The difference between Canadian an US Drivers In The Snow

Kemahsabe wrote:

John&Joey wrote:
Two feet, is that all you got:R. If you want real snow leave that banana belt city of London, Ont and head up north to Houghton, Michigan where the real lumber jacks live.

I was there during the record of355 inches It started snowing and didn't stop for over 30 days. Never did spill a drop of beer either.

Ahhh... Brings back memories. My freshman year at Tech was '64-'65 when we got 268". I got a job clearing hockey coach John MacInnes' driveway every morning. Every morning!...

You know, I still can't figure out how those pretty boys stuck us with the silver in hockey. :W :B

We are from Essex County which is a far south as Canada gets and when I was a kid we got snow,,,lots of snow and I still remember my Dad driving sideways down our street in his "mafia cruiser" a 70's vintage Chrysler fury two-door which I'm pretty sure was as long as my 4 door dually dropping me off to school and going to work, it was like hitting the rides at Boblo Island in the winter!!! Now I giggle my Irish can off every time I hear the grand daughter has a snow-day when it only 2 odd inches,i really hate to say the old "when I was your age,,,," to her.

We raised our kids in the mountains of Northeastern PA. It's ski country here, and far too close to Philly and NYC. Typical grocery store parking lot in these parts is usually full of $40K+ SUVs, and four door pick-ups that occasionally get a splash of mulch, or a Christmas tree in the bed. Oddly enough, when we head to remote areas of Canada, like Rural Nova Scotia, or BC, the lot seems to be predominated by affordable, practical 2WD mini-vans.

WHAT? You can actually survive in a far more difficult climate WITHOUT wasting an extra $15-20K on a fancy, upscale SUV? You can actually get everything done around the homestead without a $50K pick-up with four doors and video screens for the kiddies? Who knew? LOL

To me the difference between The Canadians and those of us in the lower 48, is that our northern Neighbors didn't fall for all the hype when it comes to wasting money on vehicles that we "need" to survive the next snowmageddon. They don't cry like little girls every time the clown on TV says it might snow, and they don't rush out, in a panic, to buy every egg, loaf of bread and gallon of milk in town, every time it snows a few inches. We had one local school cancel this week. They did so before a flake hit, and closed for two days, just to be sure. Total accumulation was an inch, in the shade. It's getting pretty pathetic. There are parts of the northeast that are getting to the point that they just don't function when it even threatens to snow. The highway departments rush out to pre-brine all the roads with a spectacularly caustic, toxic soup. The schools close since it "might" snow, and a significant minority of the population gets themselves lathered up to the point that they empty the food stores, them run inside to "ride it out". If it wasn't so sad, it would be funny.

mayo30 wrote:

Z-Peller wrote:
Big sigh!!....we Vancouver Islanders just smile at the wonders of "Canada" in the winter....snow? arctic fronts? freezing temps?....now what the heck is that all about!....guess we aren't very Canadian, eh?

Oh really!!! I guess that white out storm I got caught in in Victoria was my imagination.Or the TWO severe snow storms closing all roads at Parksville and area. was a dream.I did enjoy watching the Vancouver Islanders trying to drive in some frost though as we thawed out water lines to the Rv,numerous times for folks.

Reminds me of a comment heard on the radio a few years back.
Montreal had spent millions upon millions for snow removal.
Victoria BC had to buy a new push broom.

Z-Peller wrote:
Big sigh!!....we Vancouver Islanders just smile at the wonders of "Canada" in the winter....snow? arctic fronts? freezing temps?....now what the heck is that all about!....guess we aren't very Canadian, eh?

Oh really!!! I guess that white out storm I got caught in in Victoria was my imagination.Or the TWO severe snow storms closing all roads at Parksville and area. was a dream.I did enjoy watching the Vancouver Islanders trying to drive in some frost though as we thawed out water lines to the Rv,numerous times for folks.

This is plagiarized from another forum I belong to but it is so true here in Southern Ontario;

"It is such a joy to see all the folks with new 4-WD SUV's in intimate contact with Mr. Ditch and Mr. Wall. 'I have 4-WD, and have no need to heed the laws of physics!' It happens every year with the first snowfalls."

Schools rarely close here due to snow or cold weather. in fact, elementary kids go outside for recess until it is colder than -20F. We have had 3 "snow days" already this year though from an unusual ice and wind storm. much of the area was without electricity from trees falling on the power lines. we were out for 4+ days at our home. We will have ice and snow on the roads until April now.

Z-Peller wrote:
Big sigh!!....we Vancouver Islanders just smile at the wonders of "Canada" in the winter....snow? arctic fronts? freezing temps?....now what the heck is that all about!....guess we aren't very Canadian, eh?

Haar! Back in the early sixties while stationed in Esquimalt, I had occasion to drive my 51 chevy into Victoria during what constituted a blizzard to Victorian residents and having to navigate around everything from buses to trucks all spinning their wheels was something I still remember to this very day.

Had a similar experience crossing Arizona on I-8 and later I-10 during a similar rare snowfall and got strange looks from folks as I passed them while they were gripping the wheel with clenched teeth.

One driver pulling into a fuel depot behind me actually made the comment "boy you folks from Florida sure know how to drive in snow" whereupon I looked at the plates on our rental car and noticed Florida tags. We both got a chuckle when I explained we were Snowbirds from Ontario Canada ~ "oh that explains why you're passing everything in sight"!.

Reminds me of high school driver ed. It was fun when we found an empty snowy parking lot and did 360s to learn how to control a skid. Required skill in Syracuse suburbs. Snow is OK, ice is not. Either is dangerous in Virginia Beach because of the drivers.