Third day of snow/ice. Neighbors decided to not park in driveway. The homeowner will be so not glad to see the lawn after they had to use a 4x4 to pull 2 cars off it. One car is still about parked on front steps. What are they thinking (or not thinking may be the problem). I guess the paved driveway wasn't good enough to park on. And the two car garage is full of stuff, so can't park there.

I live at the bottom of two hills, both have stop lights, although the northern side is flatter. Watched with amusement the people who speed to the southern light, stop, and then have little traction. At one point, counted 10 cars backed up by one spinning his tires, going no where. Cheap entertainment.

Raleigh was pretty much a parking lot at one point last night. Everyone left at the same time. Over 125 cars were towed by the local/state police for blocking the roads. Nah, don't leave an hour before it is forecasted to get bad, wait until 30 minutes after the snow starts.

Ah well, the tow truck guys have to eat, and you can't fix stupid.

When you live in snow country, you rapidly learn not to just pull into (or drive out of) your driveway. You shovel the snow off first. Otherwise the tire tracks compress things down, then it freezes, then you have solid ice that stays there forever. The alternative is NOT to park on your grass though (???), but that's another story.

Living in a place with lots of winter I'm baffled by the complete inability of some people to deal with just a puny taste of what winter can be like.

It's all learned knowledge. They didn't have a reason to learn...until now. I recall learning the hard way a few times when I started venturing off into snow country. I know some may feel like you were born with the knowledge because you grew up where it snows, but you weren't born with the knowledge. You just learned it at an early age because you had to do so.

I guess it is a bit like being used to very warm summers. We seldom have very warm summers. So when temperature rise above +20 degrees celsius I don´t like it at all. Rather take some snow and ice before extreme summer heat.

I agree - It's learned behavior. When I ws a kid growing up in Dallas, we had a similar ice storm with snow. Two inches stopped everything and brought on chaos. My Dad had grown up in Illinois and had a 4x4, so he went everywhere no problem. I have lots of snow driving experience, so I would probably be OK in icy conditions, although you need a certain delicate touch and I am a bit rusty. We rarely get snow on the Channel Islands.

If someone is inexperienced at something (driving in the snow), they have a larger load on their cognitive resources, making fewer resources available for things like situational awareness and problem solving. Add stress to that if they are afraid of driving in the snow, and there is a further reduction in awareness and in problem solving skills, especially for a skill that they have not mastered, such as driving in slippery conditions. They become overwhelmed by the situation and make bad decisions. All of this is over and above the lack of necessary skills for succeeding at the task (how to drive in ice and snow). It all comes together to make for a bad driving experience (or in JB's case, an amusing observational experience).

Snow shovels aren't exactly sold at the gas station in the south. I'm still getting buy on my shovel from Michigan 5 years ago (and need a new one!)
Most folks here don't realize a grain shovel works just as well.

Oh, and I just drove on the driveway. Didn't mind the compressed snow/ice much, just gunned the car and seemed to do fine. Did have quite the ice-speed-bump at the end of the driveway, though!

I can clarify = the cars were parked willy nilly before the snow started, then not moved for two days. Compacting the snow was not an issue. Fact is, 4 cars, parked in tandem, would about have covered the driveway, and as it faces south the sun would have melted most of it anyhow. All I can say is that is one messed up lawn.

And this morning, coming home from what I call work. Dude is in a 4WD truck. Doing about 10 mph under the limit. Ok, caution is good. Except it was in the 40s and there was no ice anywhere on any of the major roads. The route we were on had no bridges (why I take it), but regardless, had been plowed and sanded/salted/brined. Only some water was on the road. Ya never know when the dreaded black ice will suddenly form and attack your truck. In bright sunshine no less.

Yes, driving in the snow is an acquired skill. On my first trip to Alaska the California raised mortar guy slid right through his first stop sign. After that he got the idea to brake way before he thought he should and he was good to go.

Having been raised in New England, I sometimes forget that the Southern people have few experiences in snow. Or heavy rains. Or any inclement weather. Makes life interesting sometimes. And DW is from Idaho, she drives in snow just fine.

I'd actually prefer it. With a grain shovel, you can throw what ever weight of snow you pick up. Cheap snow shovels unbalance too easily if you get a big load.