If you identify as a cold-weather person but have lived in the South...

Mrs.Hizzo · January 2014

I need help understanding how people can't drive in two inches of snow. Ideally, someone who grew up driving competently in a foot of snow and then got transplanted to a place that shuts down for flurries will answer here somewhere. Do we have anyone like that?

So tell me, does it have to do with the ice/sleet? Are the roads just slicker there with two inches of snow than they are in places that regularly get dumped on? Or do people try to brake/accelerate/turn/go the same speed that they would on a dry road, and that's what causes all the accidents? Basically I want to know, if I went to Atlanta right now and took my car out, would I find it significantly harder to navigate the roads there than I do here when we get, say, 8 or 9 inches? I mean based on road conditions alone, not traffic.

Andrewsgal · January 2014

It's not snow. It's solid sheets of ice. Add that to the million overpasses and not truck to clear the ice and it's hell. DH grew up driving on snow and even he has issues with the ice. Like I said in another post the kids were ice skating on the driveway in sneakers. Everything slides there is zero traction. We can handle snow but ice is a bitch. And yea it is a zillion times harder to drive on ice give me snow anyday over ice. The issue is the roads ice, then it gets above freezing for a couple of hours so everything turns to slush then back to ice that nigt. I live in a major metroplex of two cities and we literally have three trucks between the two major cities. Add that to the fact that our cities are ,assive.

magentawarped · January 2014

Well, not everyone is a transplant. I live in Florida, and I know quite a few people who have never lived anywhere else. They don't teach you how to deal with snow down here. So yeah, most of the problem is that people just honestly have no idea how to drive on snow or ice. They either crawl along at 3 mph or they try to drive like they normally would, and both are dangerous. Plus, of course, most southern areas aren't equipped with salt trucks or plows, so it just stays on the road.

fancefpp · January 2014

Do they salt/sand before the storm like they do up north? I'm guessing no, so the ice would probably be worse than it is up here. Our towns pretreat the roads up here and I think it helps with black ice.

Andrewsgal · January 2014

5953fpp said:

Do they salt/sand before the storm like they do up north? I'm guessing no, so the ice would probably be worse than it is up here. Our towns pretreat the roads up here and I think it helps with black ice.

No we don't have salt or sand trucks they treat with this de icing liquid after the storm. With literally one huge ice storm every couple of years it doesn't make sense for cities to invest heavily in dei icing trucks.

Mrs.Hizzo · January 2014

I figured a lot of it was ice. We don't usually get sleet or frozen rain here, it just starts dumping snow. Some of that obviously turns to ice but mostly it just gets snow-packed.

abs05 · January 2014

Roads aren't pretreated. We also don't have the right kind of tires to drive in snow. Also, as a pp mentioned half of the south is made up elevated roadways and highways that ice over easily. Part of it is we just aren't used to it, but it's also so rare that it's hard to plan

bhuffman · January 2014

I am from the north, and am back in the north, but I've lived in TN for 5 years, near Huntsville, AL for 3 years, and Dallas, TX for one year. Anyway, I think it is lack of plows and salt trucks. It isn't budgeted for because it is such a fluke if snow or ice show up. Also, it is obviously common for northerners to have substantial winter gear, but less so for southerners because the snow isn't as common.

Andrewsgal · January 2014

I will add DH cleared the ice from our driveway with a dirt shovel. They don't even sell snow shovels here.

Andrewsgal · January 2014

LalaMama81 said:

yea, I agree that it doesn't sense to have the resources to battle snow & ice since fit would usually be a waste of money.

I do wonder if officials (?) should be erring even more on the side of caution than they would elsewhere? Even on the news this AM, they made it seem like this shouldn't have been a surprise and that people should have gone home earlier/closed earlier, etc.

I know calling things too early is a double edged sword - b/c if nothing happens people get up in arms and it's a waste of a day.

I do find that at least in Texas they are really good about preparing us for storms and canceling schools. The other issue is we only have two built in snow days. I don't know how many you guys have? Last year we didn't use one this year we have used 4 and it would have been more except there was a weekend involved.

Andrewsgal · January 2014

For us it's not the hills as much as the overpasses. For me to get to down town I have to go over no less than 10. The overpasses freeze first and thaw last.

Mrs.Hizzo · January 2014

abs1978 said:

Roads aren't pretreated. We also don't have the right kind of tires to drive in snow. Also, as a pp mentioned half of the south is made up elevated roadways and highways that ice over easily. Part of it is we just aren't used to it, but it's also so rare that it's hard to plan

I get this, except the only roads that get pretreated where I live are the highways, not major thoroughfares. And most people here don't have snow tires, just all-season tires.

I'm really not trying to poke fun or roll my eyes at the people who are stranded on the side of the road somewhere, that would be awful. I'm just wondering if the conditions are such that a person who is used to driving in snow in a FWD vehicle that has all-weather tires and ABS would get out there and say "Holy shit!" right before spinning out.

Andrewsgal · January 2014

It's kind of like the severe heat warnings up north. We think nothing of 110 degree heat, but I remember all the news coverage of the horrible heat wave you guys had last year. We have the resources to deal with it and are used to it. There is not a house or car sold here that doesn't have central air.

rosesandpetals · January 2014

LalaMama81 said:

They have hills & curves up north, too, you know! (not just at you Hav, a few others have mentioned this on other threads, too).

No, we don't live in the mountains but my street is still on a hill.

ETA: I know the hills/curves make it worse. It just seems like some are saying, "oh but we have hills!" like that is why it's so much worse there. But, maybe I'm reading into it too much.

To be fair, I grew up in Boston which is a very hilly city. It doesn't even compare to driving through the type of wooded, windy, hills in Kentucky. And a lot of the problem is the hills are blind, so you can't see what is coming around the corner.

fancefpp · January 2014

Hav=Fath said:

Andrewsgal said:

It's kind of like the severe heat warnings up north. We think nothing of 110 degree heat, but I remember all the news coverage of the horrible heat wave you guys had last year. We have the resources to deal with it and are used to it. There is not a house or car sold here that doesn't have central air.

Agreed. I think the biggest factor is experience.

To be fair, I think the media makes a bigger deal about "heat waves" than we do here up north. I have air conditioning and don't freak out about heat. Most people I know don't either. The media loves to hype things up, especially weather.

photoelise · January 2014

I moved to Atlanta from Minnesota. I have driven in some awful conditions and feel I am prepared for winter driving.

Yesterday, my giant 4wd Explorer and I slid across 4 lanes of traffic. The problem here vs a cold weather winter is that the roads aren't cold enough for the snow to just blow around or get plowed off, it melts. Then it freezes. They don't plow or salt enough to help so all the roads are black ice covered in dry snow( not the wet kind that packs down and has any traction).

The drivers down here also have no idea how to handle it. We saw a guy yesterday try to turn around on an icy hill ( uphill). He obviously slid back down and into traffic.

Mn also plowed at least the highways, which doesn't happen here and there are also 4 million people who were all trying to leave work at the same time ( a cluster on any other day ) but add in the snow and ice and you have Snowpocalypse '14.

photoelise · January 2014

Ps , news stations were saying there were 4 plows being utilized.

notkateanymore · January 2014

What everybody else said. Plus no matter if you can drive in it, there are tons of others who can't.

ajc0121 · January 2014

When we had the big ice storm in North Texas last month, there was literally like 4 inches of solid ice on my driveway and most of the streets. That would be like driving on an ice rink.

notkateanymore · January 2014

Black Ice! It's like saying Beetle Juice around here!

Hollylb3 · January 2014

KateMW said:
What everybody else said. Plus no matter if you can drive in it, there are tons of others who can't.

This is my thing. I have no problem driving in it, but there are always people going way too fast for conditions and you don't have time to react to them.

Fun story: I was never allowed to drive in snow or ice while I lived at home because my mom is overprotective, so one night while I was working seconds and newly married, a HUGE ice storm hit (millions of dollars in damage huge). DH told me to call him when I got off and he would come pick me up. 11:00 rolls around and I call him. And call and call and call. No answer. So I braved it all the way out to the boonies where we lived, petrified the whole way. Solid ice on the roads, still coming down, a narrow two lane road. I finally make it home. He fell asleep. Thanks babe. Way to watch out for your wife. Okay, so maybe that story was anti-climatic. But it was scary. And now I can drive in it.

iamflamingo · February 2014

I am from Boston and moved to Georgia (ha) and it is complete ice plus the mayor didnt sand/salt the streets/highways so there ya go! I can drive in a blizzard perfectly find and have in Boston so I was shocked at what happened here this time around.

oh the south *sigh*

lyingliarlies · February 2014

iamflamingo said:

I am from Boston and moved to Georgia (ha) and it is complete ice plus the mayor didnt sand/salt the streets/highways so there ya go! I can drive in a blizzard perfectly find and have in Boston so I was shocked at what happened here this time around.

oh the south *sigh*

except the same thing has happened in boston. 2007, with just snow and no ice.

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