The highways are literal ice, either thawing, freezing or going to become ice later tonight and people all over facebook, messenger, whatsapp, whatever are all messaging each other and me and my family asking what the highways are like today and if they can safely go out. People are dying on the highways this week all over the north. Stay at home.
The safest thing to do is just don’t go on the highway when it is raining in December in northern Ontario!!!
People ask others for confirmation on the road conditions?
Many people are just completely unaware or just ignorant of the dangers. I’m near Sudbury and its been raining here for the past day … in December! which never happens. So for a logical person, rain, water and freezing conditions will naturally make ice … and ice on the highway while you are driving at 100km/h is a very dangerous thing to do … mix in the fact that you will likely have a transport truck going in the opposite direction next to you and now you have increased your chances of dying tenfold.
Even after analyzing all that and even stepping over to your car while walking on ice … many people are still asking if it is safe to be on the road today.
I suppose so, I’ve just never thought “I wonder how the roads are” and thought to crowd source that information rather than just look it up or pop my head out the window
I think many people are just looking for reassurance in their ignorance. I see plenty of comments like ‘it’s not that bad’, ‘I just got back from North Bay’, ‘if you take it easy it’s not that bad’, ‘if you have winter tires and a good driver, you’ll be OK’ … and I suspect that most people are just looking for people to confirm their beliefs that it is acceptable for them to head out on the highway.
As I’m writing this, I just got notices on my FB that another person has probably died north of North Bay on Highway 11
I’m reminded of the first ice storm that I can remember. I was walking to the bus stop, slipping and sliding all over the place, when a neighbor poked their head out and said that school had been cancelled for the day. I didn’t even think to check because there was no snow on the ground. I slid slowly home and checked the radio (yes, I’m old) - there was our district number being called. I told my brother and we started watching tv.
Not long after that my dad woke up for work, surprised to see us home. He looked out the window and called bullshit. “There’s nothing out there!” So he got ready for work as usual, backed out of the driveway, started moving slowly forward… and promptly slid right into the curb. He came back in and called out of work. The ration of shit he gave to my brother and I got served right back to him by his boss.
tl;dr people don’t take freezing rain seriously
I used to be the same way and act like a big tough northerner and tell people to suck it up and don’t be so scared of a bit of snow or a bit of ice.
After you go through many winters where you heard of family and friends that died in a highway accident when they could have just stayed home, you start to realize how dumb it is to make fun of dangerous situations. My rule of thumb now is … if I stop to wonder if I should be on the highway, then I get off and stay off. I’d rather look like an overly cautious driver or even be completely wrong than to risk my life or the lives of others unnecessarily.