The Onspot Blog

Guest Blog

Although Onspot automatic snow chains are mostly used in transportation trucks and rescue vehicles, of course there are other users who also need to make it in time. This week’s guest blogger, Jonas and Henrik from the Haaks band, points out that also showbiz has the very same need. Enjoy! / the Onspot team

Preparing for winter road conditions

We’re Haaks, a show band who have been playing full-time for the past 24 years. It’s me Jonas (bass & vocals), my brother Johan (guitar & vocals), Mattias (keyboards), Roger (drums) and me Henrik (sound & light).

From being mostly a night club band, we’re now doing more and more company events and happenings. Especially, we look forward to the after beach gigs in the summer and the after ski gigs in the winter. Nothing compares to entertaining people who are on vacation. Summertime, we’re mostly in Swedish Tylösand and Tanumstrand and wintertime is mostly about Swedish and Norwegian ski resorts. All gigs also mean that we spend a lot of time out on the roads and it requires good planning.

We all know that friction and traction is crucial to avoid sliding vehicles and spinning wheels. (To learn more, read the blog post What is traction, friction and road grip?) When driving, we have a sense of whether road friction is high or low. But is there a measure for road friction? If so, how could that be calculated since there are several different variables summing up as road friction? Let’s have a closer look at this “road friction”.

We should pay special attention to bridges and overpasses when driving in temperatures around freezing point. We’ve learnt that bridges may be icy while the road isn’t, and that’s all we need to know to for safety reasons. But, giving it a second thought, how could the bridge be icy when the road isn’t? Here’s why.

Whether driving a small go-kart or a heavy hauler, you must have traction to move forward. Actually, you can’t even walk without it. Traction is a commonly used word and many believe it’s just another word for friction. But is it really? Let’s have a closer look at friction and traction – what it is and why it’s so fundamental to safe driving.

We all know the feeling when tyres lose grip and the vehicle starts skidding. Controlled skidding in a go-kart could be fun, but a heavy vehicle unexpectedly skidding on a road could cause a very dangerous situation. The skidding is due to the vehicle losing road grip and obviously, this has to do with tyres and road surface.

It comes every year, but it surprises us every time and often poses severe problems – of course we are talking about the winter. Everyone involved in the transportation industry knows that a lack of road maintenance and poorly equipped trucks can cause major problems and increased costs. We cannot influence the weather but we can adapt our business to the weather and to the slippery conditions.

Download the tips for efficient driving in winter weather conditions below!