General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Nobody should laugh at people who are experiencing hardship from abnormal weather in their region [View all]2naSalit
(86,900 posts)Well, given all this discussion that goes all over the place and back a gain and around and around gives me pause in that hardly anyone is considering the one of the several elephants in the room... The general skill level of the average driver anywhere.
I have a matra: Understand that simply because you have a nice, new vehicle, it does not mean that your driving skills have improved.
People, in general, are just crappy divers; unprepared for conditions; harbor a sense of invincibility and demonstrate a severe lack of ability to pay attention to the road when driving regardless of conditions.
Yeah, I live in a six to eight months of snow climate, today we have received ten inches of new snow in about seven hours and the plows won't come out until there's at least four to six inches sitting. But the vast majority of us know that going out in a blizzard is not the best plan of action. Most of us don't drive after dark outside of a town due to wildlife on the roads, yes they use the roads too. Preparedness and taking the time to arrive safely is key, timing is essential. If conditions are poor, no matter where you are, not allowing yourself time to travel at a slower speed is plain ignorant regardless of whether the plows and sand trucks have been out. If you drive, these should be serious. primary considerations no matter what. this mindset of driving like you're on the Autobahn is hubris at it's worst and ridiculous at all times. But do drivers even think about that most of the time? Not really.
Just my two cents... a retired driver of large vehicles (all over the continent on and off pavement) with a background of 1.8 million logged miles.