Driving in Bismarck (live, bus, moving to)

[treatslou]

Hi
I plan on moving to Bismarck soon but im moving from a city where you dont need a car so i havent driven in awhile. How is driving in Bismarck, especially in the winters? I have never driven in snow before. Do they pave the roads well? What kind of car is best? Thank you

[MikeyToo]

Originally Posted by treatslou

Hi
I plan on moving to Bismarck soon but im moving from a city where you dont need a car so i havent driven in awhile. How is driving in Bismarck, especially in the winters? I have never driven in snow before. Do they pave the roads well? What kind of car is best? Thank you

Not so familiar with Bismarck area, but try: BisMan Transit » Home for bus service. Other than that, if you have a front wheel drive car, for the most part you should be ok in the North Dakota winters. ABS brakes helps if you need to stop fast and are not familiar with stopping on slippery roads. For the most part, the roads around Bismarck are paved.

Good luck!

[TravisW]

You're probably going to want a front-wheel drive car with good all-weather tires. Bismarck isn't too bad to drive in during the winter. The streets are generally pretty decently maintained (at least they were 12 years ago when I still lived there).

When winter rolls around, it wouldn't be a bad idea to find an empty iced-over parking lot and get used to the sliding while braking and the understeer that goes with ice and front wheel drive cars. Braking is probably the biggest adjustment, but it's not too bad when you get used to it.

[treatslou]

Thanks guys

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by TravisW

When winter rolls around, it wouldn't be a bad idea to find an empty iced-over parking lot and get used to the sliding while braking and the understeer that goes with ice and front wheel drive cars. Braking is probably the biggest adjustment, but it's not too bad when you get used to it.

Out here in the Southwest, where we haven't had rain for weeks, months, with lots of oil build-up on the roads over that time frame, you can practice out here, only after it rains. See a stop light, you start braking a half block away, otherwise you might slide through the intersection. Light turns green, you very, very slowly accelerate (after looking to make sure someone stopping at the red light is not going to slide through the intersection), otherwise your rear end will slide all over the place or you'l just sit there and spin, spin, spin and go nowhere.

Out on the freeways, you do the freeway ramps at half the posted speed, otherwise you'll join any number of other cars who have slid off the ramp into the ditch. You need to suddenly break on the freeways, you pull off onto the shoulder, as, sure as hell, someone behind you may have never driven on oil-slicked roads before, and they'll plow right into you.

Weeks, months without rains here, and when it does rain, we become Siren City, accidents from one end of the valley to the other. One big skating rink!
I come from Minnesota with years of experience of driving in snow and ice, and I see no difference here, except, to me, it's scarier!