Winter Driving Amongst The Flakes!

I read Christina Blizzard’s column on Saturday, where she talked about the snow falling and the flakes littering the road – the flakes being those drivers who fail, for whatever reason, to adjust their driving to winter conditions.

While I have mentioned this in previous columns, it bears mentioning again.

Of course, Blizzard lives and writes in Toronto, where 2 cm of snow can paralyze the entire region. In areas further north, where a single snowfall can measure in the double-digits, it is even more of a concern.

On my drive up to Thunder Bay, I witnessed a number of drivers who deserved the label “flake.” The conditions in many spots were far less than ideal, with high winds and drifting snow making driving hazardous.

Still, these drivers were tailgating until they were able to find a convenient spot to blow past me at well over the speed limit.

The one benefit, to me, of their driving habits was using them as proverbial canaries in the coal mine; had the road been so slippery that they lost control I would have had some advanced warning.

Mind you, I did pass a few spots where others had not been so lucky.

Along the north coast, between Marathon and Schreiber, there were two spots where the guard wires had large gaps, marked with half-buried orange traffic cones. Hopefully the guard wires performed their job and prevented the vehicles that hit them from plummeting the hundred or so metres to the rocky bottoms of the cliffs.

Further along, closer to Nipigon, there was another car facing the wrong way, up to its fenders in the snow and marked with yellow OPP tape.

btw… If you’ve never made this drive, I recommend you take your first trip in any of the other three seasons. Some of the hills are scary enough in the summer sunshine with dry roads conditions.

The province of Québec recently made snow tires mandatory, and there are calls for Ontario to do the same. Let me add my voice to those who agree with such a move.

I have had vehicles with all-season tires, as well as ones with snow tires; having tried both, I prefer to change tires with the seasons.

Keep in mind that all-season tires were intended more for regions which get only the occasional snowfall, like Tennessee. Regions which have a “real” winters require snow tires.

When I bought my mini-van it had all-season tires on it, and I spent the first week of sliding in the snow. I have since put a set of snow tires on my own vehicle, and am tremendously pleased with their performance.

In her column, Blizzard mentions some of the nay-sayers she has heard who argue that snow tires result in a increase in fuel consumption, and would contribute to global warming. Hardly a convincing argument, in my opinion.

I’m all for reducing environmental impact, but I’d prefer to stay on the road, thanks.

Speaking of which, as I have mentioned before there are few drivers of four-wheel drive vehicles who seem to consider themselves somewhat invincible. While they may have appropriate tires and are able to get going readily, they fail to give enough consideration to stopping.

Driving at 80km/h or more around snow-covered city streets is not appropriate at the best of times; it is less so when the streets are snow-covered and slippery.

So my advice is this:

• Slow down! Leave a few minutes early, and take your time getting to your destination.
  
• Remember that the roads may be reduced in width due to snow banks; this means that there may not be enough width for two vehicles to drive side-by-side. You may have to yield to oncoming traffic, or may not be able to drive side-by-side in the same direction.
  
• Put snow tires on your vehicles. They provide better grip for getting going, in turns, and during braking.
  
• It’s winter! Adjust your driving habits accordingly. Slow down, leave more room between you and the vehicle you are following, and allow for a greater stopping distance.
  
• Drive carefully! Snow banks can obscure not only your vision but that of other drivers.
  

Whatever you do… don’t be a flake!