Portland, Oregon is in the midst of “Snowpocalypse 2016”. Meaning: it snowed yesterday. Snow wrecks havoc in Portland. Worse than this, it brings out the worst in people—especially me.
I grew up in Pennsylvania. Dealing with snow was a factor of life from November to March. I actually like driving in snow—or at least until I moved west from Michigan. There is a much different attitude about snow, here. The challenge for me is to accept this.
There are lessons to learn when it snows:
1) Know your capabilities. Whether it is snow or some other challenging circumstance. Know what you can or cannot handle. If you can’t handle something, don’t do it. On the same note, don’t remain where you are. Develop the capability.
I drove out with my daughter to a store just as yesterday’s “storm” began to hit. I came upon a car stopped at the top of a hill in our neighborhood. There was a car being pushed up the hill in the oncoming lane (apparently having difficulty negotiating the hill), so, I thought the person might be helping. I waited. The others went along their way. The car remained. I flashed my lights, and finally approached the car (in shorts, which, in hind-sight, must have caused the driver to think I was more than a bit “off”). The poor woman was panicked with fear about the hill—which was not at all icy—and didn’t know what to do. I suggested (my apologies for not coming across more sympathetic) that she shift into low gear and take it slow and returned to my car and proceeded down the hill. I don’t know how she got out of her pickle, but she was gone when we returned. Perhaps, I might have offered to drive her car down the hill or turn it around for her, but I had my 8-year-old in the car, and we were on a mission. Personally, I hope she faced her fears and drove down the hill on her own.
2) Be patient with others. I struggle with this in so many ways, but particularly when it snows. I want everyone else off of the roads—and, perhaps, many should be, but that is not the point. We may be more capable than others in some circumstances, and we need to understand that others might be struggling to manage. In snow, like life, we need to give them space and not rush them. We need to take it slow, but keep moving forward.
3) We need to consider the impact of our actions on others. On one hand, I am careful to consider others on the snowy road—I give space, I drive carefully, I signal turns earlier than usual, I consider what drivers are doing several cars ahead, etc. On the other hand, I quite easily lose my positive attitude when people don’t behave as I would like (back to #2). Still, I think driving in the snow (and going about our daily lives) would be much easier for everyone, if we were all a bit more aware of our affect on others.
I was more than a little upset with neighbors who were sledding in the streets. Now, for them, they were just letting the kids have some fun. It doesn’t snow often in Portland, after all. What they failed to realize was that they were effectively making the road undrivable. As it was, it took me three passes to get up the hill in my little front wheel-drive car. By morning, I am certain it was a sheet of ice.
Our actions have consequences, and we always need to think through them. Now, I am not trying to be the preacher, here. If anything, I am writing to myself more than anyone. The point here is that just a brief extension of the space between impulse and action can make all the difference in the outcome.
4) Accept one another. Of course, I wish everyone could drive as well as I do in the snow (please, note the hint of sarcasm here), but not everyone is as blessed to have learned to drive on the snow-covered hills of Pittsburgh (again, with the sarcastic wit). Understand that we all come from different places and have different experience levels. Be accepting of others, but don’t personally remain where you are. Being tolerant of others does not mean that we should demand that others accept where we are without trying to better ourselves. Help one another along the path. Society functions so much better when there is a sense of community.
Yeah, I have a long way to go in the above lessons. But, the first step in changing behavior is admitting that you need to change.
Tips for driving in snow:
1) take your time;
2) shift into low gear on steep hills;
3) use your breaks judiciously;
4) keep moving up hill;
5) give yourself space to react;
6) expect the conditions to be worse than they are;
7) if you begin to slide, let off the breaks or gas and let the car regain traction—relax and don’t try to control the car;
8) know how your car responds (in a safe area, accelerate and brake hard to get a “feel” for how the car responds—learn to react without thinking); and
9) RELAX! (If you can’t relax driving, relax at home with a hot cup of cocoa.)
Be safe, and when it comes to winter driving, as in life,…
be your best today; be better tomorrow!