[ale] OT: Driving in snow...

[Mike Murphy]

over the course of a winter, sand and salt accumulate on the roads, so 
one doesn't necessarily need to salt or sand a road that has been salted 
or sanded lately to keep up with a light snowfall.

Once it snows enough to cover the road (as opposed to it falling and 
melting on an already salted road), they have to run around and plow, 
and they add more salt to keep the water left behind from freezing again.

Of course, if its cold enough, salt doesn't help enough, and sand is 
used more, but conditions get more treacherous.

Also, outside the rust belt, salt is used a lot less (mostly because its 
too cold for salt to help much of the time there). That's why people in 
places like N. Dakota need snow tires a lot more than people in Mass.

Why does it suck here? I've lived here all my life, except for a few 
years in Boston at college. Its purely the novelty of it: "hey look! its 
snowing." This causes an interesting herd mentality thing. Its mostly 
just the routine being disrupted. You see the same thing at rush hour 
the first Monday evening after the fall time change. "Hey look, its dark 
out!". And that rush hour is always about the worst of the year.

Mike


tfreeman at intel.digichem.net wrote:
> On Wed, 1 Dec 2004, Brian J. Dowd wrote:
> 
> 
>>This ex-Bostonian says:
>>New Englanders have inherent advantages:
>>snowtires (or studs or chains)
>>[on their tires not on their bodies...]
>>and well sanded roads.
>>Otherwise "equal abilities".
>>-Brian
> 
> 
> Point taken, although I don't think it fully explains the situation. FWIW, 
> in six years of winter driving in NE, and another in Ohio, I have yet to 
> purchase snow tires, or studs. A friend of mine gave me chains once, but I 
> lost them the first time I used them.
> 
> As to well sanded/salted roads, the roads aren't generally prepared ahead 
> of the snow, yet you don't see as much craziness at the beginning of a 
> snow in the NE as you do in this region.
> 
> 
> 
>>>On Wed, 1 Dec 2004, Geoffrey wrote:
>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>>
>>>>Jason Fritcher wrote:
>>>>   
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Dow Hurst wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>     
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>Jason,
>>>>>>Welcome to the ALE group!
>>>>>>       
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Thanks! :)
>>>>>     
>>>>>
>>>
>>><<snip linux and reasonable stuff>>
>>> 
>>>
>>>
>>>>Yeah, wait till the first snow and you see on these idiots on the road. 
>>>>   I've never understood that since probably 50% of Atlanta consists of 
>>>>relocated Yankees, like myself.
>>>>
>>>>   
>>>>
>>>
>>>I've kinda noticed that myself - although I'm up in Charlotte. "Up here" 
>>>(where the heck is "Up" anyway?), I think we have similar rates of bumper 
>>>cars during a good rain as Boston has for the first snow, based upon 
>>>living in New England twenty odd years ago. During a snow storm, go over 
>>>to a resturant on a busy corner, get something warm, and _watch_ the 
>>>locals sliding through the intersection. Them as are walking, seem to fall 
>>>down a lot. Great entertainment for the sadistically inclined...
>>>
>>>As to reasons; I've got some guesses and no idea how to test them. I do 
>>>think many times the Atlanta/Charlotte/southeastern snow fall is somewhat 
>>>slipryer(sp?) than many northern locations because the ground is much 
>>>closer to freezing, and the snow tends to be wetter. Also, low traction 
>>>driving seems to need regular practice - once or twice every year or two 
>>>just isn't sufficient practice. The arrogance of "I come from the north 
>>>and I understand snow driving" plays a part of it also. And finally, I 
>>>suspect most drivers are in too much of a hurry to stop and think, or even 
>>>to leave space ahead to stop.
>>>
>>>YMMV of course
>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>Ale mailing list
>>Ale at ale.org
>>http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
>>
> 
> 

-- 

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Mike Murphy
781 Inman Mews Drive Atlanta GA 30307
Landline: 404-653-1070
Mobile: 404-545-6234
Email: mike at tyderia.net
AIM: mmichael453
JDAM: 33:45:14.0584N  84:21:43.038W
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+