So having lived my life in the perpetual paradise that is Florida, I have never seen snow. No, not even once unless you count the stuff that forms in my freezer. Now normally this brings little worry to me, as it didn’t affect me until now.
You see, I’ve begun my search for graduate schools and have turned my gaze to the great barren North. Apparently in this place I need to buy all new specialty equipment. Special shoes, special jackets, and for some reason I need to put chains on my tires. What the hell is this, an ice age?
Winter Driving Tips… #1, Don’t Crash
Their first bit of advice is to “Monitor the weather forecast.” A sensible bit of advice for someone who is used to driving in conditions such as “Sunny” and “slightly less sunny!” Hell, our sun stays out even when it’s raining in Florida. Suck on that Seattle!
The next tip is to “Plan your journey.” Can I just ask, who doesn’t know where they are going? Do people generally make it a habit to drive around with no directions, simply hoping to arrive at their destination? Is there a new mongol horde, mounted on their cars, simply ranging across the concrete plains with naught but a lust for some sort of modern day conquest?
Here we are, “Know what to do in icy/snowy conditions.” This is what I’ve been looking forward too. Okay, if I skid I should remove my foot from the pedals… well that seem counter intuitive but okay. Keep a shovel in the boot? If I have to dig my car out, doesn’t it stand to reason that I can’t get to the boot? Or is this something I need to do with just inches of snow?
“Never drink and drive.” Now, I’m just going to put this out there, but this doesn’t seem like a Seasonal tip. In fact, I’ll just go ahead and say that drinking and driving should not be done, no matter the weather conditions. Yes, I know you think you’re totally fine and you do it all the time. Trust me. You’re not.
If you live in a paradise like me, then you’ve got even more reason to bone up on your winter driving skills. You may go on vacation, or even worse, global warming may turn your city into a frozen wasteland, and then what? You’ll be wishing you had read over my list of winter driving tips.
[Photos by Daniel Nisbet, Koen, RedJar, and NCinDC]
