Wednesday, Feb. 27 2013 8:41AM
Snow driving
By John Beaudoin
jbeaudoin@lsjournal.com
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ReprintAfter all these years and a stint working in Iowa, you would think I would be a little better behind the wheel during the winter months.
Truth is, I’m just not.
I get panicky. I have irrational fears of other drivers. I generally dislike driving when there is even a mention of snow or ice.
I often showcased my ineptness behind the wheel while I was in Iowa, underestimating snow drifts and the ability of my Pontiac to negotiate a massive hill that was covered with the frozen stuff.
Some city workers in Woodbine had to bail me out one day after I got stuck near a park and baseball field. I was embarrassed at first. That didn’t last long.
I also spun out into a ditch during a blizzard conditions driving home from work. Some guys with big trucks and chains and all that stuff I should have ended up pulling me out and sending me on my way.
Not having a 4-wheel drive vehicle was always a point of amusement for some in Iowa.
It’s becoming an annoyance now as an Iowa-type winter has decided to descend upon us in Kansas City.
During our first big storm last Thursday, I pushed my luck staying a little too long at work as we got belted with snow.
When the snow is coming down that quickly, regardless of what people think, you just cannot plow fast enough over a city of our size with any efficiency. Once the snow ended, I believe our street crews did a fantastic job. But while we are getting 1-3 inches an hour, you just have to wait it out.
Either way, driving down Fifth Street to Green from the Journal was a terrible idea on my part. As was not having a shovel in my car. And thinking I could drive anywhere during that time.
While private plows drove by, surely heading to the rescue of another driveway, I was helped by a stranger with a good heart. And while we couldn’t get my car to budge, I appreciated the gesture more than anything.
Going back to the Journal, I grabbed a shovel and dug out, only to get stuck two more times before driving my car in reverse back to work.
Maybe it’s time to buy a truck. Or just stop driving during the winter.
Be safe out there and give the snow plow drivers a nod, a thank you and, most importantly, the right of way.
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