Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 09:28     Subject: Re:snow delays?
I would not say DC routinely gets light snow. 3-4 delayed openings for MCPS is average, many years with none, and multiple years with no snow days at all, so maybe five snowfalls a year? I believe it's actually been two years without an inch of measurable snow. So a blizzard every five years doesn't create a routine. There's a difference between "shutting down" and making efforts (such as DELAYING opening, not closing) to reduce traffic on the roads during rush hour. On my commute from Gaithersburg to Silver Spring, I passed 11 accidents and disabled cars. Some were obviously high school students. My neighborhood roads and some of the not-quite-major streets (2-3 lanes each way) were untreated. You can drive on three or four inches of snow once it's packed down--driving in an inch of falling snow is a different story.

MCPS etc should have delayed opening today. Two hours to let traffic clear and roads get treated would have made everything much smoother.


You are out of your mind. There is no need for clearing snow because it was an inch or less - snow plows are neither necessary nor useful with such small amounts of snow.

If your HS student can't drive in an inch of snow, which is perfectly reasonable for a new driver, then don't let them drive to school today. MCPS does still have school buses, you know.

And sorry to burst your bubble, the DC area does routinely get small amounts of snow. Historically Washington DC averages about 15 inches of snow per year (based on records dating back to the late 1800s, source NOAA.)
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 09:28     Subject: snow delays?
Why should I *stop with the other drivers stuff*? I turned on the news yesterday morning to see an idiot had gotten trapped in water in Brookville on a bridge that has a giant bright yellow marker to measure the height of the flood waters on the other side of it. People lay on the horn if you have the temerity to wait for pedestrians to cross, they pass aggressively and speed in the pouring rain and snow as if it's a sunny day out then wonder what happened when they crashed. Drivers around here are self absorbed, self entitled idiots who think traffic laws apply only when it's convenient.

Maybe a plow can't remove a half an inch of snow, but we do have salt trucks and it takes them time to get everywhere too.
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 09:25     Subject: Re:snow delays?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's not about *my* driving ability. My concern is that busses go everywhere in the county and that not all of those backroads may have been plowed yet. Nor did I say I expected a shut down, just a delay. This is DC, not Buffalo if you haven't noticed and not only are people not used to driving in snow as we don't get enough of it to really get good at it, but there are some drivers out there that are down right idiots.



A plow cannot remove a half inch of snow. In this kind of event with the temperature way below freezing you deal with it. The buses will be fine. They might be late but your kids will be fine.

Stop with the "other drivers" stuff. As mentioned before if you can't deal with a half inch of snow then stay home.


You assume the reports are all correct in exactly half inch. BS! We are N Mont. Co and for sure has at least an inch and more reports coming in on tv ate confirming this. 10 car pile ups? Yes, we SHOULD have stayed hone for 2 hours. You're right. It's called "delay" to salt roads and prevent a morning scramble of people like yourself who will say, oh it's fine out there. I've seen worse. You'll be the person spun out on 270 holding up traffic.
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 09:23     Subject: Re:snow delays?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's not about *my* driving ability. My concern is that busses go everywhere in the county and that not all of those backroads may have been plowed yet. Nor did I say I expected a shut down, just a delay. This is DC, not Buffalo if you haven't noticed and not only are people not used to driving in snow as we don't get enough of it to really get good at it, but there are some drivers out there that are down right idiots.



A plow cannot remove a half inch of snow. In this kind of event with the temperature way below freezing you deal with it. The buses will be fine. They might be late but your kids will be fine.

Stop with the "other drivers" stuff. As mentioned before if you can't deal with a half inch of snow then stay home.


But as PP said, OTHER PEOPLE don't. And it's not just buses taking children to school. High schoolers drive themselves, children walk, parents drive. Roads did not need to be plowed, they needed to be treated, which is what I suspect PP meant in this case. And many many were not treated. Wet streets with melted ice and snow, sure, not an issue. But that's not what many roads in the area looked like at 6-7 o'clock this morning.
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 09:21     Subject: snow delays?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Honestly if you can't drive in light snow, then you should turn in your drivers license. Or move to Miami. But you can't live in a city that routinely receives small amounts of snow (and occasionally large amounts) and expect the world to shut down every time you see a flake.


I would not say DC routinely gets light snow. 3-4 delayed openings for MCPS is average, many years with none, and multiple years with no snow days at all, so maybe five snowfalls a year? I believe it's actually been two years without an inch of measurable snow. So a blizzard every five years doesn't create a routine. There's a difference between "shutting down" and making efforts (such as DELAYING opening, not closing) to reduce traffic on the roads during rush hour. On my commute from Gaithersburg to Silver Spring, I passed 11 accidents and disabled cars. Some were obviously high school students. My neighborhood roads and some of the not-quite-major streets (2-3 lanes each way) were untreated. You can drive on three or four inches of snow once it's packed down--driving in an inch of falling snow is a different story.

MCPS etc should have delayed opening today. Two hours to let traffic clear and roads get treated would have made everything much smoother.


+1 Yes, this.
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 09:18     Subject: Re:snow delays?
Anonymous wrote:It's not about *my* driving ability. My concern is that busses go everywhere in the county and that not all of those backroads may have been plowed yet. Nor did I say I expected a shut down, just a delay. This is DC, not Buffalo if you haven't noticed and not only are people not used to driving in snow as we don't get enough of it to really get good at it, but there are some drivers out there that are down right idiots.



A plow cannot remove a half inch of snow. In this kind of event with the temperature way below freezing you deal with it. The buses will be fine. They might be late but your kids will be fine.

Stop with the "other drivers" stuff. As mentioned before if you can't deal with a half inch of snow then stay home.
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 08:42     Subject: snow delays?
Anonymous wrote:Honestly if you can't drive in light snow, then you should turn in your drivers license. Or move to Miami. But you can't live in a city that routinely receives small amounts of snow (and occasionally large amounts) and expect the world to shut down every time you see a flake.


New poster.. I agree with you for the most part but the problem is the consistency. The county goes into full panic mode and everything is shut down over a minor event then when there is actual snow on the ground that was expected but didn't happen before, there is no delay...
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 08:39     Subject: snow delays?
Anonymous wrote:Honestly if you can't drive in light snow, then you should turn in your drivers license. Or move to Miami. But you can't live in a city that routinely receives small amounts of snow (and occasionally large amounts) and expect the world to shut down every time you see a flake.


I would not say DC routinely gets light snow. 3-4 delayed openings for MCPS is average, many years with none, and multiple years with no snow days at all, so maybe five snowfalls a year? I believe it's actually been two years without an inch of measurable snow. So a blizzard every five years doesn't create a routine. There's a difference between "shutting down" and making efforts (such as DELAYING opening, not closing) to reduce traffic on the roads during rush hour. On my commute from Gaithersburg to Silver Spring, I passed 11 accidents and disabled cars. Some were obviously high school students. My neighborhood roads and some of the not-quite-major streets (2-3 lanes each way) were untreated. You can drive on three or four inches of snow once it's packed down--driving in an inch of falling snow is a different story.

MCPS etc should have delayed opening today. Two hours to let traffic clear and roads get treated would have made everything much smoother.
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 08:30     Subject: Re:snow delays?
It's not about *my* driving ability. My concern is that busses go everywhere in the county and that not all of those backroads may have been plowed yet. Nor did I say I expected a shut down, just a delay. This is DC, not Buffalo if you haven't noticed and not only are people not used to driving in snow as we don't get enough of it to really get good at it, but there are some drivers out there that are down right idiots.
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 08:06     Subject: snow delays?
Anonymous wrote:Honestly if you can't drive in light snow, then you should turn in your drivers license. Or move to Miami. But you can't live in a city that routinely receives small amounts of snow (and occasionally large amounts) and expect the world to shut down every time you see a flake.


+1
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 08:00     Subject: snow delays?
Honestly if you can't drive in light snow, then you should turn in your drivers license. Or move to Miami. But you can't live in a city that routinely receives small amounts of snow (and occasionally large amounts) and expect the world to shut down every time you see a flake.
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 07:52     Subject: snow delays?
This is ridiculous. Monday there was no need for a delay and we get one. Today there absolutely should be one and busses are running on time, or so it seems.
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 07:26     Subject: snow delays?
Any delay would have been announced by far. Washingoton Post says absolutely nothing is delayed or canceled. I think a few places have egg on their face about Monday and are reluctant to make that mistake again.
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 07:16     Subject: Re:snow delays?
No delay, so far, but there should be. I was just out and it's slippery and visibility is poor.
Anonymous
Post 02/01/2013 07:00     Subject: snow delays?
Anybody hear anything this morning for MCPS?