thin ice

When I woke yesterday I glanced out the window and realized the first light snowfall had arrived.

1/2 an inch to an inch, not terrible, and managable.

Until we got into the car.

I have a all wheel drive car, and grew up driving in snow and ice. In fact I learned how to drive a stick shift in the dead of winter on side streets with my elderly but kind drivers ed teacher.

I was like snow...eh whatever.

Until I hit the road.

I assumed our street was slick, because it is a side street, and the city does not tend to those.

WE head 1/2 block to a very busy intersection, I was driving about 15 miles per hour. The intersection is on a hill. There were 4 vehicles in front of me. I saw the minivan full of children slide sideways when she applied her brakes, and she slid into the intersection. I took my foot off the gas.

At this point I note, the city had not been out at all.

Damn.

The little bit of snow we had, was soooo packed, from all of the traffic, it had turned into a thin layer of ice. Ice that lasted the entire drive to school. What normally is a 20 minute process, turned into about 1 1/2 hours. It is at best 2 miles.

I coasted there, I hardly stepped on the gas, and maintained a speed less than 8 mph. No joke. the worst part was all of the impatient folks driving. Creating havoc, and honking. People, SLOW down.

How slick was it? In the 1 mile to school (ON A MAIN ROAD) I saw 3 cars in ditches, and 2 small accidents. The drive home, was not bad, because why I was dropping SR off at school, the city drove the beet juice truck by and the ice magically disappeared.

It was so icy I saw a 4 WD stuck, spinning his wheels. He was behind a small accident, and because of the stopped traffic, he could not pick up any momentum. He was also in a residential area full of children walking, and cars parked on either side of the road, he had no place to turn the wheel etc. He needed a push, and frankly I wasn't about to give him one, if I stopped to help, I would have the same problem. I drove around him and looked at him "I am sorry"....

It was very slick, and I am disappointed that the city did not have the trucks out sooner. Can you imagine driving a school bus, or daycare bus on that crap? It was frightening.

Lincoln is typically a little fast on the ice removal, but yesterday, well it was not a good day.

A very good reintroduction to me on driving on ice.