I completely understand the difference in snow. I lived in Canmore, Alberta, while I was a kid. Learned to drive in the winter (aka, perpetual 6 months of snow). It’s definitely different here. Even up north in Prince George, the snow was much more coastal than interior. It’s really easy to laugh at people on the coast, but not when you’ve experienced it both ways. This stuff is treacherous. No matter how good of a driver you are, there’s nothing that’s going to stop your car from slipping in these conditions except for very ‘silly-looking’ caution. And even then it’s sometimes impossible.

So yes, slow down, give people extra space, and be triple careful about pedestrians. My parents were in a minor crash last year during our freakishly bad week of snow and ice. They were going uphill, and had to stop to wait for kids to get out of the road. It was so icy that even four wheel drive couldn’t keep them steady, and they slid backwards into a parked car. Please, pedestrians, be aware that cars are seriously handicapped on ice! And for pete’s sake, don’t let your kids play in the middle of the road!

How does Hondo deal with the snow? Does he go for booties, or is he not usually out long enough to worry about it?

What I find more interesting than the quality of the snow is the reaction to it by drivers, as well as local perception of how people drive. In Calgary I hear a lot of people complain about how no-one else knows how to drive in the snow, but it seems to me that many people do seem to slow down and give extra space. Some don’t, of course, and coupled with our poor snow-clearing, it results in accidents anyway. My perspective is that of someone who has lived in Toronto, where people seem to continue to drive as normal (at 30km/h over the speed limit, barely a car length between cars) when it snows, until there is a 40-car pileup on the 401 and no-one can get home from work until 9pm. Snow tires are considered an option for the paranoid.

Ottawa drivers, on the other hand, think they can drive in anything (they’re probably right, because the snow is generally cleared almost as it falls), which comes back to bite them when a major storm hits. The inflated ego may stem from the ice storm of 1998, which crippled the entire east coast. A few weeks later, Toronto got some snow, called in the army to help deal with it, and in so doing, became the butt of jokes in Ottawa. And Montreal. But we won’t discuss Montreal drivers.

Growing up in the country, I learned to drive in snow fairly well. A slow steady foot will get you where you need to go safely and the correct spin of the steering wheel will straighten you out when you begin to fishtail. But the worst is ice! We had a pretty crippling ice storm yesterday that closed the Interstates for the first half of the day. Thank God that it cleared and Santa had some good reindeer because it was the only day we had to go see him before Christmas.

Is it June yet???

The schools were closed for Any snow. So was work (mostly) and nobody wanted to stay home with their nearest and dearest. Plus–a day off. What better way to avoid trouble/celebrate than to clip along at 75mph on icy turnpikes?

Suddenly everyone looked around their house and decided they didn’t have enough Cheetos, DVDs, or hot chocolate mix. Parking lot sweepstakes! They climbed into their 4WDs and whizzed down the highway. Slalom derby! Once suitably prepared for a cosy evening, they decided to shop for a sweater. Fishtail city!!

As a former seller of sweaters, all I wanted was to go home, (except, I needed hot chocolate mix. . .) So I guess my comments have as much to do with the quality of emergency preparedness as driving! LOL

Thanks for a great post,
Ann T.