doyner: Pocket Ninja: It is true that Virginians can't drive in the snow. But this is primarily due to the fact that most of them are hurrying to the supermarket to stock up on the three-week supply of emergency milk, eggs, and toilet paper that an inch of blizzard might produce in the region. This causes long lines in the stores, which causes traffic jams in the parking lots, and effect that then ripples out to the roads. The only solution would be to create some sort of Federal Emergency Snow Supply Agenecy (FESSA) which could distribute, perhaps via helicopter or drone drop, these critical supplies to families throughout the region without necessitating those families venturing out into the tundra.

For those of you that think this is just another one of Pocke Ninja's works of satirical art, it isn't.  This post is 100% true.

I grew up there, PN was spot on. The only thing he missed is the run on beer. If it's going to snow 100 miles away every Virginian is obligated to buy as much beer as they can, whether they drink or not. I think it's a law

What about Texas? Anyone see that King of the Hill where snowflakes appeared and everyone sudden crashed to the sides of the road?

Hilly? Virginia? LOL. The east coast hasn't a clue as to what a mountain is let alone a hill. Give me a farking break.

I can't speak for Virginia, but having lived in Florida for the last 20 years I can safely say the people here do not know how the drive. Also, Orlando (where I happen to live) is rated the most deadly city in the US to drive and be a pedestrian.

I really need to get a dashboard camera like the Russians but all the ones I see online are Chinese made and don't look reliable.

DoomPaul: I can't speak for Virginia, but having lived in Florida for the last 20 years I can safely say the people here do not know how the drive. Also, Orlando (where I happen to live) is rated the most deadly city in the US to drive and be a pedestrian.

I really need to get a dashboard camera like the Russians but all the ones I see online are Chinese made and don't look reliable.

well i would suspect that it would be very dangerous to drive and be a pedestrian at the same time. course it would also be very challenging to pull both off :)

doyner: Pud: I grew up there, PN was spot on. The only thing he missed is the run on beer. If it's going to snow 100 miles away every Virginian is obligated to buy as much beer as they can, whether they drink or not. I think it's a law

In all seriousness, I think that the shiatty driving around here is because of the overwhelming diversity.  People come here from all over the nation (and the world for that matter), bringing their own driving norms to this highly-congested area.  There is no uniformity of habit; making everyone relatively unpredicatable.  There are enough no-snow-climate drivers here to seed gridlock and collisions to ensure that the first flake to fall from the sky will create mayhem amongst the flakes already behind the wheel.

Thats always been my theory of the area as well a lot of people from warm climates thinking that their 4WD SUV can go over ice like its normal road cause "Hey I got 4WD!"

/dreading the storm that is supposed to start at 3pm today.

"Proof Virginians people can't drive" read the headline on the website Fark, followed by hundreds of comments agreeing

FTFE

People in general are goddam retards behind the wheel. I drive in Dallas, BTW.

Chicago drivers didn't do themselves any favors this morning. A light dusting and 2 1/2 hours outbound to O'Hare?

Meh. I'm from CNY. To me, everyone south of PA and east of the Mississippi are crappy snow-drivers.

Live in WV so have learned to live with it.

What makes me standby are the OH drivers doing 50 in the passing lane. Passive-aggressive farkers.

I had a friend from PA laughing at how badly everybody in Texas was driving after a fairly minor ice storm. He then proceeded to slip and fall off of an M1 Abrams tank and snapped his forearm like a pretzel rod. I guess he was Army smart, but not Army strong.

swingbozo: Hilly? Virginia? LOL. The east coast hasn't a clue as to what a mountain is let alone a hill. Give me a farking break.

notsureifserious.jpg

The drivers in my state are far worse than the drivers in your state.

Says everybody.

doyner: For those of you that think this is just another one of Pocke Ninja's works of satirical art, it isn't. This post is 100% true.

Not quite 100%: the staples are milk, bread, and toilet paper. Other than that, though, it's spot-on. No need for satire.

Standby=stabby. Auto-correct pwn.

No one anywhere can drive.

I estimate that about 80-85% of the general populace don't drive properly.

The 15% who drive properly will agree instantly.
If you disagree, it means you're part of the 85%. Cause if you knew how to drive you would seriously agree instantly.

The biggest problem is no one pays attention. You'r driving a 3,000lb death machine. Pay attention.

Even if we just STARTED with everyone maintaining speed and using turn signals, the world would be such a better place.

/90 min round-trip commute
//I've had to turn it into a funny game in my head, or else I'd have been driven crazy by now

I once drove from the West Virginia border to the junction with I-70 on I-81, about 300 miles, without going over 62 mph once because Virginians drive at 62 mph in both lanes at all times.

Pocket Ninja: It is true that Virginians can't drive in the snow. But this is primarily due to the fact that most of them are hurrying to the supermarket to stock up on the three-week supply of emergency milk, eggs, and toilet paper that an inch of blizzard might produce in the region. This causes long lines in the stores, which causes traffic jams in the parking lots, and effect that then ripples out to the roads. The only solution would be to create some sort of Federal Emergency Snow Supply Agenecy (FESSA) which could distribute, perhaps via helicopter or drone drop, these critical supplies to families throughout the region without necessitating those families venturing out into the tundra.

^^^^ SOOO MUCH THIS ^^^^

As a VA resident I can attest to the unbelievable panic that ripples through this state at the sight of a single flake. It's snowing here right now in SW VA and my roomie (works at wal mart) says its PACKED. No bread, no eggs and no milk. And we're only supposed to get 2in. This state is stupid

Pocket Ninja: It is true that Virginians can't drive in the snow. But this is primarily due to the fact that most of them are hurrying to the supermarket to stock up on the three-week supply of emergency milk, eggs, and toilet paper that an inch of blizzard might produce in the region. This causes long lines in the stores, which causes traffic jams in the parking lots, and effect that then ripples out to the roads. The only solution would be to create some sort of Federal Emergency Snow Supply Agenecy (FESSA) which could distribute, perhaps via helicopter or drone drop, these critical supplies to families throughout the region without necessitating those families venturing out into the tundra.

So, Virginians are just like North Carolinians, then.

doyner:
In all seriousness, I think that the shiatty driving around here is because of the overwhelming diversity.  People come here from all over the nation (and the world for that matter), bringing their own driving norms to this highly-congested area.  There is no uniformity of habit; making everyone relatively unpredicatable.  There are enough no-snow-climate drivers here to seed gridlock and collisions to ensure that the first flake to fall from the sky will create mayhem amongst the flakes already behind the wheel.

^this

Snow aside, the diversity of the people here are the major factor of virginia's poor driving. In other countries it is customary to just go where you are going, paying no regard to traffic signals, other cars. top that with the need to get 73 rolls of tp and milk, its a disaster. 1 inch yesterday, 2 co-workers totalled cars......

swingbozo: Hilly? Virginia? LOL. The east coast hasn't a clue as to what a mountain is let alone a hill. Give me a farking break.

I'm not saying NoVa is bad but western Va is pretty dang hilly. The descent from Virginia into NC on 77 is terrifying if weather is poor.

swingbozo: Hilly? Virginia? LOL. The east coast hasn't a clue as to what a mountain is let alone a hill. Give me a farking break.

The highest point in my state (New Jersey) is 1803 feet above sea level. Which isn't impressive until you consider we are actually at sea level.

We clearly not like the Rockies but it's not like mountainous terrain isn't all that uncommon on the East Coast. I'm only 20 minutes from the water's edge and I'm 289 feet above sea level.

doyner: Pud: I grew up there, PN was spot on. The only thing he missed is the run on beer. If it's going to snow 100 miles away every Virginian is obligated to buy as much beer as they can, whether they drink or not. I think it's a law

In all seriousness, I think that the shiatty driving around here is because of the overwhelming diversity.  People come here from all over the nation (and the world for that matter), bringing their own driving norms to this highly-congested area.  There is no uniformity of habit; making everyone relatively unpredicatable.  There are enough no-snow-climate drivers here to seed gridlock and collisions to ensure that the first flake to fall from the sky will create mayhem amongst the flakes already behind the wheel.

I don't know about that. There doesn't seem to be any diversity to VA drivers that I see on the highways. Almost every time I see a car with a VA license plate on I-95, it's in the left lane traveling within 5 mph of the speed limit and clogging up traffic behind them. And they only move over a lane when people start to try passing them on the right. It's like they need to get in the way as much as possible no matter what they're doing. I thought I'd be done seeing that happen when I moved to Boston from the MD/DE area, but every so often I still see VA plates up here doing the same thing.

AdmirableSnackbar: I don't know about that. There doesn't seem to be any diversity to VA drivers that I see on the highways. Almost every time I see a car with a VA license plate on I-95, it's in the left lane traveling within 5 mph of the speed limit and clogging up traffic behind them. And they only move over a lane when people start to try passing them on the right. It's like they need to get in the way as much as possible no matter what they're doing. I thought I'd be done seeing that happen when I moved to Boston from the MD/DE area, but every so often I still see VA plates up here doing the same thing.

More states need stricter "slower traffic keep right" laws.

Dear Virginians:

Pussies.

Signed,
Canada

CSB time

So I worked from home yesterday because snow + crazy inept drivers = problems, but I did have to venture out for lunch. I was just starting down the very large steep hill on the back side of my neighborhood and it was pretty slick with the packed down snow and this lady walks into the street about 30 feet in front of me and holds out her hand to stop me. I had to quickly tap the breaks and try to stop before hitting her and I managed not to run her over and just missed a van parked on the side of the road. Her husband had gotten them stuck because their rear wheel drive Lexus couldn't get up the same hill. After berating the lady and letting her know that you can't make a quick stop on an incline when the roads are like this, I tried to explain to them that if they backed all the way down the hill, they might be able to get enough momentum going to get the car back up. He didn't understand and backed his car into parking position on the other side of the street. I left. They're probably still there. They were Asian and obviously foreign so I felt pretty bad for them. Poor lady was distraught. And that's why I don't like to drive when there's snow and/or ice around here.

/CSB
//Midwest kid with a winter birthday. I was doing donuts on the snow in a parking lot with dad before I ever got my license.

ph0rk: AdmirableSnackbar: I don't know about that. There doesn't seem to be any diversity to VA drivers that I see on the highways. Almost every time I see a car with a VA license plate on I-95, it's in the left lane traveling within 5 mph of the speed limit and clogging up traffic behind them. And they only move over a lane when people start to try passing them on the right. It's like they need to get in the way as much as possible no matter what they're doing. I thought I'd be done seeing that happen when I moved to Boston from the MD/DE area, but every so often I still see VA plates up here doing the same thing.

More states need stricter "slower traffic keep right" laws.

NJ used to do it right (not sure if they still do). A buddy of mine - with NJ plates - got pulled over for traveling too long in the left lane with nobody in the right lane to pass. They're really strict about left lane travel, which is great, but it also seems to cause NJ drivers to abuse the left lane when they're not in the dirty jerz.

I live close to a ski resort in WV, we get a lot of tourists from all over the country. You constantly see these expensive looking out of state SUVs stuck in a ditch and a rusty old wv pickup pulling them out. VA drivers are bad, but not compared to those folks who come from those flat states with nothing but straight roads.

AdmirableSnackbar: ph0rk: AdmirableSnackbar: I don't know about that. There doesn't seem to be any diversity to VA drivers that I see on the highways. Almost every time I see a car with a VA license plate on I-95, it's in the left lane traveling within 5 mph of the speed limit and clogging up traffic behind them. And they only move over a lane when people start to try passing them on the right. It's like they need to get in the way as much as possible no matter what they're doing. I thought I'd be done seeing that happen when I moved to Boston from the MD/DE area, but every so often I still see VA plates up here doing the same thing.

More states need stricter "slower traffic keep right" laws.

NJ used to do it right (not sure if they still do). A buddy of mine - with NJ plates - got pulled over for traveling too long in the left lane with nobody in the right lane to pass. They're really strict about left lane travel, which is great, but it also seems to cause NJ drivers to abuse the left lane when they're not in the dirty jerz.

That would be great - I can do my 7-8mph over the limit and not have to yell at people doing 5mph under me.

Georgia appears to be better about it than NC, NC has a guideline on the books but only a guideline, and it is never "enforced". (I think if you obstruct traffic enough, a LEO can do something about it, but that never happens).

As a upstate New Yorker who deals with feet of lake effect snow, these comments have left me giggling uncontrollably. Thank you!

take_flight: As a upstate New Yorker who deals with feet of lake effect snow, these comments have left me giggling uncontrollably. Thank you!

Not that it has happened here yet in this case, but you probably don't have the rapid freeze/thaw cycles we get down here. In addition to bad infrastructure for snow (no plows or salt trucks to speak of, this is changing though) we also have very prevalent ice problems.

FWIW, down here in NC as often as not a snow/ice related accident on the interstate is an SUV with NY or NJ plates, so there.

Good to see old acquaintance John Townsend quoted!

I have a doctor appointment in Newport News this afternoon. I live in Norfolk and have to go across the HRBT and it is expected to should start snowing right around then. I'm kind of dreading the drive. My snow driving experience is limited to one winter in New York and being from the south, I just tried to avoid driving in the snow if I could. MY car is AWD and has ABS. That helps me grip and stop straight (not shorter) but I'm a bit out of practice. Add in the craptastic driving style of most everyone in the Hampton Roads region and I'm sure it'll turn into a clusterfark shortly.

I gotta say, as much as I complain about MA traffic, we do snow pretty well. I grew up in western NY though, so the "blizzards" we get here in the Massachuviet Union make me chortle in my superiority.

RoughTrickNamedJim: I have a doctor appointment in Newport News this afternoon. I live in Norfolk and have to go across the HRBT and it is expected to should start snowing right around then. I'm kind of dreading the drive. My snow driving experience is limited to one winter in New York and being from the south, I just tried to avoid driving in the snow if I could. MY car is AWD and has ABS. That helps me grip and stop straight (not shorter) but I'm a bit out of practice. Add in the craptastic driving style of most everyone in the Hampton Roads region and I'm sure it'll turn into a clusterfark shortly.

Slow down, take your time and leave lots of space. Oh and hope you don't get sideswiped by a crazy asshole who thinks their SUV is impervious to ice.

RoughTrickNamedJim: I have a doctor appointment in Newport News this afternoon. I live in Norfolk and have to go across the HRBT and it is expected to should start snowing right around then. I'm kind of dreading the drive. My snow driving experience is limited to one winter in New York and being from the south, I just tried to avoid driving in the snow if I could. MY car is AWD and has ABS. That helps me grip and stop straight (not shorter) but I'm a bit out of practice. Add in the craptastic driving style of most everyone in the Hampton Roads region and I'm sure it'll turn into a clusterfark shortly.

Just go slow. People who are really used to the snow get a little annoyed with people who drive 25 mph when the roads are better than that, but it beats being the guy who veers through traffic at 75 like it's a dry sunny day and ends up rolled over in the median.

I used to live in NoVa, and it seems they would close school early if snow started accumulating more than 1/2 inch. My coworkers would freak out and have to leave to pick their kids up even though the roads were not bad at all. (Plus, they drove SUVs that seemed more than capable of driving safely on slightly slushy roads.)

I'm just bitter --- I'm from Western PA and growing up there needed to be a good 4-5 inches of snow for school to even be delayed two hours. Nothing like getting your hopes up for school to be cancelled and not even getting a delay. (I know, CoolStorySis...)

/PA people can't drive either, actually no one can. I'm in So Cal now and they can't blame the horrible driving here on snow. Rain, maybe.

// This is the first thing I thought of when I read the headline.

reklamfox: Pocket Ninja: It is true that Virginians can't drive in the snow. But this is primarily due to the fact that most of them are hurrying to the supermarket to stock up on the three-week supply of emergency milk, eggs, and toilet paper that an inch of blizzard might produce in the region. This causes long lines in the stores, which causes traffic jams in the parking lots, and effect that then ripples out to the roads. The only solution would be to create some sort of Federal Emergency Snow Supply Agenecy (FESSA) which could distribute, perhaps via helicopter or drone drop, these critical supplies to families throughout the region without necessitating those families venturing out into the tundra.

^^^^ SOOO MUCH THIS ^^^^

As a VA resident I can attest to the unbelievable panic that ripples through this state at the sight of a single flake. It's snowing here right now in SW VA and my roomie (works at wal mart) says its PACKED. No bread, no eggs and no milk. And we're only supposed to get 2in. This state is stupid

My mom grew up on a farm in Washington State (the part that gets snow in the winter, not the part that only gets rain). I asked her one time what it was about snow that made cows stop producing milk. She looked at me like I was insane.

meh. people from areas where its snows constantly, hush up. y'all are prepared for it.

/ it's like people along the gulf or southeast coast making fun of northerners for not knowing how to prepare for a hurricane. being aware of the problems and preparing accordingly makes all the difference. i heard all sorts of dumb ideas from friends in new york when sandy was coming. but, i didn't make fun of them, i informed them that they were not aware of all the things that can and will go wrong.
// never been to virginia. is snow common? if so, shame on them for being bad drivers.

ph0rk: take_flight: As a upstate New Yorker who deals with feet of lake effect snow, these comments have left me giggling uncontrollably. Thank you!

Not that it has happened here yet in this case, but you probably don't have the rapid freeze/thaw cycles we get down here. In addition to bad infrastructure for snow (no plows or salt trucks to speak of, this is changing though) we also have very prevalent ice problems.

FWIW, down here in NC as often as not a snow/ice related accident on the interstate is an SUV with NY or NJ plates, so there.

In those conditions, it's rarely the person who caused the accident who ends up in the accident. I'd wager that in most of those cases the NY/NJ drivers were probably trying to avoid an accident with a local and ended up crashing anyway.

groppet: Thats always been my theory of the area as well a lot of people from warm climates thinking that their 4WD SUV can go over ice like its normal road cause "Hey I got 4WD!"

This. Your SUV or pickup does NOT enable you to stop or steer better in the snow. Fact is, the heaver mass (and your unfounded confidence = greater speed) is that much more difficult to control and stop that it more than cancels out the benefit from AWD/ABS.

/ grew up in VA, and worked in both NoVA and VA Beach.
// the immigrants on the road story is true too, especially in NoVA but not so much elsewhere in VA

RoughTrickNamedJim: I have a doctor appointment in Newport News this afternoon. I live in Norfolk and have to go across the HRBT and it is expected to should start snowing right around then. I'm kind of dreading the drive. My snow driving experience is limited to one winter in New York and being from the south, I just tried to avoid driving in the snow if I could. MY car is AWD and has ABS. That helps me grip and stop straight (not shorter) but I'm a bit out of practice. Add in the craptastic driving style of most everyone in the Hampton Roads region and I'm sure it'll turn into a clusterfark shortly.

You realize it doesn't snow in the tunnel, right?

(Yeah, I know, there are still the bridges. Stay safe.)

ph0rk: take_flight: As a upstate New Yorker who deals with feet of lake effect snow, these comments have left me giggling uncontrollably. Thank you!

Not that it has happened here yet in this case, but you probably don't have the rapid freeze/thaw cycles we get down here. In addition to bad infrastructure for snow (no plows or salt trucks to speak of, this is changing though) we also have very prevalent ice problems.

FWIW, down here in NC as often as not a snow/ice related accident on the interstate is an SUV with NY or NJ plates, so there.

We get tons of ice and snow and our weather can go from 40's to negatives within hours. I live in a rural area, so it doesn't get plowed until maybe 2 in the afternoon...and they would not plow for 1 inch of snow period. I would suspect if you are seeing accidents with NY or NJ plates they are most definitely people from NYC and NJ cities, who...for some reason...all seem to feel that they MUST drive SUV's and pick ups even though they don't get a ton of snow there. Hubby drove to work last week in 8 inches of snow with a layer of freezing slush/ice over it, (because the temp. changed quickly) at 5:30 am when the plows were just starting up in a 4 cylinder Toyota. Trust me...it's not knowing how to drive in the snow. Which actually should be understandable for people in NC...but in northeastern VA?