Safety Suggestions for Snow Driving

Tonight was the first big snowfall in a long time, and as luck would have it, the first night in months that I decided to stay at work until 2 am to put in some extra hours. With my regular private room at my boarding school not available, my stubborn qualities set in...screw sleeping in an empty room with four sterile bunk beds, forget being rudely awaken at 6:30 am to the high pitched squeals of 26 teenage girls and their hip hop sing alongs. Nah, my short 40 mile drive is worth heading home.

So here is what I learned by making this decision:

1) When you have three routes you can choose from to get home, two being much safer than the the other one, go with the other one. So what if it is a winding seven mile death trap full of dead deer and bunny carcasses that never gets snowplowed, many people total their cars in, and hey, you're cell phone won't work in it if you slide off the road. At least it is the trusty route that you take every other day when there is no snow in sight, so you will know where you are when your car gets stuck and there is no one around to help you.

2) Don't be the leader while cruising down the really steep canyon home. Instead, stay behind the guy in the minivan who taps his brakes every other second so that you can tap yours too and enjoy the electric slide it puts your car into on the road. Your vehicle needs to boogie with you now and then, especially in a white out when you can't tell where the plunging cliffs start.

3) When approaching your exit, go as fast as you can, because they don't plow those at 3:30 am, so it will feel like a free sledding trip, complete with snow washing up over your head.

4) When approaching the turn for your street, just fly around that corner, because oh, they don't plow that at 3:30 am either, and the sidewalk makes for some great bumper car action that you usually wouldn't get to experience until summertime at the fair. Extra point if cars are parked right on the corner for a more realistic bumper car experience.

5) If you live on a big hill, drive up it instead of down. This will assure that you get in some exercise before bed after you leave your car somewhere near the bottom b/c it will only go in reverse.

And finally, if your drive turns from 35 minutes into two hours and you almost die in the process, go ahead and do it. The ninety pound, doe eyed, tail wagging dog waiting excitedly at door for you will immediately erase the white knuckles and exhaustion that the drive created in the first place.