Driving is a idiot wonderland

[mattm04]

We recently got 2 ft.of snow here, started to come down heavy around 12:45 Wed AM and the heavy stuff ended around noon ish Wed. By that time we had about 20" and steady snow until 2 for a few extra inches. Due to our idiot Gov. not declaring a State of Emergency, we were open. I got to go in. Yay!

Driving into work for 9 AM, it is still snowing heavy. The roads had been plowed and opened up to about 1 and half lanes. From that point to the curb was a good 4-5 ft of snow piled up at least 4 ft tall in most places. The "plowed" part had 6-8 inches on it.

Appropriate Vehicle FAIL
I'm driving SUV with 4 new On/Off-Road All-Terrain tires and 4WD. Even with that it is hard to keep the car in a straight line due to the snow. I witness, much to my dismay someone trying to leave their semi shoveled drive way in what appeared to be a 2nd generation Hyundai Accent. It takes them and three people pushing to get them into the road, only to skid and get stuck, again.

They kindly ask me for help, now that they blocked my way. Why? They need milk to make pancakes. I help, push them back into their drive way, and go on my way.

The next day, my neighbor, who happened to have scanner going heard a call for the same idiot who managed to get a mile down the road before driving into a snow bank.

Delivery WHY?
At work the MOD was shocked when one phone call was not for a call out. It was, one of our DC's. They had a truck en route, and asked if our dock was clear. It wasn't as we had been told no deliveries due to the storm so we told the contractor who does the lot so they can concentrate on the emergency exit doors and main lot. We call them back and ask to have 1 bay opened up. They do.

Five hours after the call, the truck shows up and we were the first stop. It took the driver almost 6 hours to go about 40 miles, which equals about 6 MPH. He came in and called dispatch, who admitted maybe this wasn't a good idea. Seems almost every other driver also got stuck and some point. In the end, with some help from a front end loader the truck was moved, er, pushed to a empty part of the lot and left until the next day. Someone with a pick-up came down and brought the driver to the DC so he could go home.

[Mytical]

I have a vehicle that enabled me to get to work when not even most emergency vehicles were out (something like 1-2" of ice on the road..yes ice..not snow). When I am driving 5 mph, you know it is horrible weather. I see way too many idiots on the road driving like they are being chased by the Terminator..*shakes head*. As the temperature drops..so does IQ.

[BrenDAnn]

It amazes me. It snows EVERY DAMN YEAR and yet people forget how to drive on it. Oh, and if you pass me while I'm going slow enough for the conditions, and you end up in the ditch? Well...I'll wave as I pass by, provided you're not seriously hurt. Honestly, snow and/or ice on the roads does not equal "you can drive 90 mph!"

[mikoyan29]

Its always amazing, when I am on the freeway after a major snowfall and I see a number of SUVs and trucks littering the side of the road.

[dbuzman]

Its always amazing, when I am on the freeway after a major snowfall and I see a number of SUVs and trucks littering the side of the road.

That's because they think 4 wheel drive means they can't lose traction ever.

[It's me]

That's because they think 4 wheel drive means they can't lose traction ever.

Having 4-wheel drive just means you get stuck farther from home!

I see this every storm.

What people don't get is that even though 4-wheel drive vehicles can accelerate better than 2-wheel drive ones, they don't stop any better than 2-wheelers. Worse in fact, when they leave the so-called all-season tires on and the two-wheeler has proper winter tires all-round.

[Frantic Freddie]

Its always amazing, when I am on the freeway after a major snowfall and I see a number of SUVs and trucks littering the side of the road.

I've mentioned this before,a good majority of those SUVs & trucks probably don't have 4WD,depending on which part of the coutry they're sold in.It's an added expense & brings down gas mileage,

The plain truth is that most people don't have a clue how to drive in ice & snow,case in point: I've watched the videos of the bumper car incidents & noticed people sliding with their brakes locked up,WRONG!!!! Take your foot off the brake & gently steer into the skid,there's a much better chance of being able to control the car that way than simply panicking & slamming on the brakes.This isn't as much of a problem with newer cars with ABS but people still freak out & do the wrong thing.

I've driven nothing but 4WD trucks & Jeeps the last 15 years & never got stuck,though I did discover that the old Jeep CJ-5s will spin like a top on ice

[protege]

Its always amazing, when I am on the freeway after a major snowfall and I see a number of SUVs and trucks littering the side of the road.

I take great delight in that fact. Usually, because I'll drive right by them...in my Corolla, and I don't get stuck. Do I have snow tires? Nope. I don't even have ABS, but I know how to drive in snow. I don't slam on the brakes, nor do I make sudden changes in direction. I also don't freak out because of a few snow flurries.

For example, when we got the massive (3 feet) snowstorm last year, it took a good 3 hours to get home Most of that was because of accidents, and the horrible job a certain city did keeping the roads clear. There was so much crap on the roads, everyone was having trouble. But, the 3 or 4 stuck SUVs, and a Cadillac sedan on Beechwood Blvd. really took the cake. Like most people, they all laid rubber away from the traffic light at Commercial Ave. Beechwood goes up a slight hill there...and none of them made it to the top. They all got stuck.

After seeing all of that, I took a different approach. I put the Corolla into second, carefully left the traffic light, avoided hitting the stuck cars, and went around the corner atop the little hill. I've found that I can start off in second (or even third) if I have to in crappy weather. There's less wheelspin that way, and I put more torque to the pavement Anyway, I'm sure it took those idiots down several notches to see their 4WD Jeeps and Chevy SUVs stuck in snow...and I went right by them in a little FWD CAR

I've also found, that the main enemy of light vehicles is momentum. You lose that, and you'll find yourself sitting at the bottom of hills. A constant, steady pace is best, either climbing or coming off hills. Speeding up, or slowing down erratically is just asking for trouble.

[blas]

A couple of Fridays ago, I was driving back home on the freeway, it was lightly sugar-snowing, just a trace, and right before I got to my exit, in the northbound lanes I saw a pickup truck turned completely upside down......there was a man standing right next to it with this look on his face. Well, I'd assume it was him who was driving, good thing he wasn't hurt......but seriously.......in a trace of snow in freaking WISCONSIN, you manage to completely flip your truck over?!

[Racket_Man]

......but seriously.......in a trace of snow in freaking WISCONSIN, you manage to completely flip your truck over?!

you are actually surprised by this Blas?????? ANY snow in this state means the drivers are going 5MPH or "trying" to do 95MPH and succeeding at neither.

[Polenicus]

There's something about snowfall that brings out some really bizarre behavior in people. People start doing things they wouldn't normally do if there wasn't snow, and not just drivers.

For example, I was at an intersection, in the left turn lane waiting to make a left turn. This was a controlled intersection, light was green. Two lanes either way. I had been stopped a while, and there were no cars behind me.

This woman driving an SUV in the left lane of oncoming traffic suddenly STOPPED, even though the light was green. Naturally the cars behind her nearly crammed into her backside. Now, she wasn't in the left turn lane, and wasn't signaling, she just stopped dead. It took me a minute to realize she was trying to let me turn. Except that the traffic in the lane to her right was still oncoming, and with her big blue SUV in the way I couldn't see it. Turning would be a deathtrap.

Traffic was not heavy. If she had just continued through, I would have had a clear turn in three or four cars (Which was actually what I was waiting on when she unexpectedly stopped). Barring that, I could have made my turn when the light went yellow. Instead, she backed up traffic behind her for a good block and a half. And despite the honking of the people behind her, she just kept giving me the big cow eyes, wondering why I wasn't blindly throwing myself into the oncoming traffic of the lane to her right.

People don't do this when it's not snowing. But it's almost like that first snowflake falls, and they suddenly think the rules have changed. They haven't, and changing things up it just going to cause accidents.

[Marmalady]

I'm always glad that I learned to drive in the winter months, even had driving lessons in the snow. The way my instructor put it, "You'll have to do it sooner or later, it might as well be sooner, and at least this way you won't be on your own the first time." I wouldn't say I enjoy driving in it, but I know what to do and it doesn't freak me out.

[Kogarashi]

Twelve years driving in the snow and I have yet to go off the road or even do more than a little skidding and slight fishtailing when attempting to accelerate or stop (and those are due to extremely slick conditions). What I dislike about snow around here, though, is the street parking combined with some people's tendency to drive way too fast (seriously, speeding in these conditions?). The streets are narrow enough as it is. When it snows, the plows either have to go around the parked cars, leaving car-shaped snow drifts that clog the side of the road, or they can't quite clear to the curb, leaving about a foot taken up by snow. Cars that subsequently park don't get close enough to the curb and end up taking up half the driving lane, and then other people drive at or above the speed limit down those roads, making me fear for my sideview mirrors.

This woman driving an SUV in the left lane of oncoming traffic suddenly STOPPED, even though the light was green. Naturally the cars behind her nearly crammed into her backside. Now, she wasn't in the left turn lane, and wasn't signaling, she just stopped dead. It took me a minute to realize she was trying to let me turn.

You reminded me of this guy I was behind just the other day. Driving down a minor street crossed by several other even-more-minor streets, with this pickup truck in front of me. Every single intersection we came to he stopped to let a car cross or make a turn, despite the fact that we had the right of way (all the side streets had stop signs, we didn't even have yield signs). Every. Single. Intersection. I can understand once. Courtesy. But every time, when there are cars behind him?

[Chromatix]

I hear about all these people who can't drive in snow or on ice, and I wonder if they should be made to try a train simulator. You wouldn't believe how long it takes a train to stop, unless you've tried to do it yourself. The upshot is that train drivers need to look miles ahead when planning what to do next, which is why they have signals and dispatchers to help them out.

Here's an example - and yes it is mine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMErUnPUNPM

[protege]

You wouldn't believe how long it takes a train to stop, unless you've tried to do it yourself.

Yep, that momentum is a bitch

Seriously though, I've driven a locomotive. Nothing too big, just a little 25-ton Plymouth at the county museum. Much like driving a big truck. Anyway, even though I wasn't pulling anything, it took much longer to stop than I expected. I had to be careful not to ram the steam engine...or run off the end of the spur!

Back on topic, it still amazes the hell out of me that people can't handle driving in snow. Either they freak the hell out, or they drive like maniacs. Along those lines, what's the deal with the people who see you sliding at them, and continue to sit there like nothing's happening!

Last year, I almost hit some asshole who did just that. He decided to take his good old time at a stop sign (bad idea), meaning that I'd have to use the brakes while coming down a hill. Well, about halfway down, the inevitable happened. Yep, I hit some ice, and...ended up coming down the hill sideways Anyone want to guess what that dipshit did when I hit the horn? That fucker turned around and *watched* me coming at him. I can't stop, and this asshole won't get out of the way. He didn't leave the stop sign until my car was almost in his lap!

Seriously, if you see someone sliding towards you, get the fuck out of the way!