On the other hand, people do drive regularly in winter conditions; it's not automatically suicidal to do so. Some of the factors involved here were probably:

1. I'll bet you didn't have winter tires; possibly (depending on where you live) you didn't even have "all-season radials". I drove for 10 years in Calgary winters on all-season radials, but this year I finally decided I was just pushing my luck for no reason and got Blizzacs put on in November.

2. If the weather conditions were highly unusual, the majority of drivers probably didn't know how to react. Remember that the speed limit is a maximum, not a minimum. Don't do 70 on the freeway when it's covered with ice and snow and you've got summer tires on. If you're worried about getting hit from behind by some moron who doesn't realize snow and ice are slippery, turn on your lights and, if necessary, put on your 4-way flashers. Watch the other drivers giving you the finger as they charge past you, and be polite and wave to them later on as you pass them in the ditch <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Make sure you remove all snow and ice from your headlights and tail-lights as well. If you have a brightly coloured car, consider brushing the snow off the whole car; no point wasting that bright red, high visibility paint job when you need it most. (Of course, most Canadians - including myself <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> - get kind of blase about this sort of thing and only clear enough snow to be able to see out.)

3. The road crews may not have had the equipment to deal with the weather conditions. It's a standing joke in Canada that Victoria, BC (which has a very mild climate compared to the rest of the country) can be shut down by even a light dusting of snow that isn't enough to build a decent-sized snowman (snow person?). Not because they don't know how to drive in winter, but because the snow-clearing equipment they have just isn't adequate to deal with something that only happens every ten years.

Winter driving is not that difficult if you have the right equipment and are used to driving in snow and ice. But if not, then you're right - hole up for the night, then turn around and go home.