Winter driving tips? (Fayetteville, Rogers, Bella Vista: power lines, condo, home)

[Kimballette]

Since today's forecast in Phoenix is for 106+, I thought I'd ask you all about winter driving. Hey, a woman has to find ways to cope. Yes, I know, it's a dry heat.

We plan to settle in the Bella Vista area (possibly even B’ville or Rogers) and commute to work as far away as Fayetteville. Having become accustomed to commutes of up to one hour, we don’t mind the drive.

However, aside from the obvious like hilly streets, steep driveways, etc., do you have any advice regarding driving in Arkansas winter weather? How often does winter weather affect the morning/evening commute? Regarding ice, any tips for safe driving in the area? How often are snow chains required? Is front wheel drive sufficient in most cases?

Thanks for your help. Now I’ll go back to preparing for a day of life on the surface of Mars!

[thewizard16]

Hello again Kimballette,

Winter driving isn't as bad as most people think, but caution is of course required. The street crews around here are pretty good at dealing with snow for no more than we really get (although we did have several decent snow storms this year), so snow doesn't often slow things down too much. I've never once used chains living here, but I have a front wheel drive car with traction control and I drive carefully when there's more than an inch or so on the ground. Most snows that come through the area are only a few inches and the heavier ones tend to close schools pretty quickly. Hills are definitely the challenge- I live in Fayetteville and have two large hills between my condo and work- but if you drive pretty slowly and don't over react when you start to slide, you'll be fine. If there's some snow on the road and you're about to head to work, or home from work, plan to double your travel time just to be safe and you should be fine.

Ice is a different story. There's not much that can drive on ice on a hill, chains or not, and with the ice storm we had last year, things pretty much shut down. It was a pretty serious one and at one point a couple hundred thousand people were without power (where I was living in west Fayetteville at that point in time was without power for four days- the lines were just destroyed), so going out on the roads was risky at best. If you don't have to go anywhere when the roads are icy- don't. If you do, be extremely careful, because an all wheel drive car with traction control isn't necessarily going to save you if you start sliding too badly. I didn't have any serious accidents during the ice storm, but my job did need me to be there during the storm, so I had to drive each day that week on the ice (only ended up in the ditch once!), and I just took it very slowly, kept it in low gear, and let traction control and ABS try to save me from the rest.
Good luck with life on Mars!

[putman]

Arkansas does not get winter. If you think winter is what Arkansas gets you need to keep off the road and have someone else drive you.

[OurGreatEscape]

@wizard--The Ice Storm of 2009, lucky you to have lived in west Fay. then. Some areas around downtown were without power for over 101 hours! My neighbors four blocks to the north were without power for over a week.

Street crews do a much better job than in the past. Now they spray preventive liquid (sort of like an anti-freeze) on the roads.

My advice to OP if you have to be at work, move close to your office. There are too many people in NWA who think it is a-ok to drive 65-70mph on the bypass when it is snow/ice covered.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by thewizard16

Hello again Kimballette,

Winter driving isn't as bad as most people think, but caution is of course required. The street crews around here are pretty good at dealing with snow for no more than we really get (although we did have several decent snow storms this year), so snow doesn't often slow things down too much. I've never once used chains living here, but I have a front wheel drive car with traction control and I drive carefully when there's more than an inch or so on the ground. Most snows that come through the area are only a few inches and the heavier ones tend to close schools pretty quickly. Hills are definitely the challenge- I live in Fayetteville and have two large hills between my condo and work- but if you drive pretty slowly and don't over react when you start to slide, you'll be fine. If there's some snow on the road and you're about to head to work, or home from work, plan to double your travel time just to be safe and you should be fine.

Ice is a different story. There's not much that can drive on ice on a hill, chains or not, and with the ice storm we had last year, things pretty much shut down. It was a pretty serious one and at one point a couple hundred thousand people were without power (where I was living in west Fayetteville at that point in time was without power for four days- the lines were just destroyed), so going out on the roads was risky at best. If you don't have to go anywhere when the roads are icy- don't. If you do, be extremely careful, because an all wheel drive car with traction control isn't necessarily going to save you if you start sliding too badly. I didn't have any serious accidents during the ice storm, but my job did need me to be there during the storm, so I had to drive each day that week on the ice (only ended up in the ditch once!), and I just took it very slowly, kept it in low gear, and let traction control and ABS try to save me from the rest.
Good luck with life on Mars!

Wizard, thanks again for your wise advice. I really appreciate those who take the time to answer my questions. Fortunately, both our vehicles are front wheel drive and have ABS and traction control (and we have AAA), so we're as prepared as we can be.

Gosh, I can't wait to get to Arkansas!

[ArkansasTgirl]

Originally Posted by OurGreatEscape

My advice to OP if you have to be at work, move close to your office. There are too many people in NWA who think it is a-ok to drive 65-70mph on the bypass when it is snow/ice covered.

Driving 10 miles over the limit just like it is summer so you end up in a ditch is part of the traditional local culture.

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by OurGreatEscape

@wizard--The Ice Storm of 2009, lucky you to have lived in west Fay. then. Some areas around downtown were without power for over 101 hours! My neighbors four blocks to the north were without power for over a week.

Yeah, we were pretty lucky. My place was on the same part of the grid as Harp's, IHop, and those gas stations/fast food there so maybe they worked a little harder to get the grocery store and restaurants back online earlier and we just benefited from it. Luckily my office is on an underground grid and never lost power, so I had heat, water, and a place to shower throughout the storm. I have a friend who lived out by Beaver lake that was without power for nearly two weeks! Hopefully that won't happen again since they upgraded all those power lines when they were replacing them.

Kimballette, you're very welcome. Sounds like you're as prepared as you an possibly be! We look forward to having you in NWA soon.

[SwingVote08]

hmmm, i disagree a little with some of these posts so i'll add my 2 cents...

ice is the main fear factor although the smallest amount of snow will put most arkansans in the ditch. no one can really drive in the snow or ice here but it's ok because everything will shut down in the event of either.

snow and ice are "frequent" in the area. maybe not in the last decade. i never get the feeling anyone remembers the 90s. the past 5 years have been especially warm despite our recent ice storm. i say "frequent" because it will seem frequent to you and also because it's much more frequent than the rest of the state.

loss of power is more common with the tornadoes and thunderstorms than with the ice and snow unless you live in the sticks or have a ton of nearly falling trees around your house. it's worse if it happens in summer with the thunderstorms i think. the heat will kill you quicker than the cold in arkansas (we have humidity and buildings with traditionally siding and roofs that trap the heat more than in az).

front wheel drive is a smart choice for the area. winter tires are totally unnecessary and chains are personal preference depending on the urgency to get somewhere but like i said most things will be closed.

snow crews are slow to react in my opinion but catch on by february!

[OurGreatEscape]

@swingvote--I'm with you! If I recall it was in the '90's that the UofA first canceled class for wintry weather (it had never been done before).

RE: power outages--Anyone have any stats on which power company (Swepco/AEP or Ozarks Electric) goes out more often?? Last week, west Fayetteville was without power due to some tree falling on a line. This was on Ozarks Electric's grid.

Unground electric is good...except when your neighbors and the lines which service your neighborhood are above ground Yup, that's what caused our 101 hours of outage in 2009.

[Gallbaro]

Arkansans are fairly terrible drivers when it comes to winter. And as someone who grew up driving in blizzards, I can safely say that the greater peril to your life in this state comes from fellow road users rather than the conditions.

But it is always entertaining to see some jacked up pick up in a ditch because the hick in it thought his man car could handle the snow and ice. Pick Up Trucks are probably the worse type of vehicle for severe weather driving because they have no rear wheel traction.