Advice Needed--Cars, Ice, and Meltdowns

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We had an ice storm yesterday. Basically, there's a sheet of ice covering everything, and on top of that about four inches of snow. I go to a university about a half-hour's drive away.

I've been driving my own car for two weeks.

Tomorrow I have to get to school somehow. The problem: Today I tried to get my car out of its parking place at the side of the road, and I couldn't.

I have a small, front-wheel-drive car. This is the worst possible thing for driving on snow, and I know it, but it was all I could afford.

I dug the snow away from the tires, and spread kitty litter for traction. I tried going forward and reverse repeatedly, hoping to get the car unstuck, but the front wheels just spun on the layer of ice. I tried putting it in neutral and pushing, but I'm just not strong enough and I don't have any friends who could help me. I suppose I could have rigged up something to push the gas pedal for me, so I could have it in drive, but I didn't want the car to end up crashing into the nearby telephone pole either.

I tried for an hour and got frustrated enough to slam my head repeatedly into the car. I have a headache now. The car is fine; no damage. Actually what surprised me most is that my glasses are still in one piece. I haven't done that in years.

On top of that, one of my professors deducts points off your final grade for each absence, and if you miss enough, you fail automatically. I have to get a good grade. If I fail a class, ever, the vocational rehab people won't pay for me to re-take it, and because I can't pay to re-take it myself that means I can't get a college education.

I hate this state of affairs. I need to get to school somehow and I have no problem if it takes me two hours to get there, but I can't get the car to move two inches much less fifteen miles.

I know that salt melts ice, would that help. Can you get some salt pellets, somehow? If it was me, and I couldn't get the car unstuck and had nobody to help me I would call the Dean or the Professor himself and explain the situation. Surely he'd understand.

Yeah, I'm gonna spread some salt... I tried that but maybe I just didn't give it enough time.

Unfortunately, I have no suggestions, but I can sympathize. I just moved to Erie, PA a month ago (you can literally see Lake Erie from the building where I work- it's a block away), and it is insane the amount of snowfall there is. We got a foot just yesterday, and it snows at least a couple inches nearly every day. This morning driving to work I got stuck in an intersection, but was able to rock myself loose, and then had to sit through a light three times because I got stuck again when entering another intersection. For a place that gets lake-effect snow, they certainly don't seem to have any interest in plowing the streets, and I get stuck at least several times weekly (although not for an hour- yipe!).

My second day of work I couldn't get out of my parking spot and screamed myself hoarse before I finally got free. It was about 20 minutes, and that was quite long enough (I think I would have given up before reaching an hour). Needless to say, sobbing and screaming with frustration was not how I would have chosen to begin my first day in my department (the previous day had been only orientation). I'm looking into public transportation- maybe that is something you could try.

I also have a small, front-wheel car by the way. For the first time, I am envying SUVs. Next year I might get chains. One thing I've found that helps is to simulate someone pushing the car by rocking back and forward in the driver's seat violently, timing your forward rocks with pressing the accelerator.
One thing you can try is to shovel out your parking spot before you get into it. I started doing that, and it helps. Then you can get a bit of momentum up before hitting the snow on the street.

Can you post a notice on the bulletin board asking if any other student lives in your area and could give you a lift in exchange for gas money? It won't solve the problem now but could solve future problems. A lot of people nowadays have SUVs or trucks that seem to have an easier time on ice.

For now, is a cab or the bus not an option? If that won't work, do you have a diagnosis? If so, maybe you can look into a handicapped transportation service like we have here in the Boston area. Again, no help now but for the future it might save you this stress.

I was also going to say rock salt. I hope there's a place you can buy some within walking distance, or a supermarket that delivers and that sells icemelt, rock salt, whatever they call it.

Next semester maybe you can try to clump all your classes together on mon/wed/fri so you'll have only 3 days a week to risk having crummy weather on a schoolday?

Good luck. I hate driving on ice or on roads slippery with snow. I've called out sick from work uncountable times due to transportation problems. I sympathize.

I hope you made it, or at least worked things out so you won't be penalized.

sorry for time difrence...it migth be late now but dig snow off behind wheel and but someting under the wheel like sand or rocks..what ever stops it from slipping small rocks works best

Kitty litter's no good, it's clay and goes all slippery. Gravel's okay. So is a peice of astroturf. Really, don't sit there going forward and reverse repeatedly. If the wheels are spinning and the car is not moving you're either digging a hole for your tire to sink in, or your polishing the ice smooth. Rocking back and forth isn't too likely to help. You must patiently dig. My car is so low to the ground that when I get stuck in snow I must usually dig out all underneath the front half of it. You'd think digging out in front and behind each front tire would work, but naw. Digging out a foot or two in front, behind and also on either side, and turning a little as you try to crawl out is a good idea. Anyway, in my experience, sitting there spinnng your wheels is the anti-helpful, though it is sort of expressive.

Take a cab, or a bus, and if you can't get out any way, call the prof and explain.

Now you've started driving you really need to have some kind of back-up plan for adverse weather, mechanical breakdown or whatever.

If you have any advance warning, like this situation, then you should hopefully be able to make other arrangements. Could you still get the bus you used to get?

Does the professor still deduct points even if the absence is explained? If so, that seems really unreasonable. Usually workplaces and universities will accept that if the weather is bad, then people are going to be late, or unable to get there at all.

Btw, when driving in winter you should keep the following things in your car at all times. Extra warm clothing or a warm blanket, a shovel, some chocolate, nuts and cartons of drinks. If you can get some old sacks, they're good for getting your car moving again if your wheels are spinning, and they can be reused.

I hope things worked out and you got to your classes.

First of all: It took me a half hour, but the salt had melted enough that I was able to dig down to the pavement and get some traction. So I got to school and back just fine, despite idiots driving 10 mph above the speed limit on slushy roads. It turned out that it was really important to get to school because one of my classes helped us do a really difficult homework problem I'd never have gotten on my own.

Standardized strategy for snow/ice problems seems to be to dig out from around the tires, then rock the car off the bit of snow that is left under the tires onto the higher-traction surface you've created near them. My mom's boyfriend also suggested placing old towels, carpet scraps, or even the car's floor mats on the snow near the tires.

I already have preparations in place for breakdowns and such. I have an emergency blanket, a sleeping bag, a day's worth of food, a multitool, a bag of salt, wind-up flashlight/radio, money for a cab, a cell phone and the number for roadside assistance, hand-warmers, extra socks, a bottle of water, a pocketknife, other stuff I'm forgetting... You get the picture. I carry all but the sleeping bag and salt with me in my backpack every day, and I never wear shoes I couldn't walk ten miles in, nor clothes that wouldn't keep me warm for those ten miles. The basic theory is that even if everything goes completely crazy, I should be able to make it back home with nothing but my backpack and my own two legs.

Paranoid? Maybe. But I do not like surprises and I do not like uncontrollable situations, and if I have a plan for them, they are less uncontrollable. I even do periodic fire drills at home. (Best time: thirty-five seconds.) I know I often get completely stuck without a plan, because I have executive dysfunction to a significant degree; so if I don't have a plan ahead of time I could easily freeze or melt down when I need to act.

Don't you use special tires for the winter? I've seen many movie clips from over there, showing extreme traffical chaos, when snow and ice storms occurs.
I use special tires for the winter season, and rarely have any troble. And over here, we really got bad weather in the winter season, believe me.
But I know what you mean. It have happened to me a few times, got stucked in the snow, and If I had a sledge hammer, I had probably smashed the car into a wreck. Such situations really makes my anger rise. Cheer up, the spring is coming soon

old rugs or carpet off cuts under the tires are a good idea i've used.

i've also let air out of tires to increase the area of contact; but can't really recommend this as it will affect handling and may total tire.

bit stumped that you need advice as you describe yourself as an engineering student!