Clearly those warnings were well heeded as evidenced by empty bread and milk shelves in local grocery stores and even gasoline stations that were devoid of gasoline due to pre-storm panic buying. What is more amazing is that the vast majority of the grocery items that were “stocked” were perishables. Given the advertised severity of the storm, the thought of stocking gasoline, especially that miserable ethanol-blended crap that goes bad in a week, is laughable. Let’s fill our gasoline tanks and park our cars for a week (or more) – in that time, the gasoline will separate from the alcohol AND condensation will occur making the cars run like crap when they’re finally freed from the white death.
As a group of Motorsports enthusiasts, the most frustrating thing about these pre-storm warnings is the effect is has on drivers. The vast majority of drivers in the DC area meet the “barely passable” criteria to obtain a license – in other words, they fogged the mirror but little else. With the stress of the “life or death situation” (I’m not kidding – one of the radio personalities commented that prepping for the storm was exactly that, a matter of life or death), these drivers who were barely passable go into absolute panic mode. They panic shop, as evidenced by the empty store shelves but worse, they panic drive – the become even more oblivious of their surroundings because they’re so intently focused on prepping to ensure they don’t die when they’re marooned in their houses, apparently thousands of miles away from help on another planet.
The only upside to all of the pre-storm hype was that when the snow flakes started falling, a large percentage of the truly panic-stricken were already at home, “weathering in-place”. Unfortunately, this leaves the overly paranoid driver who tends to travel at half the posted speed limit or slower at the first snow flake because a single flake of snow will cause their AWD Sports Luxury Utility Truck to suddenly spin out of control, crash into a ditch, roll over and trap them inside (with their trunk full of bread, milk and toilet paper). These paranoid drivers cause traffic jams, road rage and general mayhem because of their fear – admittedly prudence is the better part of valor BUT being prudent involves also NOT causing problems for your fellow humans.
In ancient history when rocks were soft and school systems didn’t close on the threat of inclement weather, I was forced to go to school in the snow. My Dad owned a Jeep (because he enjoyed surf fishing, NOT because the advertising media pressured him into owning an AWD vehicle to prove that he was a worthy father and husband). However, the Jeep was the family car – I had my own car, a bit of a family car myself – a ’72 Chevy Kingswood station wagon. For the snow, it had a nice set of L78-15 snow tyres that could trench a median strip faster than you can blink an eye.
We were taught in Driver’s Education about how to handle inclement weather in a car – it didn’t involve using the Traction Action or the Slip Control or Anti-Locks to keep the car from careening off the road. It meant that we had in-car driver’s education during inclement weather such as when it was snowing or raining. That’s no longer possible in today’s litigious society where we cannot take any risks and must do all things possible to protect our kids from any “danger”.
I don’t remember when we became such sissies that we could no longer tolerate ANY risk. This societal change will be detrimental in the future when today’s children have to enter the world and made decisions that are neither clear cut nor “safe”. What amazes me is that so few kids have an interest in driving – probably because they can hang out with their friends via their phones (in their bedrooms) so driving to the mall to hang out isn’t necessary. Video games are so realistic that taking risks has virtual consequences but no risks are taken other than a loss of virtual wealth or a decline in social standing.
It’s a crying shame that we’re becoming a society of sissies – for those of you who get involved with live, more power to you. Keep it up in hopes of inspiring the society of sissies to get off their pansy-asses and experience life head-on rather than virtually.
