Winter Driving Suck

[PastryGal]

Convenient for the driver they hit that there was a witness on the scene.

I didn't actually see it happen, only heard it. Quite glad I didn't see it since it was shitty and cold out and I just wanted to walk home in one piece.

[Chromatix]

Believe it or not, that still makes you a witness. You saw clearly that the SUV was not under proper control, had to step out of the way to avoid getting hit yourself, and immediately afterwards were aware that it had collided with another vehicle.

The right thing to do under those circumstances is to leave your details with the victim, and/or to call the police yourself.

[protege]

I find the opposite to be true in my area. First hint of any kind of troublesome weather and the roads deadlock.

Yep, same here. One little raindrop, and every road in the county turns into a damn parking lot. Seriously people, if you can't handle driving in rain/snow...either ride the bus or stay the hell home. Oh, and it's not usually the people in cars going slow--usually the SUVs get stuck and/or wreck because they put too much faith in their vehicles, and go way too fast for conditions. They have one minor little slide, and then it's 5mph on perfectly clear roads

[Jay 2K Winger]

I find the opposite to be true in my area. First hint of any kind of troublesome weather and the roads deadlock.

Yup, the old "see one flake and flake out" routine.

[FormerCallingCardRep]

Back, when I first left my ex I was driving home in my little RX7 for the first time in snow. I went to turn onto the street and spun the car on the slick road. I learned very quick to slow down

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Yup, the old "see one flake and flake out" routine.

You left out the parts where the weather forecasters are urging folks to stay off the roads, as they are treacherous and folks pile into the grocery store and take all the milk, bread, and eggs (not to mention beer) yet they call out of work to say the roads are too bad to drive on.

For me, if I can get to the grocery store, that means I'm working.

[Jay 2K Winger]

You left out the parts where the weather forecasters are urging folks to stay off the roads, as they are treacherous and folks pile into the grocery store and take all the milk, bread, and eggs (not to mention beer) yet they call out of work to say the roads are too bad to drive on.

Yeah, but what do those guys know? They predict the storm will miss us, and we get dumped on. They predict we'll get hammered, and we MAYBE get some flurries.

And the worst of them brush off their errors with "Well, meteorology's not an exact science..." which just tells me, "Well, that means you're not exactly a scientist, doesn't it?" (I'm looking at YOU, Bob Ryan!)

[eltf177]

You left out the parts where the weather forecasters are urging folks to stay off the roads, as they are treacherous and folks pile into the grocery store and take all the milk, bread, and eggs (not to mention beer) yet they call out of work to say the roads are too bad to drive on.

As well as bottled water and (surprise, surprise) toilet paper! I swear, I've seen people take so much of this stuff it's like they think they'll be snowed in until Spring!

[mhkohne]

I have never changed to snow tires here in Iowa. I will say, though, there is a prevalence of four wheel drive vehicles here. I just wish people realized four wheel drive does not equal four wheel stop!

Announcer voice:
Four wheel drive: the power to go in any conditions!

Fine print fast talking announcer voice:
Power to stop not included. Only drive when conscious. Do not change baby's diapers while driving. Do not swerve to avoid that rabbit - you'll hit a car. Do not read this message while driving.

[mhkohne]

Yeah, but what do those guys know? They predict the storm will miss us, and we get dumped on. They predict we'll get hammered, and we MAYBE get some flurries.

And the worst of them brush off their errors with "Well, meteorology's not an exact science..." which just tells me, "Well, that means you're not exactly a scientist, doesn't it?" (I'm looking at YOU, Bob Ryan!)

Well, when you run the models and crunch the numbers, the best you can get is a probability range for certain outcomes. And the further out you predict, the wider the range of possible outcomes.

The problem is that most folks can't do anything with those numbers - so the weatherman boils it down to the most likely thing to happen and announces that. Which, since we know going in is only a probable outcome, means that he's going to be at least a little wrong most of the time.

So, don't blame the weatherman - he's being paid to provide exact answers to the future behavior of a chaotic system. So his job is, in fact, impossible to do.

[Jay 2K Winger]

So, don't blame the weatherman - he's being paid to provide exact answers to the future behavior of a chaotic system. So his job is, in fact, impossible to do.

I'm well aware of all this. I was being somewhat sarcastic.

My main beef with Bob Ryan is this air of superiority he has. I can't put my finger on it. I just don't like him.

[Racket_Man]

You left out the parts where the weather forecasters are urging folks to stay off the roads, as they are treacherous and folks pile into the grocery store and take all the milk, bread, and eggs (not to mention beer) yet they call out of work to say the roads are too bad to drive on.

For me, if I can get to the grocery store, that means I'm working.

Yeah same here.

"OHHHHHH the roads are SOOOOOO bad. What to do??? WHAT TO DO???? OHHHH I know. LET'S order pizza for delivery and make the delivery guy to all of that driving and sliding and drifting and getting stuck and .... and ... and .... and then let's stiff him but be very cheerful about it and warn himn to be careful on the roads as THEY ARE BAD"...

[sms001]

Well, when you run the models and crunch the numbers, the best you can get is a probability range for certain outcomes.

Sidenote: 36 hour forecasting has improved from around 24% in the mid fifties to almost 78% in 2005. Go science!

And something I didn't know; human selection of models is more accurate than just leaving the computers to it. So maybe Jay 2K's Bob Ryan DOES deserve some booing

[WoodenSunshine]

A few years back, they predicted an AWFUL snowstorm. It was on the news for a week. Forcasters urging people to stay inside, schools were cancelling beforehand, I prepped with some hot cocoa and a puzzle.

Day of this awful storm?


...

...


NADA! Blue skies, slightly warm. Gorgeous day.

The weather forcaster had one of the anchors actually crack an egg on his face.

[Willowe]

On the topic of weather forecasters: I recently learned in my meteorology class that most local news forecasters actually don't hold degrees in meteorology at all. Which might also help explain why some (though certainly not all) of them seem to get everything wrong.

On winter driving: Last winter I spun out and hit a guard rail in a in an SUV with snow tires and four-wheel drive while driving under the speed limit. Lucky enough to not damage the car (drove it away with only minor damage) or anyone else, not lucky enough to see the icy-slush I was driving into as I took the corner until it was too late.

Just goes to show that no matter how good the vehicle is, anything can still happen.