Driving in the Snow

A quick rant to explain something to you S.U.V. Drivers, most of whom are clueless menaces on the road. I say most, rather than all, on the statistical possibility that one of you has some intelligence and driving skills. So far, this assumption has proven excessively optimistic, but hey -- I'm a positive kinda guy.

In New York, we got hit with a surprise snowstorm Sunday (it moved up from the South unexpectedly fast). We drove back from the East End of Long Island Sunday morning as the snow was coming down pretty fast. I was driving the front wheel-drive, manual transmission car (as opposed to our real wheel cars), so traction was not a problem.

On the LIE, snow accumulation was about 4 inches. By staying in the center of the middle or right lanes where traffic was heaviest, you could make sure your tires were, for the most part, in contact with actual pavement, as opposed to the white stuff. The left lane and the HOV lanes were less travelled and had a few inches of snow covering them.

Here's where things got interesting: Many S.U.V.s and quite few Audi Quattros were hauling ass along the left lanes. I may have a heavy right foot, but I do not go 70 in the snow -- these idiots did. We got to witness a dozen or so fender benders along the way 60 mile trip home: The most memorable was seeing the results of a Nissan SUV spin out, and in an unrelated accident, watching in more or less slow motion, a Hummer (!) careening into the guard rail. (Seriously, how bad a driver must you be to slam the "vehicle that can go anywhere and do anything" into a wall?)

Here's the physics of the situation: 4 wheel drive is your method of locomotion. It's how you go. But here's the -- apparently -- unknown secret: It has absolutely nothing to do with how you stop; That's an entirely different system within your automobile.

But 4 wheel go does not equal 4 wheel stop. It has no impact on halting your momentum. Can you comprehend that? Oh, sure, if you drive a stick -- and...