Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee saw its first big snowstorm of the year on Saturday, December 1. Wet snow followed by ice followed by freezing temperatures the following day made the roads treacherous. Six people died in traffic accidents over the weekend, and hundreds more were involved in accidents ranging from fender benders to serious collisions.

Every year the first major snowfall brings a significant number of traffic accidents. Why do we all forget how to drive every single year? Come on, Milwaukee - we know better!

I was on the road throughout Milwaukee all day on Saturday, and I made some observations about the drivers on the road. Some accidents are unavoidable, but following a few simple and intuitive rules could have saved a lot of people a lot of headaches.

Winter Readiness

A big part of being able to handle your car in winter is having a car that is ready to handle winter driving. Automotive Blogger has some great tips for readying your car for winter driving - it isn’t too late to get that done!

Following Distance

Braking on a slippery, snow-covered road is much different from braking on dry pavement. On Saturday I saw drivers driving bumper-to-bumper on some parts of I-94…if anyone in that freak parade had to hit the breaks it would have been a disaster for those who followed. When the roads are slippery, drive with the assumption that the person in front of you is a complete nut who is going to stomp on his brakes at any given moment. That should change your following distance.

Put The Cell Phone Down

Seriously. Don’t we all know better by now? Last week I saw a 17 year old destroy her Saturn on a dry road because she was texting when she should have been driving. If you need to make a call, pull over! Here’s hoping that Wisconsin will get a law on this soon.

We Don’t All Have 4-Wheel Drive

I have a rear-wheel drive sports car that handles terribly in the snow. In fact, if someone up the block from me so much as drops an ice cube on the ground in July, there’s a good chance that my car will fishtail and spin like a top. Yet I am on the road in winter, as are thousands of other people with vehicles like mine. And some of them are talking on their cell phones while drinking a latte and playing with their radios.

The lesson here is just because your lovely SUV has no problem with the roads does not mean that the rest of us are so fortunate. I admit it is really neat how you can quickly and dart from lane to lane with no skidding or sliding, but I bet you will be really bummed when you realize that I my brakes don’t do well enough to react to your your lane changing in a manner that won’t destroy your bumper. Even if your car handles the snow great, not every driver is so fortunate. Proceed accordingly.

Don’t Be Dumb

Really, this is the cardinal rule of driving in any condition. Drive safely, and don’t be dumb. That works on snowy roads, dry roads, wet roads, and anywhere.

In the big scheme of things, it doesn’t matter how fast you get there…it only matters that you come home at the end of the day.