Shot In The Dark: You Know Who You Are, Part V

January 22, 2005

You Know Who You Are, Part V

You were the guy in the black Blazer who came barreling up behind me on Snelling Avenue last night. The road had not been plowed, and there was a solid six inches of snow; so my front wheels were fighting me for control of the car.

You, on the other hand, were driving like it was high noon on a bone-dry July Saturday. You sailed up behind me, tailgated in the ice and snow for a few hundred yards, flashed your highs, and then did a petulant little swerve into the passing lane...

...where you promptly turned nearly sideways on the ice. I am a better driver than you, so I had left plenty of room between us. You recovered, and went through a very red light.

You are probably a native Minnesotan, proudly exclaiming "I've been driving in this stuff since I was 16". I have news for you, pallie; you and your brothers and sisters and neighbors were crappy drivers then, and you're crappy drivers now.

That is all.

Posted by Mitch at January 22, 2005 08:26 AM | TrackBack

Comments

It's the Dirty Little Secret of Minnesota driving. It takes us all winter to re-learn how to drive on snow, and then we forget it over the summer. But it doesn't stop us from laughing at people to the south.

Posted by: Lars Walker at January 22, 2005 01:01 PM

Whaddaya mean, all winter? Here in West Michigan, almost everybody remembers the tricks by the third or fourth major snowstorm.

East Michigan, on the other hand, never develops the skills. The time between major snowfalls is too long, so they keep re-forgetting.

Posted by: UML Guy at January 22, 2005 02:58 PM

We seem to get the two extremes when we get our first inch or first freezing rain:

1) Drive 30MPH with only a portion of the windshield scraped and the windows down, throwing snow on the drivers behind you.

2) Like any other day, drive 70+ in a 55MPH zone. Get angry at the guy driving 50-55. Tailgate him, flash him, and extend finger when passing.

It's bad, but I know I snicker just a little when I hear of "hundreds of accidents" during the first major snowfall in the Cities. It seems like more than just a couple of those guys were driving like idiots.

Posted by: Jerry Leigh at January 23, 2005 01:40 AM

I really cannot understand how so many Minnesotans simply forget how to drive in winter. I also cannot understand how so many SUV owners think that their vehicles make them invincible. I just got a Blazer myself and my driving habits haven't changed. I've been using my 4-wheel drive this week, but I still drive cautiously in all this snow, slush and ice.

Oh, well. The world is populated by idiots, I guess. Thankfully many of us are smart enough to watch out for ourselves around them.

Posted by: Jinx McHue at January 23, 2005 05:02 PM

Winter (snow/ice) driving is really about being smart enough to use 4 good, dedicated snow tires. 4 wheel drive (I've got two) does not help you stop. Four snows is a lot cheaper than a wreck or tow.

Posted by: tim at January 23, 2005 06:18 PM

Winter (snow/ice) driving is really about being smart enough to use 4 good, dedicated snow tires. 4 wheel drive (I've got two) does not help you stop. Four snows is a lot cheaper than a wreck or tow. All-season tires are crappy in all seasons.

Posted by: tim at January 23, 2005 06:19 PM

We got those folk down where in Pennsyltucky too. We get 2 or 3 good storms a year and I swear that I see the same damn jokers staring at their overturned SUVs in the ditch every time. I need to move back North, where the sky is blue and fish are edible.

Posted by: mdmhvonpa at January 24, 2005 12:40 PM