount of wheel surface touching the ground. That is why you see heavy duty vehicles with wide tire or even double tires on the same side. What this means is that if you are going for a trip in the mountains and you can get a car with two sets of rear wheels on either side then it is the one you should pick.

A vehicle’s stability is also dependant on its height. High vehicles tend to be unstable while short ones are stable. So if you pick a vehicle with height make sure it has a wide wheel-base to compensate for the height. The combination of a wide wheel-base and a shorter height then makes the vehicle very suitable for driving in the mountains.

Sometimes while driving in mountains we go into unpaved roads. Sometimes there are no roads to follow in the first place. At other times, we are just adventurous and want to venture into the wild. Now, if you are planning a trip where you expect to venture into the fields, then it is advisable to take a vehicle with high ground clearance. This will enable you to pass over difficult road states without much of a hassle. It also helps if the vehicle has strong shock absorbers and suspensions.

Reference: Driving > Driving in the Mountains – What is Needed

There was a man I met long ago, his name escapes me now, but I do recall that he sold products to car washes and was based in Toronto, Ontario. We crossed paths in Edmonton, Alberta several times during the fall of 1976. I had finished high school and was working for a small company that installed car wash equipment. As a young man of 18, always up for an adventure, I jumped at his offer to fly to Ontario and drive his car back to Alberta where a local automotive dealer was prepared to purchase it. It was a slow time of year in the car wash business so my employer graciously provided me with the time off. Minimum wage was around $4.00 per hour in Alberta so the offer of a trip to Toronto, expenses and $100.00 to drive half way across Canada seemed like a reasonable proposition.

It was a Wednesday when I boarded the Air Canada flight from Edmonton to Toronto. Following an uneventful overnight stay in the big city I headed back to the airport for a short flight to Sudbury where the car had been left. Ontario had just experienced a week of intense storms that left most of the province covered with a thick blanket of snow. I followed the owner’s instructions as best as I could, diligently searching the parking lot for the black and gold colored Oldsmobile. I eventually discovered it buried under 2 feet of freshly fallen snow. I fired the car up, edged my way out of the lot and headed west. I soon realized that this adventure would have some challenges associated with it.

From my life experiences on the Canadian prairies I knew that a car being driven at highway speeds, with the heater on high, should eventually provide some level of comfort that would allow the occupant an opportunity to remove their jacket and gloves. In this particular marvel of automotive technology I was clearly wrong. The heater provided enough warmth to keep frost off the windows, but it was evident that the interior temperature would never reach a point of being considered comfortable.

As I recall the traffic volume was extremely light, radio stations were limited, and the landscape was hidden from view by the large snow banks left by the plow. One’s mind had a tendency to wander aimlessly only to be abruptly shocked into reality with the realization that the blowing snow that you were about to drive into was not caused by natural forces but it was man-made and actually concealing the back end of a tractor-trailer unit.

When I was pulled over by the police at some point during the drive through Northern Ontario I can only make the assumption that it was because the two O.P.P officers were critically bored. I am sure that being from Alberta, driving an Ontario licensed vehicle that I wasn’t the owner of probably piqued their interest, but they allowed me to continue on my journey.