Only in Vancouver does six inches make headline news
It’s insanity.
I may be making this entirely up. It may be a whole load of crap. But here’s what I think.
People – make that drivers – in Greater Vancouver Regional District, are for the most part, idiots.
Excluded are all the drivers who have driven in the winter in any other part of BC, in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and maybe Prince Edward Island (but I’m not sure about winters on PEI).
How many people would that be? I have no idea. And I’m not going to try to figure it out. But watching the cars slipping and sliding around my own small neighbourhood, you’d think it was significantly fewer than half the residents of the area.
Anyone who has driven on a snowy winter road knows that “all season” tires do not mean that they are effective in “all seasons” (unless the seasons you’re tracking are spring, summer, autumn and flu season…).
What a dangerous misnomer.
“All season” tires are fine in a winter season that does not have snow. But they’re useless on snowy roads. And in our fine city, the majority of the roads are not just snowy, they have not been plowed or salted. The days get warm, the snow turns to slush. The nights get cold, the slush turns to ice. And all those spinning “all season” tire drivers slip and slide all over hell’s half acres.
Which is why, despite the fact that I have ten Quebec winters’ driving experience; despite the fact that I have proper winter tires on my car (thanks to Liam's dad!); and despite the fact that I love driving in winter conditions, my car will stay put, safe and sound at the very top of a hill that no car without winter tires can climb.
The most fun to be had on a snowy weekday morning on my street? Walk two blocks down to the bottom of the hill and watch car after car after car turn up the street… spin their tires for five minutes.. and finally give up, backing down from whence they came – and, as I’ve seen one year, sideswiping every parked car as they slide backward… idiots!
*****
Side note. This cracks me up. Head to the Vancouver Weather Page to check on road conditions and this is the note you get for Monday at 10:00 AM:
I may be making this entirely up. It may be a whole load of crap. But here’s what I think.
People – make that drivers – in Greater Vancouver Regional District, are for the most part, idiots.
Excluded are all the drivers who have driven in the winter in any other part of BC, in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and maybe Prince Edward Island (but I’m not sure about winters on PEI).
How many people would that be? I have no idea. And I’m not going to try to figure it out. But watching the cars slipping and sliding around my own small neighbourhood, you’d think it was significantly fewer than half the residents of the area.
Anyone who has driven on a snowy winter road knows that “all season” tires do not mean that they are effective in “all seasons” (unless the seasons you’re tracking are spring, summer, autumn and flu season…).
What a dangerous misnomer.
“All season” tires are fine in a winter season that does not have snow. But they’re useless on snowy roads. And in our fine city, the majority of the roads are not just snowy, they have not been plowed or salted. The days get warm, the snow turns to slush. The nights get cold, the slush turns to ice. And all those spinning “all season” tire drivers slip and slide all over hell’s half acres.
Which is why, despite the fact that I have ten Quebec winters’ driving experience; despite the fact that I have proper winter tires on my car (thanks to Liam's dad!); and despite the fact that I love driving in winter conditions, my car will stay put, safe and sound at the very top of a hill that no car without winter tires can climb.
The most fun to be had on a snowy weekday morning on my street? Walk two blocks down to the bottom of the hill and watch car after car after car turn up the street… spin their tires for five minutes.. and finally give up, backing down from whence they came – and, as I’ve seen one year, sideswiping every parked car as they slide backward… idiots!
*****
Side note. This cracks me up. Head to the Vancouver Weather Page to check on road conditions and this is the note you get for Monday at 10:00 AM:
Current Road ConditionsDamn, I love this city!! If I were in charge, I would have done exactly the same thing! Tee hee!
Road reports will be offline until further notice.
5 Comments:
In a poll taken in the last couple of years, it was figured that roughly 40% of people living in the GVRD were not born in Canada. So that makes for a lot of people that have no idea that driving in snow is not like driving in rain.
!! ENJOY !!
You know I am!
And the view of the North Shore mountains... SPECTACULAR!
Almost makes me want to learn to ski/board...
Baby, don't ya know it! But I'm not hiring some skinny-ass boy like their model! Please! Put YOUR man in a kilt... I'll hold the ladder if HE cleans my clocks... ummm... I mean, windows!!!
H.D. sold out of snow shovels the morning of the first dump of snow. They had an "emergency" shipment flown in from Quebec which was about 25 shovels per each lower mainland store.
Sold out in about 3 minutes. Ice melt gone too. (they did, however, receive a shipment of that Dec.1st, just in time for the thaw.)My question is this, were do all of last years snow shovels go? Is it a fashion thing? Heavens! I mustn't be seen with last years model, what would the neighbors think?!
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