Post AFTIBGq7HEZ3NRy6e8 by deejoe@mastodon.technology
 (DIR) More posts by deejoe@mastodon.technology
 (DIR) Post #AFTIBFxWYCtae8QVYO by deejoe@mastodon.technology
       2022-01-15T16:05:08Z
       
       1 likes, 1 repeats
       
       I guess this is going to be one of those things I risk alienating people tired of hearing me repeating whenever it seems applicable, but: Every car owner/operator who lives where snow happens, but infrequently enough to have proper infrastructure for it, should be required to carry a set of tire chains during forecasted winter weather emergencies. As in, curfew, stay off the roads *unless* you have them. You don't need the state to tell you to do this, though. Get some.
       
 (DIR) Post #AFTIBGRIlUiO8UMHy4 by deejoe@mastodon.technology
       2022-01-15T16:46:16Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       this occurred to me sometime between seeing in the news a car CATCH on FIRE during snow in Raleigh and reading about how absolutely gridlocked Atlanta became as cars were abandoned where they sat during snow there.Mixed in is some of my own experience of winter weather driving in NY, OH, IN, IL, IA, CA *and* NC.
       
 (DIR) Post #AFTIBGq7HEZ3NRy6e8 by deejoe@mastodon.technology
       2022-01-15T16:48:57Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       I used to think, in typical ego-centric consumer-trained American fashion "well, I know how to drive in winter weather, I'll be fine"No. You will not. Because it's not about you. Roads are a common pool resource. Collective action or inaction affects their utility for everyone.
       
 (DIR) Post #AFTIBI1UsPGJ32Ii1Y by deejoe@mastodon.technology
       2022-01-15T16:55:01Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Another thing is that experience of driving where snow and ice are typical includes a lot more than we might be willing to credit. Like, sure, we know trucks go out to plow and salt or sand the roads, we see them. But its easy to underestimate how pervasively effective that can be and how much you'll miss it whatever the state of your skills and equipment.AWD/4WD helps, but as the tire mongers like to say "four wheel drive is not the same as four wheel stop"
       
 (DIR) Post #AFTIBJCWUtfyhWT1qi by deejoe@mastodon.technology
       2022-01-15T16:59:15Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       it also doesn't matter how good your equipment & skills are if the roads are impassible due to other cars that are stuckthis is why I think it should be a mandate--maybe no more enforced than as a ticketable offense, just enough to establish it as a clear expectation.but as we see, mandates don't go over well with some folk. That's why I think there's scope for individual action. Depending on the severity & timing, some chains can help you, & help you help others.