ReNe: winter driving

Very quickly after we got our licenses, especially in my case since I got mine in late November, we were confronted with the issue of driving in snow. Most of the time, since we're living in downtown Toronto, winter driving isn't a big problem. There's not much snowfall here and what falls here either melts quickly or gets cleared quickly. There were a series of other minor inconveniences, such as the fact that since the temperature of the underground garage, and hence the car, is about the same as our fridge, gripping the steering wheel with bare hands when we first set off is quite uncomfortable. 

Then we went on a couple of road trips, first to Ottawa and more recently, to Montreal and Quebec City. It seemed as if the minute we get out of Toronto, it started to snow and continued the entire time we were there until we got back. Certainly it snowed every day, and most of the day, while we were in Ottawa and Quebec City, and about half of the days we were in Montreal. (It really highlighted the lack of snow we get in Toronto, or at least in the downtown core.) We don't have winter tires and our car is not a four-wheel drive, and so we were introduced quite bluntly to the perils of winter driving. 

We have ridden motorbikes through monsoons before and are very familiar with the dangers of hydroplaning and low visibility. Now we are in a car -- I'd thought it would be safer. Hardly. It's a different set of dangers all together. When the snowfall is heavy and the snowplows haven't moved in yet, and there's a mixture of snow and slush on the roads, the ABS on our car comes on almost every single time we brake, especially if we're moving at speeds higher than 30kmh. That's a little disconcerting but we got used to it, since it happened so often. Accelerating from rest also had to be done gently, otherwise the wheels would spin. 

What was really unnerving, for me at least, was the way the car would skid slightly from side to side, sometimes even fishtailing. The first time I took a left turn (in North America, that would mean crossing the road with opposing traffic, and hence meant at higher speeds than a right turn), I fishtailed like crazy but fortunately got the car under control after a few seconds. Also fortunately there were no other traffic in the vicinity. However, it wasn't only during turns; sometimes while travelling in a straight line, we could feel the car skid from side to side. 

However, I think a lot of the above problems could be alleviated by winter tires and having a four-wheel drive vehicle -- the province of Quebec actually makes it mandatory for its residents to switch to winter tires in winter. 

Another hazard resulting from all the snow on the roads was that the lane markings would all be covered up. Coupled with the snow banks at the curbs, three- or four-lane roads would often reduce to two- or even one-lane roads. That is all right, since drivers slow down and are generally quite considerate (which reminds me of all experiments of places with no or little traffic rules show traffic flow is actually improved and accident rate is reduced). However, more than once I've turned into a one-way side street, only to realize it was the wrong way because I couldn't see the markings on the road.