Slip Slidin' Away!

Things are different up there for sure. I've experienced 6 wonderful Northern New England winters myself. I think the biggest differrence is that they have far fewer roads and many more plows than we have here. Not to mention that nearly everyone who owns a pick-up truck has a plow stuck to it in the winter.
Also everyone there grows up driving on snow coverd icy roads so it is the norm rather than the exception like it is here where we really only get maybe 3 or 4 accumlating snow falls every winter.
I don't know what's worse here though; idiots who drive 20MPH on the expressway or idiots who drive as fast as they can because they think that 4-wheel drive makes them invincible!

My husband is from Wyoming. He gets tickled every winter by our panic. Out there, the norm is several feet. I remember going to school in snow up to my rear in Michigan. No snow days, EVER. Here, was another story. When my family moved here, we lived in Shelby County. They would shut down school if someone spit on the sidewalk. It was great fun. Of course, I never learned to drive in snow, so I'm one of the ones who gets nervous around the white stuff.

Darn ! I'm out of town and don't get to enjoy this. How many feet of snow did ya'll get anyway ?

FEET?!!! We are lucky if it is 2 inches......lord help us....

I don't know what's worse here though; idiots who drive 20MPH on the expressway or idiots who drive as fast as they can because they think that 4-wheel drive makes them invincible!

It's like I said in a previous thread about weather...Some of ya'll are approaching this from the entirely wrong perspective. Instead of mixing it up with these people what ya should do is get a big thermos of coffee, a couple of lawn chairs, go set up at the busiest intersection you can find and then just sit back and enjoy the show.

I have my big fuzzy Russki hat and a shovel, who needs to be dug out?

Oh wait, you mean a LOUISVILLE snowstorm? I'll be on the lawn chair next to Steve P's, except my thermos has something a bit more "warming" than coffee.

Then we look for moose and squirrel.

After last year's Ice storm and snowfall, I welcome this light dusting of snow.

After last year's Ice storm and snowfall, I welcome this light dusting of snow.

Kyle's got it. Ice is where the trouble really happens.

I can barely believe they're cancelling school, letting school out early, etc. U of L is closed tonight. Will I even need to teach tomorrow? Who knows.

But seriously, reduce your speed. That is pretty much all it takes. Yes, it'll take a few minutes longer, but it is worth it.

Key tips (from Nimbus):
1. Reduce speed. If you normally drive 40mph, drive 25-30.
2. Don't slam on your brakes. Try to avoid using them (going slower helps a lot here). If you slam on your brakes, you'll slide.
3. Keep the wheels pointed in the direction you want to go, even if you're sliding. They should grab hold at some point and then you'll go in the desired direction.
4. Don't drive too close to other vehicles. Who knows what they'll do.
5. Extra caution (and reduced speed) on overpasses. They freeze first.

Happy sledding! Wish it wasn't so cold.....

Nimbus (drove professionally in Chicago, and also learned to drive stick there in a blizzard in rush hour).

Nimbus (drove professionally in Chicago, and also learned to drive stick there in a blizzard in rush hour).

That's easy...driving in Chicago rush hour = idling.

Hubby saw three wrecks within less than a mile from leaving the house, so he called it a day and came home. We know how to drive in the snow, it's all the ones that don't that scare the heck out of us!

My mom always had a rule about driving in snow in the south, "if you're not going to make enough to cover your deductible that day, don't go in." Good call mom, good call...

After last year's Ice storm and snowfall, I welcome this light dusting of snow.

Kyle's got it. Ice is where the trouble really happens.

I can barely believe they're cancelling school, letting school out early, etc. U of L is closed tonight. Will I even need to teach tomorrow? Who knows.

But seriously, reduce your speed. That is pretty much all it takes. Yes, it'll take a few minutes longer, but it is worth it.

Key tips (from Nimbus):
1. Reduce speed. If you normally drive 40mph, drive 25-30.
2. Don't slam on your brakes. Try to avoid using them (going slower helps a lot here). If you slam on your brakes, you'll slide.
3. Keep the wheels pointed in the direction you want to go, even if you're sliding. They should grab hold at some point and then you'll go in the desired direction.
4. Don't drive too close to other vehicles. Who knows what they'll do.
5. Extra caution (and reduced speed) on overpasses. They freeze first.

Happy sledding! Wish it wasn't so cold.....

Nimbus (drove professionally in Chicago, and also learned to drive stick there in a blizzard in rush hour).

Hey Nimbus, I'm with you- learned to drive in Chicago and then spent 14 yeas driving in NY/NJ snows. In Chicago ( and undergraduate in Champaign) school NEVER closes. I 'll never forget driving at age 18 in a certified blizzard in a little bitty Renault sports car- that'll teach you to drive in the snow!

Deb

The roads were bad enough that schools should have been closed. It is not worth the risk to send teenage drivers and school buses out when the roads are the way they are. Schools close all over the country including Chicago and New York. Louisville isn't just freaking out over a little snow. All it would take is for one bus to slide into a ditch and a child to get hurt and everyone would be screaming that the schools had screwed up.

I got my winter driving merit badge after 7 Montana winters. Just like Wyoming, the motto was "Tamp it down and paint stripes on it." Driving an ambulance in it was really fun but it sure honed your chops.

Amazing how it is always the other guy who can't drive in snow and ice. We are truly talented group.
Just sayin'.

The roads were bad enough that schools should have been closed. It is not worth the risk to send teenage drivers and school buses out when the roads are the way they are. Schools close all over the country including Chicago and New York. Louisville isn't just freaking out over a little snow. All it would take is for one bus to slide into a ditch and a child to get hurt and everyone would be screaming that the schools had screwed up.

Ahhhhhhhh baloney. We're coddling these kids enough already...which does nothing but produce another generation of Wussies. What these kids should be doing is getting a bunch of their buddies together,and going out and cutting "shitties" in the parking lot. Might teach 'em how to actually drive in the stuff.

This is what my kid had out in the snow today!

http://www.subaru.com/vehicles/impreza- ... 4036692565