Drivers in the South: Think of making your car tiptoe on these icy roads!

[raging moderate]

Play that Sugarplum Fairy music from classical music in your heads as you drive. tink tink tink tink tink tink da da da da da da dadadadada!
SLOW DOWN! Think of letting the car TIPTOE along the road. And steer INTO the skid just slightly to regain control of the car.
I drove many times on such roads in Northern Illinois. You can do it. Just possess thy soul in patience.

Oh, and before you go outside, make sure you have tucked your shirt into your pants in back! That icy wind just roars up your back if you don't do this. Pretend you are an Arctic explorer or something. If you need to stay awake, you can suck one of those coffee bags. I used to have a 40 minute drive in the dark both ways.

You can do this. Just breathe and enjoy the sparkles on the snow.

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. I'll bet most vehicles don't have all weather tires, never mind studded tires.

Total driving disaster in the South.

[MiniMe]

4. Studded tires are illegal in many areas

They rip the roads up

[OAITW r.2.0]

5. Got to weigh road damage against life damage.

Probably not practical for studs, but all weather tires should be a minimum requirement.

[MiniMe]

7. Depends on what area you live in

We hardly get any snow as a rule, but when we get it, we can get a lot of snow. Studs are illegal in the county that I live in, but only about 2 miles away, they are legal.

Studded tire laws by state
State Studded tire regulations
LA Rubber studs only
ME Permitted October 2 - April 30
MD Permitted only in western counties: Allegheny, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett and Washington, November 1 - March 31
MA Permitted November 2 - April 30
47 more rows

[cwydro]

12. Most everything closes right down when we have snow.

Few need to get in a car.

I have an all wheel drive Subaru Outback that has gotten me up and down quite a few snowy mountains.

[brush]

2. Good advice. Slow the hell down and do social distancing so to speak as braking...

distances increase markedly on hard-packed snow and ice, which will happen the more traffic rolls over the roads and traffic ruts form.

[raging moderate]

3. YES! SOCIAL DISTANCING!

You are right! Stay far back. Let the other drivers pass you. You are better off with the reckless drivers ahead of you where you can keep an eye on them.

Don' t expect your brakes to work. At least not in the usual way. Your brakes are now elderly! Slowly and gently apply your foot to your brakes.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD! PAY ATTENTION TO EVERY DETAIL! YOU CAN DO THIS!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. If you start to lose directional control, turn into the spin.

And don't slam on the brakes!

[flor-de-jasmim]

8. Clean the windowshields well before driving.

Don't assume that they will defrost fast enough as you drive.

[hlthe2b]

9. Yeah. Unfortunately they will try to "tiptoe" uphill, rather than lightly accelerate and as a result

will stall, slide back down that hill, plowing into everyone behind for a mile.

Honestly, if one has never driven on ice or heavy snow, do not have proper tires rated for ice and snow, or chains in the case of ice (4-wheel drive doesn't help you so much on ice), then JUST STAY HOME!

Honestly, I've driven every kind and type of light vehicle (non-commercial) in these conditions and I've had my share of horrifically stressful "near-catastrophic near-accidents," so I'm not ashamed to say that there are sometimes conditions where I simply won't attempt, even with a properly fitted/equipped vehicle.

[raging moderate]

10. I used to think of this as tiptoe with my claws out.

Now that I am retired, I just stay home.

[NNadir]

11. My dad took me out to empty parking lots in the snow to teach me.