A free driving lesson to my wonderful neighbors (Seattle, Sammamish: house, buy)

[Xanathos]

Dear people of Seattle,

Over the last day or so, it has come to my attention that you are not accustomed to the foreign substance which has graced our fair city. It's called the white shroud. Or, more commonly, snow. And, contrary to what appears to be popular opinion, it is not a magical substance which actively sets out to seek and destroy. After spending a day amongst all of you and seeing more in the last 3 hours than I've seen in 3 years in terms of horrible driving strategy, I offer these words of wisdom so that you may more acutely participate in the wonder of "driving".

1) To the guy in the Acura MDX who made it halfway up the hill, slid back and almost hit me if not for my maneuvering, then made it up halfway again, and slid back again, I offer this advice: While it is indeed sound strategy to drive with care on the shroud and thus slow down, when going uphill, you should try to avoid hitting the base of a 35 degree incline hill doing only 11 miles per hour. When going UPhill, you actually want to go faster than normal. This is so when you get halfway up and hit a bit of ice and start to lose momentum, you've already got some steam built up to power you over the rest of the way. You will note that when I went around you and went up the hill after your 2nd failed attempt, I hit the base of the hill doing somewhere between 35 and 40. I hit the same patch of ice midway that you did, but I had enough momentum to push me past it. Don't worry about sliding "upwards" on a hill. It's quite easy to stop forward progress on an incline.

2) To the guy in the Ford pickup that was trying to pace me and ultimately ended up sliding off the road into a shallow ravine on a turn: I drive a German sportscar with the most advanced all-wheel drive system on the face of the planet. My soft-metal brakes have heaters/blowers on them that keep them dry even in wet conditions. You drive a rear-wheel drive pickup truck that obviously had no weights in the bed. I don't care that you watch NASCAR every Saturday and think you're Dale Earnhardt reincarnated, you can't do the same things in your truck that I can in my car, and that includes travel at the speeds I was traveling at. And yes, that's what I told the police officer. Unless you're in an Audi, a BMW, an AWD Volkswagen, or perhaps an Outback, leave the machismo in the house before you pull out of the driveway.

3) Ice tends to accumulate more in shade, and tends to stay icy in shade longer. When I'm in a heavily shaded area and tap my brakes repeatedly, I'm testing for traction. This is not your cue to try and pass me on a 2 lane road. The blinky brake lights are not Morse code for 'make an illegal maneuver on slippery surface'. You almost killed that lady on the bicycle when you slid into the bike lane before recovering. I'm looking at you, Mr. Prius owner.

4) To the kid at the Issaquah Best Buy parking lot trying to do the doughnuts: Turn off your mom's car's traction control. This is why you weren't able to get spun all the way around. And try waiting until after nightfall when the lot is empty before going out and doing that. Fewer cars to worry about, and the ice is generally more solid/less slush.

Source: First time I ever drove a car was in the dead of a Northern Michigan winter (and every subsequent lesson for the following 3 months). 4 years living in Boston. 3 years in NYC. Snow has existed for a really long time. It's not rocket science, folks.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by Xanathos

2) To the guy in the Ford pickup that was trying to pace me and ultimately ended up sliding off the road into a shallow ravine on a turn: I drive a German sportscar with the most advanced all-wheel drive system on the face of the planet. My soft-metal brakes have heaters/blowers on them that keep them dry even in wet conditions. You drive a rear-wheel drive pickup truck that obviously had no weights in the bed. I don't care that you watch NASCAR every Saturday and think you're Dale Earnhardt reincarnated, you can't do the same things in your truck that I can in my car, and that includes travel at the speeds I was traveling at. And yes, that's what I told the police officer. Unless you're in an Audi, a BMW, an AWD Volkswagen, or perhaps an Outback, leave the machismo in the house before you pull out of the driveway.

How funny. DH was basically "pushed" into a ditch by a Ford PU truck as well. The driver came careening down a steep hill (which we live on)... just speeding until he realized the brakes doesn't really work on the hill (which should be closed as they never plow it and rarely sand it). DH had to drive into a ditch to avoid impact (as did another driver coming uphill). Ford finally crashes into a steeper ditch. When DH finally drove out of the ditch, the Ford driver demanded help. Lots of choice words there.

Also... adding into the PSA:

** If you have bald tires, your butt should be staying home.

** If you have chains, you absolutely do not go 55-75 mph in it. The chains will fly off and you're endangering the drivers behind you!

[PollyGlott]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

How funny. DH was basically "pushed" into a ditch by a Ford PU truck as well. The driver came careening down a steep hill (which we live on)... just speeding until he realized the brakes doesn't really work on the hill (which should be closed as they never plow it and rarely sand it). DH had to drive into a ditch to avoid impact (as did another driver coming uphill). Ford finally crashes into a steeper ditch. When DH finally drove out of the ditch, the Ford driver demanded help. Lots of choice words there.
Also... adding into the PSA:
** If you have bald tires, your butt should be staying home.
** If you have chains, you absolutely do not go 55-75 mph in it. The chains will fly off and you're endangering the drivers behind you!

Someone is going to make fun of me for this question, but who is "DH"?

[Inkpoe]

DH = Dear Hubby (My husband)... just another net speak

[PollyGlott]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

DH = Dear Hubby (My husband)... just another net speak

Thank you!
I'm learning every day...

[OregonYeti]

Great post, X :^)

I'd add to this, 4WD doesn't compensate for your lack of driving skills (not directed at the OP). 4WD means that if you push it, you can spin all four of your wheels and be worse off than you would be in a 2WD.

When I lived in central Oregon, I'd drive over the Cascades to the west side about once a month. When the roads were snowy, I saw more 4WD's in a ditch than 2WD vehicles.

[newguy416]

This is why I took the bus today. Thankfully the one I needed was still running.

[OregonYeti]

Then there's the person who left her car parked at a 45° angle sticking out into the narrow street because she couldn't get it up her driveway and she didn't want to park it "over there where it was likely to get hit". If your car is blocking half the street, do you think that's the better option?

[texastrigirl]

Oh dear, it was quite the treat going up SE 43rd Way into Sammamish last night. Lots of sweet looking rear wheel drive sports cars pulled over going no where fast. I was thankful to have FWD on my old van but found it challenging to keep my speed up to get up the hill (ala advice from OP) because it was bumper to bumper at 3pm. But I did just try to keep on moving forward and never stopping which made the difference. I realized I probably need new tires sooner than later!! I was born and raised in the Midwest and lived my time in CO, so I know how to drive in the snow thankfully. But most people here don't so I find it best just to STAY HOME. It's a good excuse to let the pace of life slow down so I can clean out closets!

Thankfully the buses were still running so my DH could get downtown for the most important meeting of his life today. He is almost done with a 2 hour commute home after doing 2 hours this morning.

Happy Thanksgiving all you CD folks!

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by Xanathos

2) To the guy in the Ford pickup that was trying to pace me and ultimately ended up sliding off the road into a shallow ravine on a turn: I drive a German sportscar with the most advanced all-wheel drive system on the face of the planet. My soft-metal brakes have heaters/blowers on them that keep them dry even in wet conditions. You drive a rear-wheel drive pickup truck that obviously had no weights in the bed. I don't care that you watch NASCAR every Saturday and think you're Dale Earnhardt reincarnated, you can't do the same things in your truck that I can in my car, and that includes travel at the speeds I was traveling at. And yes, that's what I told the police officer. Unless you're in an Audi, a BMW, an AWD Volkswagen, or perhaps an Outback, leave the machismo in the house before you pull out of the driveway.

I was going to write something sarcastic, but then I got curious, and would really like your opinion. I assume you are driving a BMW with their version of AWD? What's your opinion of Mercedes 4Matic? I've driven a car with and without it. I've learned from experience that it's not a perfect solution but I haven't had to deal with any icy hills since getting an S-class with 4Matic. I do know that a C240 with all season tires is worthless on an icy incline, as I found out in Oregon.