CritterPainter's latest blog entry "Why Washingtonians are bad snow-drivers" reminded me of a video I saw a couple of days back. Here it is... [youtube]wNmPAzB7wBA[/youtube]
Texans get picked on everytime we have an ice storm or even much of a snow fall since it doesn't normally turn to snow until after a layer of ice has been laid on the streets. Schools and businesses close for the duration. We know that we do not know how to drive in it so we save ourselves the aggrivation and expense of trying to do so. But the non-natives (usually northerners who think they know how to drive on it) are out sliding into the ditches. At least they do keep the tow truck companies and the repair shops in business.
We see a lot of drivers here causing accidents just like the ones in Franks video clip. They're not locals - we pay attention to the forecasts - but tend to be out-of-towners who think they know best. :-x
I have to admit, it makes a good film, especially as it appeared no one got hurt... just lots of slidin' down the hill. They must have not been able to see what was happening down there until they were over the crest and couldn't stop. Wild.
Long, long ago in the days of my youth, the weathermen started predicting snow and ice. A lot of the people my Dad worked with lived in the country and the roads were gravel at best. They started telling the boss that if it snowed, they wouldn't be able to make it in to work. He started laughing at them. He had recently moved down from Massachusettes and told them that three feet of snow didn't stop people up there. The next morning my Dad put the chains on his pickup and drove in to work. The boss called shortly after he arrived. It seems that the boss had managed to slide off the road and needed help. The boss told one of the workers to bring the company truck (a 2 1/2 bobtail) and pull him out. When the man arrived with the truck, the boss ordered him out of the cab so he could pull his car out. He didn't want the underling to damage his car. He then proceded to slide the company truck into the ditch with his car. They walked back to the boss's house and called again. This time my Dad brought the "Deuce and a half" that was on loan to the company from the military. When he arrived, the boss ordered him out of the cab so he could pull his car out. My Dad told him to shut up and get out of the way, then he then hooked a chain from the BIG truck to the front of the company truck and pulled them both out. The boss never said a word about driving in bad weather again.
