Snow, Snow, Go Away!

I just got home from work after a long, tiring week of shoveling and doing my best to drive carefully around snow banks and on now-narrow roads. Please don't read into this as I am complaining about the snow. Living in New England for over 2 decades, I am used to this and accept it as a part of life.

What I can't seem to get over though is just how bad people are at dealing with it. Every drivers' true colors comes to show when there is snow on the ground. People think it's some act of God that we have to deal with. It's snow! Sure, there are things you are supposed to do: drive slower, brake with more time in the event the roads are icy, etc. But then you have the people that speed like their at Daytona. The best part about it, is everyone thinks they are not to blame for the 2-hour commute to work. If you haven't expected this by now, move to Florida.

That's enough of my rant on bad drivers in the snow. My real issue is with the government and agencies put in place to deal with this weather. I realize we're experiencing a more than usual amount of snowfall so far, and it doesn't help storms have come so frequently. Enough about excuses. Cities and towns have already exceeded their snow removal budgets, and we're still in January. Look, someone has to realize we're in New England and to over-estimate the budget for this. Yes, I understand schools need money, but this happens every year and no one learns. Make some bold moves, and rearrange the budget to properly support the winter weather that we all dread.

Now to the safety issues. Mounds of snow at street corners, and narrow roads. Alright folks, am I the only one that has almost been T-boned by oncoming traffic because I must inch halfway into the road to see if a car is coming? These piles of snow are blocking my entire line of vision, as well as the vision of oncoming cars. Can these plows be a little more thoughtful about where they build up 8-feet piles of snow? Or maybe we should hire a special division of people that go around shoveling off feet of snow at each corner. I realize these are asking a lot, but my point is, I've been in enough near accidents, that I'd prefer to not actually get into one to fully make my point.

Additionally, has anyone noticed the width of our roads got cut in half? Do the plows not consider those few feet on the right side of the street part of the road? I deal with this every day where cars must ride both lanes because the right-most lane is not wide enough for a car. This too is an accident waiting to happen, and I see them almost occurring every day.

The point I'm trying to make with this post, is that we live in New England, and should know how to properly move snow. We spend a ton of money each year on doing snow removal, yet somehow it remains inefficient. I recommend developing a committee that lives in Alaska for a year to learn exactly what they do when it snows. I never hear them complaining, so something they do must be working.