Looking at Winter Driving

Two weeks ago we had snow. There was a fair amount – enough for there to be a snowman sentinel in nearly every yard on our street. There were no school delays or cancellations. The salt trucks and snow plows were everywhere. Everyone was driving cautiously. Then last week we had a fine dusting of snow. There was a 2 hour delay for many school districts. The drive into work was downright dangerous! The first cars on the road had turned the streets into a skating rink. Nearly every intersection was a death trap of intersecting sheets of ice. I was very thankful for my automatic anti-lock breaking system! I managed to get safely to work. It took me that moment backing out of the driveway to remember all my mad winter driving skills! For those who don’t live in the frozen sections of our country that translates to: leaving extra space between your front bumper and their rear bumper, driving more slowly, applying the brakes in a pumping fashion instead of stomping down, accelerating slowly from a stop, and using a little courtesy when someone looks like they can’t stop in time for the light and letting them slide through safely on yellow/pink/red.

A little haiku for your reading pleasure.

First freeze dangerous
Recall winter driving skills
Car skids to a stop