Quote:
Originally Posted by DC to Mo' County
I thought DC was bad but naw, not anymore.
Do you guys even own plows down there?
When it snows up here plows are all over city streets doing what
they gotta do. Schools and the Govt may or may not closed but everyone else goes to work.
You guys got punked by mother nature.  |
Before you start the civil war again, maybe some civility offered might help some less use to icy roads in the future. It's clearly evident that no Georgia politician is going to ask for more money. Especially during an election cycle. We all know that Reed and Deal will give good lip but, in reality, their hands are tied as no one is going to want to spend money on de-icing and removal equipment. By this Saturday (predicted to be in the low 60's by Saturday...go figure) it will all be forgotten and carwashes will be all the rage.
What can you do in the future to help PREVENT the abysmal traffic failures of Wednesday? My experience was to leave Town Lake at, or around, 6:30 with the hopes that most may have cleared the road, go East on Arnold Mill to 140 and in to Alpharetta in a few hours. I was lucky for the first 1/2 hour of that. I made it to River Ridge HS and was able to camp out there (thank you most kind and wonderful staff of River Ridge) for a few hours as others decided to play NASCAR without the necessary skills to survive. At about 8:30, I headed back to downtown Woodstock, East on 92, picked my way through the Los Angeles 2012 wreckage and was cruising East on 92 at about 25-40mph. No joke. Up, hwy 9, east on old Milton, traffic jam, turned around, went down Haynes bridge, over to Northpoint and down Kimball an into my driveway at, or around 10:45.....
How?
A few tips IF you have a front-wheel or 4-wheel drive auto. Most are front-wheel drive so let's go with that. Here's some tips.
1) Do NOT f'in stop. Those who think they will creep UP an icy hill at 2mph will only screw everyone behind them. It's icy. Tires don't tend to grip on ice...get it? you have to use the car's momentum and get some SPEED before you go up a hill. Cars in front of you? Not a problem if there is a lane. or curb area.
2) Do NOT ride in the same tracks that you do on dry pavement. Those are as slick as an ice hockey rink. Short of being Dorothy Hamill, you WON'T make it. What do you do Caleb? Simple, STRADLE THE ICE. Put your wheels left, or right, of the those same tired a$$ marks the last 1,000 cars have tried. keep your wheels on the snow pack or gutter and you will find traction more often than not. To stay in the icy ruts, usual tracks, will find you too on the side, walking for god knows how long, home.
3) PUMP THE BRAKES. By now, some probably realize that HOLDING the brakes creates a sort of dementia with you wondering how you are going to slow down and regain control. Listen skippy, the longer you HOLD the brakes the WORSE it is GOING to get. Capiche? PUMP THE DARN BRAKES!!!! LIGHTLY!!!! you will notice that the car tends to dip a bit with each tap...you will also notice that you are actually slowing down which if I am correct, is the original intent of said brakes???
4) KEEEEEEEP DISTANCE....it's your only savior if you have to go around someone. if you have to, bounce off a curb (glancing) as the snow will cushion your arrival. It's highly unlikely you will do damage so long as you are not at speed (25mph+). We were fortunate as everyone tended to head West...for those of us going East? A piece of cake. It go so bad for those going West, they started to use our side of the road....smart move. There wasn't enough traffic to worry about it......
5) BE AWARE....ice WILL form ON bridges AND underneath them!!!! Venturi effects and all....this morning you will see numerous cars in "the wall" underneath bridges....they are shadowed and even yesterday's sun could not help them.
6) DON'T BE A TIGHTWAD....buy chains/cables NEXT week. Why? You will need them, again, some year. Keep them handy like jumper cables. KNOW how to install them. It will make all the difference for those with rear-wheel drive and front-wheel drive alike. It's your best option. Bet you wish you had a set these last two days, huh?
7) IF you get stuck and stranded, do NOT run your car non-stop. Warm it up....SHUT it down. If your battery and starter are in good shape, you will only likely run 6-7 cycles during the night so you should be fine. Big caveat here. Make DARN sure you muffler's exhaust is NOT obstructed. If it is, carbon monoxide will build up in the cabin and kill you. I lost two friends nearly 25 years ago up north due to this. They were stranded half in a snow bank, left the car running, found the next day. Both dead. There was simply too much snow underneath the car and it backed the then leaded gas running Chrysler fumes into the cabin. Toast.
8) Do NOT panic if you slide. gently tap the brakes and hold them for no longer than 1 second with each pump. As you release your steering will come back slightly. With each tap you will usually gain more control.
9) DON'T be a hero. I witnessed some dipwad with a 1/2 ton 4X4 try to pull out a 15,000lb Cherokee county Box Ambulance/rescue vehicle out of ditch. Both were on ice. At the crest of a hill on Arnold Mill. Nice. Result? Said, yahoo who thought his 1/2 ton Chevy was a M-60 Patton Tank slid all over the road, back and forth back and forth to no avail. 5,000lbs does not pull 15,000 lbs out of ditch...on ice.....idiote. I would have been fine if said guy named Jared, huge belt buckle, 125lbs soaking wet, had wasted his time but, the REST of us were now on an icy incline, with no traction.....sooooooooo, in 15 degree weather, we had to back up 20 cars so we could get running starts up the hill to get over it. Next time Jared, know your vehicles limitations. Keep MOVING!!!!!!!! It's NOT all about you....
10) Confidence. Believe it or not, the same cars we drive down here are driven up north...in the exact same conditions, for months. Same tires too! And no, they don't salt every stinking road and despite the salts best efforts, there ARE icy patches to be found. Your tires, assuming they aren't slicks, will go through 98% of the elements nature throws at us. If you have front-wheel drive you should be in very, very good shape provided you, STAY OFF THE ICY tracks, KEEP moving, GIVE DISTANCE for manouevers, FILL YOUR GAS TANK prior to your icy adventures, GET CABLES FOR FUTURE, along with jumper cables, and if you can't get out early, STAY right where you are. I did and despite my adventures on Arnold Mill and 92, I was able to get home in 4 hours....with a 1 hour "layover" at River Ridge HS....in a 15 year old Camry......no traction control, AWD, 4-wheel....on a set of used Michellins....hello??? Is this thing on????
Case in point. I left EARLY this morning anticipating a nightmare in traffic...left the house at 6:30, drove down 400, across I-285 and into the office, 20 miles away.....in 30 minutes flat. Why? Because Atlanta, never to miss a day off, is sleeping...and thinks, at 9:30, things will be better....remember what happened two days ago??? Everyone thought, they could all leave together.....sooooooooo, now that everyone will "wait a couple of hours" (yeah, that thermometer might leap a whopping 5 degrees up to a balmy 10) and things will be all better....anticipation and planning prevent a myriad of f'ups. Just ask Reed and Deal. They know....now.......
Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Leave early, pay attention, and don't be a part of the sheeple that sit in traffic for hours to move 10 feet with the thought that any minute, things will magically change. They won't. Governor Deal and Kasim Reed are NOT going to do anything for you as we are NOT willing to pay for it. You are on your own no matter who holds those posts. Prepare, and use some of these cheeky comments. Because THEY WORK.....
Good Luck.
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