Why Poland is "surprised" by winter and snow every year?

Not really. My arsehole neighbour shovelled all the snow from round and on top of his car to be behind my car (thus blocking me in) and then sodded of out. While he was gone I paid the local drunk guy 10 zeds to shovel all of it into his parking space and then add all the snow from round and on top of my car. One nil Harry.


It was actually an Impreza (note the single z, which I used) WRX STi.

I thought you were referring to a proper 4x4 off roader hence my query and mistake.


Sounds like a good ol snow ball fight is needed here to sort out bad blood.

Or a shovel, a pile of snow, and a bucket of water....DIY snow barriers.

Harry sure does have some snow wars on his hands, yeh poor a bucket of cold water all over his car, then another and another. Ice that mutha fookers car.

How can it be surprised when i comes on time every year

because apparently we never would have expected it to happen again.

I guess they fear their palm trees will not grow.

@ Harry, If you really want to screw your neighbour put half a bag of sugar in his petrol tank.
Tip, mix the sugar with water it goes in easier

I have been unpleasantly surprised that the response to the snow where I am has been less than impressive. The people who look after the flats cleared paths very quickly and then again after more fresh snow. But the transport system seems to have deteriorated somewhat just like it does in England - although of course not total cancellations as you get in Britain.

Also the airport seemed to have coped well and most of the flights got away on time here.

However, having observed the late buses and slow moving traffic on iced roads, I am left a bit puzzled as to why snow catches Poland out at all.

Another thing, I don't know what this winter tyres changing is all about. In the UK we don't, do we? I can't remember doing that.

I can remember one winter driving on the M27 in the middle of the night and the snow was so bad the wipers stopped moving, and I had to pull in at Rownham's Roadchef to de-ice them. By the time I managed to stop I could not see a thing out of the windscreen and drove by sticking my head out of the window off the motorway to the slip road. I have to say, I really hate driving in snow and am really pleased I forgot to bring my licence here to Poland.

out here we clear our own paths, i know Rownhams!

• 
  path for wood
  

Quite a simple answer, summer tyres in winter conditions. Most of the accidents and hold ups are by the morons that are too cheap to change their tyres or buy winter ones. This evening I saw a classic accident, a bus stopped and a car went straight in the back of it, because he had summer tyres. "Cheap is not cheap"

hahahahahahahahahahaha

many of those morons cant afford winter tyres though, its easier said than done mate dont give it the high and mighty just cos you have disposable cash. Winter tyres for 1200 PLN or food on the fcuking table for four months, know what i mean?

Arrogant as fcuk....


Come on thats not funny at all. WTF

I've not been there in 15 years, but I can tell you the old Welcome Break at Fleet (M3) used to make the best cup of tea anywhere, I couldn't make a cup as good as that myself at home!


Winter tyres have a tread that copes better with snow I assume, so why aren't they pushed harder in England? We do get snow there, and I was iced in last Jan after they ran out of salt. Several weeks we had terrible snow, my neighbour had to dig me out when the car lost traction on the ice outside my own front door.

Talking of cheap tyres, I saw a report on UK television say that in the UK the cheap tyres do not stop anything like as well in the wet, even if superficially the tread pattern looks the same. It all has to do with the grade of rubber used. So, a budget tyre is probably not worth it at all.

tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Autocar-Tyre-Test-Budget-Tyre-Performance.htm

So when some 'moron' with summer tyres ploughs into your car, you are going to say, " It is alright mate, don't worry about writing off my car and breaking my leg, I know you cannot afford summer tyres.' Just wondering?

Winter tyres are a softer rubber compound with more grooves thats it. You can spot them easily, i commented here years ago that they didnt make much difference but that was in my old Audi 4x4 Quattro i totally retract that statement without them you slip and slide all over the show in these conditions.

Nothing wrong with the public transport in Poznan - buses and trams are running as normal, despite tempatures of -14c just now.

"I dont wanna hear about no mutha fcuking iffs" Pulp Fiction.

I dont support it just dont think its funny. Polish people are poor for the most part, i feel for them....

Your empathy is touching. But it is a dog eat dog world. Sink or swim. Or slide and crash in this case.

I'll bear that in mind, thanks.

There is a well-known brand of tyre that I would never use, caused me all sorts of problems getting the wheels balanced to avoid judder at 60mph, had to go to 6 or 7 garages until the problem was successfully reduced to tolerable. Next set of tyres I'm buying Continentals or perhaps Bridgestones or Avons, and no I am not awash with cash at all either but I really think budget unknown make tyres are highly inadvisable and a very false economy.


Restored my faith a bit! :o)

Meanwhile, in Blighty:
news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/UK-Weather-Snow-Engulfs-Britain-As-Bitter-Winds-Bring-Sub-Zero-Conditions/Article/201011415841708?lpos=UK_News_Right_Promo_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15841708_UK_Weather%3A_Snow_Engulfs_Britain_As_Bitter_Winds_Bring_S ub-Zero_Conditions

Your off again, the golden rule is when it drops below 7 for one week, you put on your winter tyres, in the conditions you have today, you should not drive without winter tryes, unless it is absolute emergency. Not arrogant, just common sense. I will riterate, anyone that is driving round in the conditions we have today in Warsaw, without winter tyres is a complete selfish moron, the sooner the Police impose fines the better.

Maybe i thought your statemnet was a tad arrogant, i agree damn it.

In Poland, as far as I know - they're not compulsory. The law is only that if you're involved in an accident, then the lack of winter tyres will be taken into consideration. Probably the most sensible compromise - for there's no guarantee that it will actually snow enough every winter.

WB, I feel for poor polish people too, and I wish I could help so many of them, they are brilliant people. Never the less I would prefer to see them take the bus, than drive and put themselves and others in danger.


I have never known a winter, I did not have to change my tyres. It may be different in the countryside, if someone gets stuck they are not really blocking anyone, it a city you can have a gridlock in about 15 mins, if you two or three accidents on the main thorough ways.

woah, don't get carried away....

they are alright, like most people...

Laziness, cheapness, and disorganization.

I've lived in both the n. US and canada and i've never seen such problems with clearing the roads as in poland. If they put the plows to work in full force over night (like a normal winter country would), there would be very little chaos in the morning.

Traffic heading into some cities was blocked from entering some cities to allow for people to get to work / kids to school. WTF?!??!

But then you wouldn't be in Poland :)

Yes, because you can compare a poor European country with two of the richest countries in the world on any meaningful level.


Really? Why do other European countries have just as much problems? Germany suffered badly last winter, for instance.

Ah, I forget, any excuse to criticise Poland. Certainly the sign of the expat that's stuck in Poland.

I have met some of the wonderful people in PL over the years, many of them have been outside the city. My wife's 89 year old grandmother, who lived 50 Klm away from Waraw. She would not come and live in Warsaw with the family or go into an old peoples home. She wanted to stay and die in her home. She would walk 2 Klm's to the market, once a week at the age of 80 +, whenever we visited her she would cook clean and do everything for the kids, because she was of a different generation. There are many people like this in PL and I am humbled when I hear many of their stories, so brilliant, maybe I should up it a notch to amazing.

Some day it may be you as the *******, broken down for what ever reason, every other dude giving you the horn assuming you dont have winter tyres. I get frustrated at such drivers just need to chill the hell out some times.