This winter has been one heck of a ride. Here in the Midwest it's been one of the worst winters we've seen in years. Very cold temperatures, high winds, and lots and lots of snow and ice. You learn a lot about a person by how they drive in the snow. The way I see it, there are basically 4 types of snow drivers:


1. Those who know basically nothing about snow driving.

The tell-tale signs of this driver are excessive amounts of fish tailing, spinning tires when trying to gun it out of an intersection, sliding into an intersection with brakes locked, and of course the car in the ditch so long it's been drifted over. These drivers end up in accidents and in the ditch quite often.

2. Those who are OVERLY cautious.

You can recognize this person when they start driving 25MPH on the highway at the slightest flurry, they completely change their travel plans when snow might be in the forecast, they will follow a snowplow whenever possible, and they are often the type of person that is obsessed about snow blowing (not shoveling) their driveway and putting down ice melt.

3. People with four wheel drive (4WD).

These are the people who think that because their truck/SUV can spin one wheel in back and one wheel in front that they are automatically impervious to the perils of snow driving. Signs of this driver are a big truck/SUV barreling down the highway at 70MPH in the snow. Often there will be a sticker of Calvin urinating on another logo. Granted, 4WD DOES have its advantages, but it is not the holy grail of snow driving by any means, and it has little effect on a sheet of ice. We have a Ford Escort and a Dodge Durango (4WD) and more often than not, we have found that the Escort gets around in the snow just as good as (and sometimes better than) the Durango with 4WD on. (The Durango does better in DEEP snow because it rides higher).

4. Those who know how to drive in the snow.

These are the drivers who judge the slipperiness of the road and adjust their speed/braking/turning accordingly. These are the people who make it to work when it's a blizzard. These are the people who DON'T get in accidents. This is the type of snow driver that YOU ought to be.

Now, which type of snow driver are you?