Page 13 - Trucker's guide - engelsk

Slippery ascents
When driving in winter, it is particularly important for you to assess the conditions carefully before commencing your ascent so that your vehicle does not end up at a standstill on the hill with its driven wheels spinning.
Chains must be put on before starting to drive up the hill. You should check that the wheel nuts are not loose when using chains.
Accelerating as much as possible before the hill means you can use less traction by easing up on the accelerator slightly when you are on the hill. Choose a gear that will enable you to keep your revs rela- tively high at the bottom of the hill, so that you can ease up on the accelerator if you start to experience wheelspin. This will give you grip without having to gear down. (If your vehicle has a tandem axle, you can achieve a greater driving axle load by using tan- dem axle lifting/load transfer.)
Gearing down early reduces the need for lots of gear changes on the hill. Being in the wrong gear may cause you to stop, and you may experience major problems with getting started again. If your vehicle has an automatic transmission, it may be necessary in many instances to use this manually in slippery conditions.
The method used by the driver is dependent on the gradient of the slope and whether the road is narrow and/or winding.
When using a differential lock, wheelspin may cause the vehicle to skid out towards the edge of the road due to the incline. Therefore, try to avoid wheelspin and take particular care when cornering.
When chains are used on the driven wheels in difficult conditions, and particularly on slopes, the differential lock is necessary to ensure the best possible mobility.
Industrial/parking areas
Industrial areas are generally more slippery than roads. Moreover, roads are cleared of ice and snow more quickly than areas where there is less traffic. Don’t let this come as a surprise. Always assume that parking areas or rest stops may be slippery, even though road conditions are good.
When must you use winter tyres?
All vehicles and trailers that each have a permitted gross weight in excess of 3500 kg must use winter tyres from 15 November until 31 March.
All vehicles with a permitted gross weight in excess of 3500 kg (both vehicles and trailers) must have tyres with a tread depth of at least 5 mm from 16 October in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, and from 1 November in the rest of the country.
This requirement applies until 30 April in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark and until the first Sunday after Easter Monday in the rest of the country.
Outside of this period, all vehicles must have tyres with a tread depth of at least 1.6 mm.
Winter tyre requirements
Winter tyres may be studded or non-studded. The tyres must be marked “M+S”, “MS”, “M&S”, “M-S”, “Mud and Snow” and/or “3PMSF” or “Three Peak Mountain Snowflake”(the Alpine symbol).
You can apply for exemption from the winter tyre requirements if winter tyres are not available for your vehicle in a particular dimension (https://www.veg- vesen.no/kjoretoy/yrkestransport/dekk-og-kjetting/ soknad-om-dispensasjon-fra-krav-til-vinterdekk)
Please note that starting from winter 2020–2021, it is compulsory to use “Three Peak Mountain Snow- flake” winter tyres on drive shafts and front steering axles on vehicles and buses with a permitted gross weight of more than 3500 kg.
Studded tyres
Studded tyres are only permitted during the period in which tyres with at least 5 mm tread depth are required, unless the road surface conditions render it necessary. If studded tyres are used on a vehicle with a permit- ted gross weight of more than 3500 kg, all the wheels on the same axle must have studded tyres. If a vehicle has twin-mounted wheels, it is sufficient that one of the wheels has studded tyres.
If studded tyres are used on a trailer designed for speeds of over 50 km/h that has a service brake sys- tem, there must be studded tyres on all the wheels. This applies regardless of the trailer’s permissible gross weight.
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REMEMBER! It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that the correct wheel equipment is used.
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Trucker’s Guide