Silician Sketchbook

Apparently, light snow soils pants. Imagine what will happen when we get our first snow storm.

I mean, come on, we haven’t even had a snow storm this fall/winter season, and people drive like 10 cm is already on the ground and quickly accumulating.

Let’s make one thing clear: the roads were not icy, they were not slushy, they were and are wet. When it rains I still see people doing 10-15 km/h above the limit, i.e. PRO DRIVER coming through. I guess they’re not so PRO if they curl up into a fetal position when they see snow that melts on contact with the pavement.

I had to take side roads, it was so bad. And the funny thing was, the side roads were very lightly traveled. I guess panicking drivers like to herd together and crawl together. When the snow really hits the fan, I’d like to see how they handle the local hill feature at their paltry 2 km/h and truly poor traction conditions.

This is the second or third time we’ve seen snow in the past few weeks.  Maybe people’s attention spans are short.

Even people in a Skype channel are treating this like it’s A Big Deal. Snow tires means driving like it’s summer? Seriously? I drove around like it’s summer in my all-seasons today. Puhleaze. I refrained from comment except to note that my winter tires continue to reside in the basement, where they have sat for the past two winters.

Maybe I ignore common sense at my own peril, but my winter tires and I don’t really get along. For one, they’re heavy, and it shows every time I have to accelerate from a stop or even take my foot off the accelerator for a moment. Mileage takes a hit as a result. Perhaps newer winter tires drive better, but the ones I have certainly do not turn a winter wonderland into a sun-kissed summer.

Most importantly, they don’t help me. They could help you, but they certainly don’t help me. I have narrowly avoided close calls in slushy to icy conditions not by coming to a stop, but by pulling quickly to the shoulder. These tires stand no chance with black ice, absolutely none. I’d rather drive my sub-optimal all-seasons and know what I’m getting into rather than think I’m king of the road with winter tires.

For those who drive around the city anyway, it’s not hard to stay out of trouble with all-seasons. Proper tire pressure, slow application of throttle, low torque/gearing for starts and stops, is that’s required from an operational standpoint. Good visibility and safe following distance are needed whether you have winter tires or not.

And if the weather is really bad, or if you know that it’s going to get really bad, then stay home. Call in sick. If you really have to be somewhere that’s not the airport, take the bus, a vehicle that’s guaranteed to have more traction than you’ll ever get out of your winter tires.