There's one word -- an evil, horrible four-letter-word, which no one in the UK (except children) ever wants to hear:
SNOW.
That's right, snow. In January we had a major snowstorm and it caused traffic chaos everywhere! Hubby and I tried to get to work on the other side of town which only takes about half an hour on a normal day. But while driving up a hill, the car lost traction and got stuck. We weren't the only one. We somehow managed to turn around, and at that point we figured the best option was to just go home.
The entire journey from one side of town to the other took four hours. That's right, FOUR HOURS! So how much snow did we get? A foot? Two feet?
Four inches.
That's right, a measley 4 inches of snow did this. And why? Because they don't clear the freakin' roads!!
Traffic was at a complete standstill. Our journey also included a half hour where our car overheated and we had to wait on the side of the road while the engine cooled off.
Many thanks to The Swindon Advertiser (local newspaper) for adding insult to injury by sneakily taking a picture of us broken down on the side of the road. Nice that the photographer had the time to take a photo but didn't have the time to ask if we needed help!
Yes, it was certainly inconvenient but at least the roads were plowed. Yes, you still had to be careful while driving, but AT LEAST THE ROADS WERE PLOWED. Do you see a pattern here?
The attitude here in Britain seems to be, "Oh, let's just throw down some grit (sand) on top of the snow. That'll do it." No, no, no! The sand mixes with the snow to create a slippery, muddy mess. It's still 4 inches of snow with sand mixed in! It doesn't make driving any better! You're supposed to plow the road first and THEN put down the sand. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that!
The trouble is that because we don't get snow that often, no one wants to put money into snow removal. Why put the money into something when we might not need it? But we've been seeing more and more snow each winter. They need to do something! I mean, don't these people get stuck in the snow traffic too?
As I write this, NJ has just had 8 inches of snow and New England has had 2 feet or more. Yes it'll take a day or 2 to clear it up over the weekend. But I guarantee that despite all that snow, the roads will be plowed and driveable by Monday morning.
I've learned my lesson. The next time I see an inch or two of snow out there, I'll no longer think with my NJ mentality, "Oh I can drive in that." Instead, I'll just panic like everyone else and take the bus!
SNOW.
That's right, snow. In January we had a major snowstorm and it caused traffic chaos everywhere! Hubby and I tried to get to work on the other side of town which only takes about half an hour on a normal day. But while driving up a hill, the car lost traction and got stuck. We weren't the only one. We somehow managed to turn around, and at that point we figured the best option was to just go home.
The entire journey from one side of town to the other took four hours. That's right, FOUR HOURS! So how much snow did we get? A foot? Two feet?
Four inches.
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| Our patio furniture |
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| Our slippery drive home. |
 |
| Our road. No sand or plowed road! |
Traffic was at a complete standstill. Our journey also included a half hour where our car overheated and we had to wait on the side of the road while the engine cooled off.
Many thanks to The Swindon Advertiser (local newspaper) for adding insult to injury by sneakily taking a picture of us broken down on the side of the road. Nice that the photographer had the time to take a photo but didn't have the time to ask if we needed help!
 |
| That's us with the hood up. Stolen from the Swindon Advertiser. |
I can hear my family and friends in NJ chuckling and shaking their heads in disbelief. NJ gets snow virtually every winter. Four inches is nothing. I still remember the blizzard of 1996 when we got 2 FEET of snow.
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| Blizzard of 1996. Taken a day or two after the storm. |
Yes, it was certainly inconvenient but at least the roads were plowed. Yes, you still had to be careful while driving, but AT LEAST THE ROADS WERE PLOWED. Do you see a pattern here?
The attitude here in Britain seems to be, "Oh, let's just throw down some grit (sand) on top of the snow. That'll do it." No, no, no! The sand mixes with the snow to create a slippery, muddy mess. It's still 4 inches of snow with sand mixed in! It doesn't make driving any better! You're supposed to plow the road first and THEN put down the sand. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that!
The trouble is that because we don't get snow that often, no one wants to put money into snow removal. Why put the money into something when we might not need it? But we've been seeing more and more snow each winter. They need to do something! I mean, don't these people get stuck in the snow traffic too?
As I write this, NJ has just had 8 inches of snow and New England has had 2 feet or more. Yes it'll take a day or 2 to clear it up over the weekend. But I guarantee that despite all that snow, the roads will be plowed and driveable by Monday morning.
I've learned my lesson. The next time I see an inch or two of snow out there, I'll no longer think with my NJ mentality, "Oh I can drive in that." Instead, I'll just panic like everyone else and take the bus!
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