Driving in the snow

[uphillklimber]

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[dmc]

People are afraid to drive in snow.. People have to work and deal with life...

Asking them to drive faster in bad conditions is unfair... Asking them to pull over and potentially go off the road is unfair and dangerous..

 

[Hawkshot99]

Here's my question: Am I out of line by wanting slowpokes to pull over and let the line of cars behind them pass? Your thoughts please.

Absolutly not out of line. If you do not have the "skills" to drive in snow, do not hold up people who do.

Also, if there are any police officers or rescue personel who work in the snow regions, what are their thoughts? For example, while slow drivers like this are frustraing, are they curse or blessing to them. Do they cause tailgating accidents, or do they slow everyone down so much that there is never an accident?

_____________________________

On a legal standpoint of speed...The speed limit is at optimal conditions.

I would think that having the one slow person would cause more accidents. Being stuck behind super slow people makes me very angry. usually I am fine, and just sit there. But it would not surprise me if many people go for the questionable pass to get around the slow person. Either passing too close to oncoming traffic, or just not safe to have 2 cars next to each other.

 

[dmc]

Absolutly not out of line. If you do not have the "skills" to drive in snow, do not hold up people who do.

With all due respect - who the hell are you to say who has skills and who doesn't?

 

[Hawkshot99]

With all due respect - who the hell are you to say who has skills and who doesn't?

I am not saying who does and who doesnt. I am saying if you are driving super slow when their is no need then let others pass.

 

[ckofer]

Some times you can't do anything about the situation but relax. Make sure you've got 3 or 4 seconds between you and the next guy. Slow drivers don't cause tailgating accidents-following too closely does. Some people are just uncertain in snow and that's that.

 

[dmc]

I am not saying who does and who doesnt. I am saying if you are driving super slow when their is no need then let others pass.

And I'm saying when weathers bad and you have to hit the road(and many people have no choice). Pulling over into a unplowed snow is potentially dangerous...

Thats what people are afraid of.. The piles of snow and having to leave a lane..

 

[JimG.]

Asking people to go to work when conditions are unsafe or stressful is unfair.

And while pressuring folks who drive at a snail's pace in the snow is unsafe and poor manners, I think the best place for people who are that afraid of the snow is at home that day.

 

[dmc]

Asking people to go to work when conditions are unsafe or stressful is unfair.

And while pressuring folks who drive at a snail's pace in the snow is unsafe and poor manners, I think the best place for people who are that afraid of the snow is at home that day.

Thats easy to say for us that have that option... But some people have no choice except to show up to work to pay the bills...

So asking someone to not work and lose money so you can get to the slopes earlier is just bad...

 

[Paul]

Asking people to go to work when conditions are unsafe or stressful is unfair.

And while pressuring folks who drive at a snail's pace in the snow is unsafe and poor manners, I think the best place for people who are that afraid of the snow is at home that day.

Yes but it happens. Life ain't fair. I work for AT&T, 90% of the humiliation they put me through is "unfair" But it pays the bills...

Thats easy to say for us that have that option... But some people have no choice except to show up to work to pay the bills...

So asking someone to not work and lose money so you can get to the slopes earlier is just bad...

Agree

 

[BeanoNYC]

Meh....I try to take advantage when someone ahead of me is driving slow in the snow. It's an excuse to slow down. I tend to pick up speed when no one is in front of me. I try to be cognizant of the nervousness of the driver in front of me and give him/her room. After all, I can't drive everyone's car for them.

 

[JimG.]

Thats easy to say for us that have that option... But some people have no choice except to show up to work to pay the bills...

So asking someone to not work and lose money so you can get to the slopes earlier is just bad...

I don't disagree with your logic and I'm not trying to debate you...

BUT

Driving in that emotional state is dangerous to your own well being. And being that scared invariably leads to an accident. That gets expensive and counterproductive to meeting expenses. If it's bad enough or some idiot (no offense uphillklimber) plows into you it could be fatal. And you can't pay the bills if you're dead.

I think it's horrible and pitiful that people are so scared of their bosses or their bills that they would take that chance.

 

[riverc0il]

I see both sides of the argument and would propose this: those that are afraid of the conditions and driving generally slower than almost all other drivers should pull over and let traffic pass when they feel it is safe to do so. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case on the highway because when it is unsafe to pass due to the passing lane not being plowed, then the breakdown lane is likely even worse and is not safe. Getting off at an exit is the next safest way to allow folks to pass, but who wants to do that if they have some place to go? No right answer here, IMO. The best answer is that people who are uncomfortable with snow driving should stay open. Period. Take a vacation day. And if the boss doesn't understand then maybe you are working for the wrong employer. As the boss of my location, I told all employees this morning to only come in if they felt safe doing so. There are more important things than today's to-do list when people feel unsafe driving.

 

[Marc]

Also, if there are any police officers or rescue personel who work in the snow regions, what are their thoughts? For example, while slow drivers like this are frustraing, are they curse or blessing to them. Do they cause tailgating accidents, or do they slow everyone down so much that there is never an accident?

Typically, since one arrives on scene after the collision has occurred, it's tough to tell.

Point of order though, the slow driver does not cause the tailgating accident unless they cut someone off. Tailgating accidents are the fault of the tailgater.

While I sometimes wish I could pull around slower people, someone on my ass, especially if they're driving a big heavy vehicle with a soft suspension, worries me much more because I'm not in control (and most of the time I'm driving about as fast as conditions will permit).

I also think a slow person with a line of traffic behind them stretching out to the horizon is inconsiderate, provided there is a safe place to pull over, if the do not use it and let other people pass.

In my experience though, the majority of the accidents I go to in foul weather are single car accidents, usually SUV's, usually with drivers who have no clue how to read their vehicle and pay no attention to any feedback, or are unaware how important good tires are in the snow. And oddly enough, most are middle aged and younger. I think the elderly mostly stay home in weather like this.

 

[dmc]

Driving in that emotional state is dangerous to your own well being. And being that scared invariably leads to an accident.

driving slow in snow <> emotional state

It just means people are driving slow - maybe being overly cautious or nervous of the conditions... Not emotional... Seems to me the people wanting to pass are more driven by emotion..


So - how about people that drive up to ski in bad weather with infants or kids in the car?

 

[tirolerpeter]

Slow in Snow

I always own vehicles that are well balanced in terms of power and handling. And...I put REAL snow tires on all four wheels of all my vehicles (We are down to two at the moment). Added to that, my wife and I always own manual trans vehicles which (assuming you have the skills and experience) we find far more competent in slippery conditions. I don't want nervous/inexperienced drivers to drive any faster than they are comfortable when on snow. I also realize that "pulling over" is often not an option on some roads.

What P.O's me is when they actually fail to stay in their lane on a multi-laned roadway (usually the most clear and well traveled) when I attempt to go around them. I have no trouble maintaining control on most snow covered roads. I can't even count the times when I have had a clear shot at passing some terrified driver and just as I move out to go around them, they actually come over and crowd the lane I am using. Some years ago I was following my wife driving ahead of me on a snowy 4 lane divided highway. There was a real "creeper" hogging the clear right lane at slow speed. As my wife began her move to pass in the lane on the left, the driver cut over, actually putting two wheels over the center line onto the snow packed lane my wife was about to pass on. She reflexively braked and spun off onto the shoulder. Fortunately, it ended in a snowbank with minimal damage. Needless to say, the Schmuck just kept on driving with no regard for what he/she had done. That is the kind of bad weather behavior I find intolerable.

 

[roark]

I feel the same way. The part of CA I'm from actually has signs stating that you must pull over to permit passing and has many marked turnouts. Police will ticket you if you have more than 12 cars behind you. Most of the tourists still don't get it, but they drive so slow (or even stop in the middle of the road!) that passing is easy even on curvy (much curvier than anything I've encountered in New England) roads. Speed limits here seem ridiculously slow in comparison as well. But yet I see more accidents. Yes, there is a higher population density but still!

Courtesy and a degree of common sense is lacking in many northeast drivers. I'm constantly perplexed by drivers that will stop on a city street to allow someone to pull out from a shopping center (a hazardous yielding of ROW) but will literally force you onto the shoulder when trying to merge onto a highway. It's common behavior on northern CA two lane highways to pull over for _anyone_ who catches you, and I never really thought about merging onto the highway much until I moved here. Stopping in a yield lane is another oddity to me. I'm used to alternating. Doesn't happen here!

Coming home from Pat's tonight I passed 4 cars. All were going well below the speed limit. The roads were completely clear of snow. One so slow I didn't even bother to wait for a marked passing lane. They were obviously perturbed and gave me the strobe light treatment. Some of you probably think I'm overly aggressive but it was simply easier and probably safer to just not slow down.

 

[snoseek]

Helps to brew a nice big cup of coffee and leave the house when it's still dark. I also opt to take secondary roads, as there is less chance of running into problems.

 

[riverc0il]

Yes, there is absolutely no excuse for not pulling over when plowed out gas stations are available. My comments regarding it being hard to pull over were more directed towards interstates. If you have more than a dozen or so cars that rode up behind you and you started with none, that should tell you something. I have pulled over before, not even when it was snowing, to allow traffic to pass because folks did not want to drive the speed limit. Personally, I am surprised folks would not pull over to allow traffic to pass because I can not stand people driving up my rear being impatient.

 

[dmc]

But there are many gas stations and businesses along the roads that they could pull over into.

Which you assume are plowed as well...