St. Louis Driving

Having lived in L.A. where drivers are some of the best in the world, I have a bone to pick with St. Louis drivers, or maybe just Midwest drivers in general.

Signs of a good driver:

-proactive driving habits/awareness of ongoing traffic conditions (lane merges, construction, people around them, etc)
-defensive driving (leaving enough space from the car in front of you, not getting boxed in by other drives/not boxing people in, etc)
-keeping up with the flow of traffic
-using proper lanes (not driving 45 mph in the fast lane, keeping to the right when you are not passing people)
-using turn signals
-adjusting speed for weather.

K.

So last night we had the tiniest amount of ice on the roads as is possible. Like, a very small amount of ice. Sure, even the littlest amount of ice can cause slick roads and hazardous conditions, but come on. All it takes is some awareness to avoid, well, disaster. The weather people here have been warning of some ice on the roads for like a week. And here's the result:









Dozens and dozens of accidents around St. Louis. Now, I sincerely hope that everyone is OK. And a lot of these accidents were probably a result of one person driving like an idiot. But seriously. This is our 3rd winter in St. Louis, and I've driven in some pretty gnarly winter conditions. Even in my bad-A Jeep Liberty with 4WD that can get over anything Mother Nature throws at us, I still drive very carefully when the weather runs afoul. I don't think that because I have a super sweet all-terrain vehicle that I am immune from accidents (like most other SUV drivers around here, omg, don't get me starts on my fellow SUV drivers who inevitably wind up in ditches every.single.time there is a winter storm).

For example:

Weatherman: Alright, folks, expect a few slick spots in the morning on the roads. Nothing major. Just drive carefully.

My driving: I slow down around curves and ease to a stop at intersections and stop signs. I keep an eye out for anything that looks like ice, and try to avoid it. I leave extra room between my car and the car in front of me.

Rest of St. Louis: AHHHHHH let's go nuts and drive like $%&*!!!!!!!!!

*sigh*