One would thnk that Minnesotans would be expereinced enough in winter driving to not freak out everytime there’s a snowstorm. Nope. Yesterday morning I was second in line to make the difficult left turn that get’s me onto a main road that takes me to the highway. During the mornng rush there’s lots of traffic coming the opposite way and there is no left turn signal. Usually two cars can sneak through when the light changes. So when the light changes, the car in front of me doesn’t pull out into the intersection but just sits there. I’m beginning to think, “Oh well, there goes my chance to make it through on this light.” But when the light turns orange and the southbound traffic is stopping and the opportunity is there, the driver of the red Grand Am remains in place. I’m thinking that we’ll be able to make our turns at about 10am when traffic clears a little. The person (I’m avoiding any gender labels here) must have felt the daggers I was staring into their neck because they pulled out on the next light and we both made it through. Or they could read lips in the rear view mirror.
People become rediculously timid or insanely agressive for the conditions. One of the fallacies of winter driving is that if I have four wheel drive, I can stop faster. No. Every snow storm the ditches are littered with SUV’s. This fact gives me wicked pleasure. I have some empathy for the poor folks who recently immigrated from a tropical climate. First they are exposed to temperatures that are hostile to human life and then they try to drive and realize all the expectations of how an automobile should behave have been tossed out the window. And of course everyone who has been stuck behind them as they drive down the freeway at 20 gives them a friendly salute when the finally pass. Welcome America!