Anyways, todays little post is a little bit of a bitch. That is to say that I am bitching about something that to this day manages to blow my mind.

Why the hell can’t people drive in the snow?

Seriously, it’s been around longer than we have. We have developed wheel-drives, tires, break-styles, wiper-blades, anti-freezing, self-heating, Pi-calculating cars. So despite our advances against the frozen flecks of water still manage to turn everyone into drooling, knuckle-dragging morons whos only response to having to drive in the stuff is to go under twenty km at any given time. For those out there still using the imperial system, that’s roughly 12.4 miles per hour.

Todays example will revolve around the recent swing in temperature changes: It was cold and rainy, but alright. Then the sun went down, things got cold, and thanks to nature, the roads started to freeze. Shortly after that it started snowing, which blanketed things in a layer of snow. I admit, these are not road conditions wherein driving excessively is a smart idea. I would even go so far as to say that to err on the side of caution would indeed be the better choice. Caution doesn’t need to be 10 km (6.2 Mph).

Yeah so you can’t drive as fast, I get that, but going so slow I can out-walk your car just so that you can ‘safely’ ride the bumper of the car in front of you as you would at regular speeds is, at best, retarded. You can drive faster, if you actually allow yourself the time to stop. What this generally means is that you back the fuck off, and leave room between you and the car you’re trying to ride in front of you. This is generally good practice in optimal driving conditions as well, if only to help avoid accidents by giving your dumb-ass time to react.

Additionally, you can actually drive on the snow instead of the lanes that other cars have driven in. When you are facing the possibility of driving on the black ice that every other car preceding has contributed to, you can actually shift your car a bit to the left or right and drive on the snow which has been otherwise left alone. This will allow you to actually gain now-valuable traction, and get you to where you’re going before you die and ripen from old age while whimpering in your car, cursing mother nature as you plow your gas pedal into the floor, wondering why oh why wont your tires find grip?

Maybe these little things are not common sense for some, but for those of us that live in an area that has frequent and shitty winter weather conditions, I would assume that after a while people would be able to adapt and drive in said weather conditions with some modicum of ability. Apparently this knowledge is only reserved for those who live in perpetual snow, or happen to actually drive in it. I’ve driven through conditions that would blow peoples minds, and so maybe that has given me some keen insight into how to drive in the winter. A lot of it, however comes from not being retarded.

One last note, get winter tires. All-seasons will not cut it when push comes to shove, as today clearly proved to me. I know this because last year I drove my little Yaris around in the winter and slid through many a stop sign, because I simply did not have the grip available to me. Lessons have been learned and this year I dropped the coin on it. I’ve not regretted the decision. Maybe you don’t need them, but I can assure you that the difference they make is noticeable, and you will not regret the decision.

Fuck sakes people, I drive a Yaris and I navigate this weather better than the SUVs, Trucks, and about 70% of the other drivers on the road that managed to spin out for no God damned reason. My car is tiny and super-light, and yet somehow here I am driving like an apparent winter veteran. That’s sad people, sad.