@tansy wrote:
@Mominohio wrote:
@2blonde wrote:
@Laura14 Please excuse me for saying this, but as a resident of NE Ohio (think Lake Erie lake-effect snow), I'm finding this thread rather amusing! No snow here yet, but we're expecting some later today just along the lake shore (which is where I live). Got the Mustang trunk loaded up with my free weights last night!
Another Buckeye here, and I remember watching on the news, a couple of years ago (maybe? Time gets away from me), highways full of people stranded in Atlanta and there was not even enough snow to totally cover the roads.
I know they aren't prepared with the proper equipment, but if people would just slow down and focus, they would see that it really isn't that hard to drive in snow. They might see how in other places, people drive in many inches of snow, even without plows or salt trucks making the rounds yet.
There is a learning curve to bad weather driving, but a lot of it is simply slowing down, making no quick moves, allowing space, and thinking ahead.
We had a famous blizzard here in 1978, and the winter before that was just as bad. Those were the years I learned to drive. I was initiated in the most extreme conditions and it has served me well!
I never worry about myself and bad weather driving, it's worrying about what others on the road are doing!
Is it flat where you are, @Mominohio? Besides the lack of snow removal equipment in the Seattle area, we have many hills, curves and overpasses. There are any number of drivers who think their all-wheel drive vehicle makes them invincible. I am not comfortable driving in the snow, or even being a passenger frankly, and I do everyone a favor by staying home.
@tansy
Parts of Ohio are rather flat, but where we are there are many big hills and winding curvy roads. It isn't mountainous, but parts of Ohio are the beginning of the Appalachian mountains, so it varies. We are definitely hilly though, around here.
Driving in snow NEVER bothered me when I was younger. I was out in it every day for work or to take my kid to school.
I will admit, the older I get, the more apprehensive I get about it.
My biggest problem has been my latest car. I had a van (1992) prior to getting the 2005 Saturn Vue back in '05, and that van was like a tank. I could get anywhere with proper use of skills.
My Vue is much lighter, and it slips and slides without any provocation. I really don't like driving it in the ice and snow, but have been stuck doing so for 12 years now with that car.
When it is time to replace it, I'm hoping to find a much heavier vehicle that holds the road better.
My Vue is a 5 speed manual and I will say being able to down shift a manual transmission gives you much better control on icy/snowy hills than using the brakes like you have to with an automatic, so that part of my car, I do appreciate in the bad weather.
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