Scary snowy drive home..

[Ginevive]

Yikes! Tonight was the first time that I have driven home (or anywhere on a road) in heavy snow. It was a whiteout.. I was sometimes unsure about where I was in relation to being home. My route is about 15 mins. on a good day, but a few miles of that are on my home road; twolane blacktop. 55 mph. On a fine day, I cruise along at 65. But.. I barely hit 40 and neither did the cars behind of or in front of me!
Wow.. I am just glad to be home. This was insane.. the snow was just everywhere; strong wind buffetting my little Jeep like I was a toy. I am glad to have a nice 4x4 vehicle though..
PHEW for being home. And Argh; winter is just beginning.

[Icatsme]

Ooh, I've been in those shoes! At least you had cars in front of you so you could follow them! The worst is driving in those conditions on a rural or mildly rural road with no one in front of you and fresh snow with no treadmarks. Hehe, you kind of drive and hope you're on the road.

Glad you made it through your white knuckle experience and home safe. Put your feet up and have cup of hot tea, you deserve it.

[Ginevive]

Thanks I was debating all the while on just turning into someone's driveway and hoing that they were not a serial killer..
Luckily, Mark's sister lives in town on my way home.. if I ever need a place to hole up for a little bit..

[frankykeno]

Jen, having spent a fair few years of my life having to drive heavily snowed, sometimes very remote country roads I'd suggest you toss the following into the back of the Jeep, just in case....

- warm sleeping bag
- package of instant heat packs
- spare old one piece skidoo suit
- extra boots
- extra thick warm socks
- good working flashlight
- instant flares
- package of pb/cheese crackers and some juice boxes
- tow chain
- small shovel

You may never need any of this but one slide off the road and you'll be glad you have winter supplies in the back. It also came in handy more than once helping another driver out of a ditch or waiting with them for the tow truck. We used to just pack most of it in a big garbage bag in the back and keep the rest in a tub right beside it. I assume you carry a cell phone.

You might also want to find a big empty area and practise your slide control. I know you're a relatively new driver with a vehicle you're not totally used to so it's better for you to practise now how that Jeep handles in a controlled skid situation.

I never liked winter driving either but I found once I had practised skidding and had these cold weather supplies in the back, I felt a lot more confident it.

[Alice]

OMG Jen, I'm soooo glad you arrived home safely.

I have never driven in snow (been in Florida over 30 years) so your post was really frightening to me - I know I wouldn't know how to handle the situation.

Jo, your suggestions seem right on target and great advice. I have a zippered nylon bag in the back of my car with a first aid kit, flashlight, whistle, mirror, utility knife, change of clothes, kotex (great for stopping blood flow while applying pressure - many years ago they were even standard stock on ambulances), etc. I'm going to add the crackers and juice box today. Since I'm diabetic, if I was in a bad accident, the stress would play h$%& with my blood sugar so those snacks would be great idea.

Take care

[Ginevive]

Great advice I am definately going to stock-up the Jeep just in case. My drive home is not long, and there are houses along the way, but still.. you never know. I really want to get a winch eventually too in case I do go off the road.
I practiced sliding in mud before and think that I got the hang of it. I plan on going out in a parking lot to get the sliding down.

[frankykeno]

Thanks Alice. I spent a good number of years living in places like the Canadian Yukon and as far north in Ontario, Canada as you can get by road. Driving up there can be nerve wracking and you are often on roads that just aren't heavily travelled (plus in northern Ontario you are dealing with huge moose sometimes on the roadways) so I had to learn to be really well prepared.

You may never use your winter emergency kit but if you need it, it's there and for me, that was a comfort.

[Ginevive]

Wow; moose!?
We took the jeep out in a parking lot this morning and did donuts and the like. It stops very good; better that Mark's pickup. He actually got aggrevated b/c it stops and handles better than his truck! A winter emergency kit is definately a must now.

[cassandra]

Yep, it's winter out here in SoCal too...omg...I have to wear SOCKS!!

*duck*
*flee!*

[Hardwikk]

That reminds me of Cleveland!