Let it snow

[dzsaigirl]

Being a recently displaced Texan in Rhode Island, I can tell you exactly what the difference is. Economics.

Northern people are no more talented at driving in the weather. The thing is, up here the roads are maintained. They are salted and sanded to provide a workable driving surface. Since it is guaranteed to snow or ice, they have those trucks available to do the job, along with snow plows to clear the mess away when it piles up.

Okay. In the south, it is veeeeerrrry rare to have a winter storm. So economically it would be stupid to have those resources available. Sure, they have some sand trucks to make things a little better mostly for the emergency vehicles, but salting is not done. So basically, in the south we take the gamble because it is more likely that we won't get weather that warrants use of those resources.

So yeah, if Houston had the roads treated and icy slush plowed off to the side, perhaps it wouldn't look like people didn't know how to drive in the weather!

We have had 2 snowstorms here in Providence so far this year. I only moved here in July, so I had my first winter driving experiences. With treated roads, I can tell you, it is WAY safer driving in winter weather than driving on the Houston freeways in the pouring rain...hydroplaning is no fun.