[PINeely]

Schools here are notorious for telling you that they're closing like an hour after the kids are supposed to be there.

[Millie]

Originally Posted by Deep_Blue

Me talking to Mille

[Deep_Blue]

now thats better. I was waiting on Rick to come riding through on his horse.

Litos: You're assuming that anyone listens to city officials... which, based on how those same officials handled this storm... I wouldnt blame anyone for ignoring them.

They started cancelling schools almost as soon as kids got in, but i agree they shouldnt have gone in. However, i drove from ATL to Charlotte and back yesterday. When i left town it was just overcast, no hint of snow.

As long as the city doesn't have snow plows or salt trucks this is going to keep happening no matter how mild the snow.

People play a big role too. You have a lot of good ol boys with four wheel drive trucks acting like they're driving Zeus' chariot at 60 mph, until they meet a guard rail.

I grew up in the mountains so i know how to handle ice/snow, which is why i was passing those trucks at 20 mph in my wife's front wheel drive Lexus SUV when the good ol boys were spinning all four wheels trying to go uphill sideways.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by Millie

Ok now that's funny.

[Litos]

Originally Posted by Deep_Blue

Litos: You're assuming that anyone listens to city officials...

we do, especially when it involves potentially transporting children to public/private schools in hazardous weather conditions.....

hell, we've listened to city officials warn us TWICE about deteriorating weather conditions in the last week....

last Friday city officials were smart enough to understand that it was going to be too risky for travelers in Houston to get around, so the city shut schools down...

if the schools are shutting down around the entire 10,000sq mile Houston area, that is a good indication to keep your ass in the house...

that's why you didn't see a bunch of stalled and wrecked vehicles in ditches in Houston - because city officials had common sense on their side...

simple as that....

[KingOfJericho]

One must not forget that Litos is the chairman of the Houston Board of Tourism & Living.

[PSUSMU]

F the south

[Litos]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

One must not forget that Litos is the chairman of the Houston Board of Tourism & Living.

Houston Safety Counsel of America, Inc.

[Litos]

all I know was that I was sipping on hot chocolate and playing Lego Marvel Superheroes in my Godzilla slippers with my son yesterday...

I WAS NOT out trying to maneuver a 4200lb car with 410 pounds of torque through icy road conditions.....

[Ehwnnc]

All these yankees talking shit about the south. No one retires and moves up north

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by Ehwnnc

All these yankees talking shit about the south. No one retires and moves up north

Because retirees are the benchmark for good driving.

[P-rex]

I love global warming....

Scientist say the polar vortex was a result of heat increase on artic... Causing the low pressure system to move downstream and hence the effects...

[4DRSpeed]

I don't live in ATL thank god. Live in Knoxville, TN and it wasn't crazy here since we do have lots of salt trucks. But I will say what was funny about this storm is the weather people didn't see it coming. I didn't have the slightest clue that storm was rolling in until it started at 10AM and didn't stop for the rest of the day. Not sure if ATL knew it was coming or not, but it seemed to surprise Knoxville so I'm guessing it surprised most of ATL. Any time they think its gonna snow the roads are completely salted and then all it does is rain. When they don't expect it we get two plus inches and people scrambling and businesses closing. It never fails.

And thankfully I work for a shop, my 335 on summer tires stayed there while I took the shop's GL450 home.

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by P-rex

I love global warming....

Scientist say the polar vortex was a result of heat increase on artic... Causing the low pressure system to move downstream and hence the effects...

Ju got it Mayne!

[BabyrayS2k]

Originally Posted by PSUSMU

F the south

fvck you too.

[bing240sx]

Originally Posted by catcher22

Summer tires. That is the problem.

Most people in the south can get away with even summer tires almost every single winter.

A couple of people with summer tires in the snow can hold up quite a few other people. Multiply that

this is 80% of the problem... but it's not just summer tires, it's broke ass people driving around with 12 year old summer tires that are basically worn down to the cords. Because you are right, they can get away with it 99% of the time.

i saw a lot of this in Cali when i was down there a few weeks ago. a car drives up beside you and you can just HEAR how old and crap the tires are.

1" of snow will cause this kind of damage anywhere where this is the case.

[BabyrayS2k]

Snow was not the problem. The roads became a sheet of ice. No one drives on that without 4 wheel drive. Even 18 wheelers were sliding and wrecking.

[haajehaa]

Lol! There's barely any snow on the road:P

1,2 meter snow and - 15 celsius this week here in norway!

[siegester]

The main issue was lack of preparation by the government. The meteorologists were calling for at most 1" of snow, but mostly rain in Atlanta. Well, at 10AM they we got the freezing rain that coated everything, and by 11 it was snowing. So at noon all businesses and schools decided to shut down. This dumped over 6 million people onto the highways within the span of 1 hour. Keep in mind this city is so retarded that we have 3 major highways to get out of the city. The best part is that there are all 1 highway in the heart of the city... Given that the average commute is likely around 25 miles one way, and you get people stranded on the roads for hours.

So know you have 1+ million people trying to get to their kids or home, plus ice on the highways from the freezing rain and snowfall. Combine this with the fact that half the city is on super worn tires, the other high is on summer only tires, and no one has any idea what a winter tire is... and you get a slip and side commute.

Combine all of this with the fact that people drive on snow or ice 1 day out of every decade down here, and you get a completely shut down city. No Fun.

Personally I took no chances given I have only summer tires, and worked from home the entire week. I will be tomorrow as well to avoid the sand blasting and rock shower I will get since the city prefers gravel and sand to salt....

Originally Posted by BabyrayS2k

Snow was not the problem. The roads became a sheet of ice. No one drives on that without 4 wheel drive. Even 18 wheelers were sliding and wrecking.

This was actually a large part of the issue. Most roads were shutdown as the trucks blocked all lanes when they jack-knifed.

[PSUSMU]

Originally Posted by BabyrayS2k

Snow was not the problem. The roads became a sheet of ice. No one drives on that without 4 wheel drive. Even 18 wheelers were sliding and wrecking.

Shows how much Southerners know.. winter tires > 4WD in these conditions. 4WD doesn't help you stop.

[Billup]

Everyone in my apartment complex stayed home the other day during the winter advisory. I'm on summer tires and still made it to work perfectly safe.

People in the south are just not accustomed to slick road driving. People were flying past me on the highway going 70 in the very unstable left lane. One of which I saw about 10 minutes later on the shoulder with a smashed front left fender. I mean, its snow and ice, not solid pavement. Crashes are from the ill and non informed.

The excuse that people in the south are not prepped for it, is a bad excuse. The best preparations are those you take YOURSELF.

Reduce speed and raise caution, its not rocket science. If you have any reason to believe you will be unsafe, then stay home and wait for it to melt.

[Templar]

Originally Posted by PSUSMU

Shows how much Southerners know.. winter tires > 4WD in these conditions. 4WD doesn't help you stop.

On a sheet of ice, nothing is going to help you stop any better... not even winter tires. On my commute this morning, the 4 lane highway heading to work was mostly covered in solid ice. Anything that melted yesterday froze over when the temperature hit 2 degrees early this morning. Coupled with people that have already driven over it, the shit turned into a packed sheet of solid ice.

Good thing I know how to drive in it, have a 4x4 truck, and snow/ice tires. As a northerner who now lives in the south, I admit it is a joke down here. But the bottom line is that down here they aren't going to waste a part of their budget on snow/ice removal equipment when they may only use it once every 10 years. This is my third winter here in NC and it's the first time I've seen accumulating snow/ice.

The better thing to do is just close shit down, but they lose money that way too. It's all about the benjamins...