My Winter Driving Trauma
By Sean Maddox
I acquired my drivers license in February 1985 . Typical Nova Scotia winter back with foot after foot of snowfalls. Snowdrifts everywhere.
It wasn’t long before I had my first winter driving accident or last. I was driving through the south end of Halifax around Dalhousie: those narrow streets and high mounds of snow; you know the mountains the street plow creates, then the university’s plows add the sidewalk snow. Those mounds of snow were notoriously large.
One night that February drifts were huge. I couldn’t see around it from the seat of my Ford Tempo. I nudged forward more and more until it was too late. I was committed as was the lady that crashed into the back of my parents new car. It was less than a month old.
April came as did another accident. My first experience in fishtailing due to slush; that heavy sticky Canadian slush. Add insult to injury to mom and dad’s new car. They also had a lot of their wedding china in the truck of the car.
That was a bad winter
Fast forward 10 years or so, I was on the edge of a mountain in Malawi. My Toyota Hilux stuck in the mud and slipping towards the edge of the cliff in the tea plantation. Tea pickers gathered around and pushed and pulled to get me free from that mud. Those men and women were the first to really explain and teach me how to use the gears of a standard transmission. Use the gears of a car to drive in all conditions.
I came back to Canada after many years and the representative of the insurance company told me I was gonna have to pay these extremely high prices because I didn’t know how to drive in snow anymore. I said that I was a better driver today than ever because of my experiences driving in the US, across Africa and throughout Europe. She had no logical response.
Through all the years of driving across continents, I learned about aggressive driving, defensive driving, and “oh no, a goat.” But it wasn’t until about 10 years ago I was on my way to work one morning and my back tire caught slush. It threw my BMW X3 into a 360, T-boned a brand new twin cab Ford 250.
First thing out of the mouth of the driver of the Ford was “are you all right?”
It wasn’t until the next winter came, and we had the first snowfall that I learned the trauma of the accident was there. It is this day.
I drive much slower these days, more conscious of the elements, and seasonal preparations. Especially for trips out of the city. Making sure the tires are good, windshield wipers are good, the scrapers are in the trunk before the fall.
Each year the transition to winter driving gets easier. That first snowfall or two, still brings back a few memories. I white knuckle the steering wheel; remind friends and family to drive appropriately in all conditions.
