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Beware, the snow slugs are out in full force today.

Gutwrench

Gutwrench

Suspended
Original poster
Jan 2, 2011
4,603
10,554
So there's just a little snow falling in the Twin Cities this morning. Nothing too unusual nor is it even remotely heavy.

I left the house a little earlier today for my normal 25 minute commute to work. Now roughly one hour later I'm only about 25% of my way there. Here I sit in stop and go traffic apparently waiting for spring.

I just checked "Today" and it is wanting me the traffic is unusually heavy and I should arrive to work sometime in April.

Good grief this is Minnesota, it's not like we haven't driven in a dusting of snow before. I'm usually the one silently swearing at the reckless 4 wheel drive pick ups and SUVs who feel the laws of physics don't apply to them hoping they'd slide under a gas truck and taste their own blood. But this commute is ridiculous.
 
Were you sleeping under a rock for the 70car/3tractor pile up in Boston?

Yea... people are understably cautious.
 
Same thing occurs in Boston, the first flakes start to fall and people mysteriously forget how to drive.

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What's worse though is those folks in SUVs that think they can drive in 4 inches of snow like a summer day, i.e., driving on the highway 60 MPH. Their 4 wheel drive gives them nice traction going straight but try to stop or turn and bad things usually happen.
 
We have had 80 CM's of snow here in Alberta in the last 2 weeks where I live. It has slowed us down on the highways from 140 KPH to about 120 KPH. We only get about 3-4 months of warm weather so winter driving never really leaves our blood.

Besides, 75% of us drive 4 wheel pickups. They are invincible, aren't they?
 
I grew up in a NYS Upstate place that got snow Effect piles of snow and then when I moved to Virginia we had the Snowmageddon. I learned from early on the old fable of the tortoise & the hare when drive, slow and steady wins the race (when driving in snow). Plus take 5 times the distance in stopping, accelerating or turning sharp corners. So train yourselves these simple rules when drive will help you out a lot .

IMHO four-wheel-drive will not save you from stopping or turning in snow.
 
We've already had 40 inches of snow this autumn up here in Northern Michigan. The ski resorts opened before Thanksgiving.

I'll happily follow a snow slug on a snow-covered road any day. Better than dodging the speedster who winds up rolled-over on the highway.

Patience is always a virtue. :)
 
Menel said:
Were you sleeping under a rock for the 70car/3tractor pile up in Boston?

Yea... people are understably cautious.
Click to expand...

ucfgrad93 said:
Agreed. I would rather people drive too cautiously than too recklessly.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you guys never been stuck in traffic for 3 hours to travel 20 miles with 3 inches of snow before? I do understand a full out blizzard with 10+ inches on the ground, but there is no reason to go 15mph with a couple of inches of snow.

Anything over 5 inches of snow and the media calls it snowmageddon.
 
ucfgrad93 said:
Agreed. I would rather people drive too cautiously than too recklessly.
Click to expand...

As would I but I must wonder why someone who is sitting in a car as the driver complaining about slow drivers can start a thread. Worry is what comes to mind.

Here in Raleigh when it snows it is like the end of days. Accident after accident. Coming from Chapel Hill to Raleigh one morning I saw no less than 10 cars in single car accidents. It took me well over an hour to drive 20 miles. I realize that is not 3 hours, but we're not talking a lot of snow.
 
heehee said:
I'm guessing you guys never been stuck in traffic for 3 hours to travel 20 miles with 3 inches of snow before? I do understand a full out blizzard with 10+ inches on the ground, but there is no reason to go 15mph with a couple of inches of snow.

Anything over 5 inches of snow and the media calls it snowmageddon.
Click to expand...

I live in Colorado, so yeah, I understand what it is like to drive in snow. People should be cautious when driving in winter conditions. That means slowing down.
 
It doesn't take much to cause a long backup. It's a chain reaction. If one driver tries to change from the far left to the far right lane, causing two drivers to slam on the brakes, that could double your commute time if you're 3 miles behind them. And the guy who causes it gets off scot free.
 
ucfgrad93 said:
Agreed. I would rather people drive too cautiously than too recklessly.
Click to expand...

No, being too cautious is just as bad. Neither of these are good options. This is the real problem. A lot of people are operating on these two extremes. Either being too reckless or too cautious. If people learned to drive appropriately for the conditions, we wouldn't have as many of the weather related traffic issues that we do. If you're too afraid to drive at an appropriate speed, you shouldn't be driving in those conditions. Stay off the expressway. Or better yet, don't drive at all.

mobilehaathi said:
You clearly don't appreciate how important those who speed in snow are. For god's sake, they have places to be!
Click to expand...

The issue is not with people speeding. Most of the problems we face are from people driving too slow.
 
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Gutwrench said:
So there's just a little snow falling in the Twin Cities this morning. Nothing too unusual nor is it even remotely heavy.

I left the house a little earlier today for my normal 25 minute commute to work. Now roughly one hour later I'm only about 25% of my way there. Here I sit in stop and go traffic apparently waiting for spring.

I just checked "Today" and it is wanting me the traffic is unusually heavy and I should arrive to work sometime in April.

Good grief this is Minnesota, it's not like we haven't driven in a dusting of snow before. I'm usually the one silently swearing at the reckless 4 wheel drive pick ups and SUVs who feel the laws of physics don't apply to them hoping they'd slide under a gas truck and taste their own blood. But this commute is ridiculous.
Click to expand...

My commute took an hour and a half rather than a half hour today. However, it was extremely slippery. It's not always about the snow volume - this snow storm had very wet/heavy snow that hardened and froze to the road surfaces, making them skating rinks. Unfortunately, there's not a lot people can do in that situation except drive slowly enough to be comfortable. This evening's commute is sure to be more of the same, and the deep freeze we're heading into isn't going to help.

I'd much rather have a foot of snow that allows for some traction versus this stuff!
 
Jessica Lares said:
A single centimeter of ice on the road here in Texas, and everything gets cancelled for the day. :rolleyes: We've been under a winter storm watch since Monday.

73 F right now, RealFeel is 79. :p
Click to expand...

It is currently 5 F with a Real Feel of -16 F. We have about 2 inches of snow on the ground and it is still snowing.
 
Antares said:
The issue is not with people speeding. Most of the problems we face are from people driving too slow.
Click to expand...

Perhaps, and this is merely a hypothesis, the people driving 'too fast' are getting into accidents with people driving appropriately cautious, and maybe they feel the need to shift the blame onto others (i.e. "Clearly the other party was going too slow!").

Driving in snow is dangerous at any speed, but I'm not convinced the shape of this curve is concave up.

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Shrink said:
And, for those very important people with places to be...if they drive an SUV, the laws of physics are suspended.

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

To be fair SUVs have a deal with Einstein such that the suspension of physics is valid for all four seasons.
 
mobilehaathi said:
Driving in snow is dangerous at any speed, but I'm not convinced the shape of this curve is concave up.
Click to expand...
Driving in snow is not dangerous as long as you don't drive like a maniac. There are limitations to how fast you can physically drive. Snow is not the issue it is the layer of ice beneath the snow that causes the problems.
 
MacNut said:
Driving in snow is not dangerous as long as you don't drive like a maniac. There are limitations to how fast you can physically drive. Snow is not the issue it is the layer of ice beneath the snow that causes the problems.
Click to expand...

Well packed snow/slush can be similarly bad to drive on. I suppose we could argue about phase changes, but I don't necessarily disagree with your general point.
 
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I wish we had snow slugs in NYC. They still drive at normal and above speeds. Which is why I leave an extra half hour earlier on snowy/slushy days, cause it's always an accident in those conditions on the highway I take, due to idiots who think their SUVs and their AWD cars are an exception to speed vs slippery conditions.
 
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