For anyone who’s grown up in this province, it’s common knowledge that the roads and highways can become absolutely treacherous during the winter. Not only is there snow that’s been packed down and smoothed to the point of being greasy, there’s also gale-force winds to be concerned about. Unfortunately, not everyone in this province was born here or even grew up here.
Recently, I was driving down the highway at night when my brakes stuttered and my car spun out of control. It was a near-death experience that I never want to relive. I hadn’t known before starting the dangerous drive that the roads had basically become like paved ice. The snow seemed to be coming down in gentle flurries that melted upon contact and so I thought the weather was fine. Even the wind seemed unusually unthreatening. Ignorant as I was, I thought I would be fine driving at the 100-kilometre per hour speed limit. I was wrong.
Nobody truly knows how terrifying it is to suddenly lose control of a machine like that unless he or she has experienced it. I spun in the middle of a single-lane highway and was inches away from slamming into another car coming from the opposite direction. I was ridiculously lucky that I didn’t fly off into a ditch or cause another car to spin out of control as well.
The reason I’m telling this story is because there is a lesson to be learned from it. It was one that, as a newcomer, my coworkers have been trying to drill into my thick skull: you can’t drive fast in the winter. Going at the speed limit isn’t good enough. Even with good winter tires, it’s so incredibly easy for a vehicle to skid out of control. In that moment, all those little tips and tricks you thought you learned don’t really register. You react on pure instinct.
In the last six months, at least two vehicles overturned in a ditch of water and their drivers didn’t make it. In the winter, that danger is doubled. Not only can one drown if a car overturns in a slough, but the coldness of the water can cause a person’s muscles to seize up, making it even harder to move. And that’s just one of the dangers.
During the winter months, the evenings get darker faster, which makes it extremely difficult to see past the headlights outside of the city. Numerous dangers then present themselves: there are deer in abundance (which I also encountered on that near-death ride. Even though I was going 80, I had to swerve around them), ice patches, and oncoming traffic that might also lose control of their vehicles. Even if you’re fine, that doesn’t mean the person coming from the opposite direction is.
Then of course, there’s inner city driving. Just because you’re in the city doesn’t mean all the roads will be well sanded for your racing amusement. I don’t care if you’re late to work or if you have an appointment to get your teeth cleaned—don’t be driving like a madman in the city. I walk a lot, so I see more than a few trucks careening down side streets and taking turns way too quickly. Believe it or not, but roads inside the city are oftentimes a lot worse than outside. At least the highways get plowed regularly.
More specifically, don’t zip down Main Street past the post office. I’m polite enough to wait for cars to pass by before crossing, but there are a lot of people who don’t. If you’re traveling at an excessive speed, you’re going to find your brakes might fail you at a critical time. I’ve had a few close calls already.
My dad used to say I have a lead foot and maybe that’s true. However, it only took one close call for me to wake up. I’d hate to see if the next person’s close call isn’t as lucky as I was.
