Actually, IME a one inch snow event does not trigger an all-plow alert. You just drive in it. Now I think we have more than one inch here- it was pushing 3 inches in northern Silver Spring- but even during bigger events in the snow belt roads are still messy. The plows can't always keep up with it. People just learn to drive in it. I am a transplant who is NOT a good winter driver- far from it- and was glad I could walk to the metro this morning. I just dispute the notion that because northern cities have more plows, their roads are pristine all winter long. Not true. |
Not pristine, no - but they get out there and CLEAR it when conditions so warrant. Here, they just watch it and warn people about poor driving conditions. Then eventually, after it stops snowing, they plow. No wonder everything shuts down. |
+1000 Bunch of idiots. |
| They do call it mid Atlantic for a reason. |
Southern idiots. |
Taxpayers up north are also willing to pay for it. Are we? Do you know for certain the limited crews are sitting around staring at the snow vs. they are just somewhere else other than your street? |
Here's the thing, though. I lived "up North". We were in Indiana for three years and in Minnesota for two years. They don't plow the roads clear every time it snows, contrary to what so many of you seem to believe. They'll come through if it's a lot of snow. 3-4 inches probably wouldn't warrant a snow plow except maybe on the highways. You can easily drive in snow. Ice is a whole different scenario and certainly requires that roads be pre-treated and then treated over and over again. But just fluffy snow? Slow down a little. Leave plenty of room between you and the other cars. Don't make any sudden accelerations or decelerations. You'll be fine. I'm far from a great driver, but I can certainly drive in a little snow. |
Transplant from Minnesota here, and, no, our roads are not pristine all winter long and you wouldn't have them going crazy with the plows, but they make an effort to clean it up. From all the pics online this morning, it looked like an awful lot of main roads across the region weren't touched at all. |
I don't think this part of the thread has been settled.
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Wrong. Not immediately for side streets and whatnot, and not always down to pavement, the roads would be impassable by the end of the winter. Fluffy snow driven over for days and weeks gets packed down to ice. Admittedly, as it turns to spring and budgets run down and they run out of space to plow the snow to, they get a little sloppier. Source: lived in Minnesota 30 years. |
Don't try to argue with the locals, they don't really value common sense or actual knowledge or facts. They would rather argue something completely irrelevant, in an effort to hear themselves talk. :YAWN: |
You don't know anything about VDOT, do you? |
I am pretty sure the southerners have shown everyone what to hate, or at least be entertained by. |
I drove back from my parents last week in snow (they're near Lake Ontario). Just a regular lake effect snow event. Probably an inch on the ground when we left. No plows on the road, highways were slushy enough that I had to slow down and take it easy until we were out of it. But obviously YMMV and in Minnesota the crews would've been out there removing the one inch. |
| Minnesota is better than New York in so many ways! |