Nov 28 2006
9 ways to deal with Seattle snow
The authorities do not ‘Grit’ or salt the roads in Seattle. No local government provided roadside grit bins. I’m told they do provide sand but as far as I can tell it’s not stored at known troublespots. Apparantly, drivers have to rely on other means to reduce the impact of slippiness. Here’s a list of strategies I’ve observed in the last 24 hours:
- heavy metal: 4 wheel drive SUVs with chains and/or studded tyres. I watched a lady smoking a fag in a Mall car-park yesterday while a ‘cashiers clerk’ (packs shoppers bags for them) put the chains on her stonking-big SUV.
- cat litter: several people I know carry bags of cat-litter in their car boot, just incase they need some traction in an emergency.
- abandon ship: abandon your car here, anywhere, well perhaps aim at the side of ther oad. Pressumably these people get a lift from somone with an SUV.
- Mall camp: drive to the nearest strip-mall with a 24hr store. There are lots of them. Park, then wait for the weather to thaw.
- hermit: stay indoors (popular choice).
- truant: claim being stranded then go skiing (another popular choice).
- speed: put your foot on the accelerator to get up that slippy hill (I kid you not, I saw several people trying this on slopes).
- wiggle: wiggle the steering-wheel around to try and regain control when in a skid (seriously, I saw this happen to more than one driver)
- attack: get out of your car and kick the tyres (uhu, you guessed it, I saw somone do this after having wiggled his steering wheel and spun his tyres)
Now excuse me for a while, I’ve got some serious falling over to be getting on with, outside into the pretty slippy world… …oooOOOOooooo….
2 of your thoughts on 9 ways to deal with Seattle snow
Waking at 7am. What is that?
Looking at the gray overcast skies. Fighting the urge to “Bail-out” before even getting out of bed.
Driving to Port Susan I passed a multi-car pile-up in the snow on the I5. What am I doing? Am I crazy? Its the first week in February and I paid to be go out on the water? Am I completely bonkers?
The sun sneaked out as we unloaded the Kayaks. Maybe this wasn’t such a wacky idea. In the end no-one balied, tired and happy we wendy’d our ways home….
