Blizzard up and down the East Coast

[kalinecountry]

We got plowed out in the last hour. They came late because the regular snow plow truck broke down. Thankfully they had a spare plow truck.

We aren't done with this as the weather people think that the band of snow will get hit with some air and push back over boston later tonight for a several more inches.

Talked with an old friend in the town I grew up in when we moved here from Detroit and he said they had 18 to 20 inches. Where I live, it was more like 2 feet plus already.

The coast and shore line gets the worst of it...these towns near or on the Cape get lots of damage to the houses on the shore lines. Two towns on the south shore heading towards the Cape, Scituate and Marshfield once again had damage to homes as the swells from the ocean crashed over the rock barriers and damaged many houses. They are calling the houses condemned.
They couldn't pay me to live right next to the ocean. other people....

I will sleep well tonight.

 

[Michchamp]

When I was a kid I was driving in icy conditions and my car hit the person in the next lane. The icy just caught my wheels. Anyway, the officer wrote in the ticket too fast for conditions. I was going 10.

I've seen "too fast for conditions" tickets contested successfully a few times, but far too often people just accept their fate.

A couple years ago, during an ice storm in Metro Detroit, my dad and dozens of other motorists had to get pulled out of a ditch along I-696, or one of those freeways. A local cop showed up after the fact and wrote all of them "too fast for conditions" tickets, and said the fact that they ended up in ditches was proof enough. My dad claimed he had been literally only crawling along at 25 MPH when he slid off the road.

he ended up going to court and paying a fine to knock it down to a non-moving violation & traffic school (that BS deal for first time offenders).

I told him I'd never heard of such an easy ticket to get dismissed. he should've contested it and forced them to present evidence - which they obviously couldn't do, since the cops didn't witness anything, and couldn't contest his side of the story. The magistrate would've had no choice but to dismiss it.

he was like "oh, shit, yeah, I should've called you first." ...

 

[spockmaster]

One guy did get arrested here for being out during the driving ban, though he was also going 80 in a 55 zone (in a fucking blizzard!) and had an outstanding warrant on him, so he was extra stupid.


As for the driving ban itself, I was fine with it. No reason you should be out in a blizzard anyways except in an emergency (and there were emergency exceptions), and having no one on the roads meant that they got plowed REALLY quickly.

 

[Mitchrapp]

I've seen "too fast for conditions" tickets contested successfully a few times, but far too often people just accept their fate.

A couple years ago, during an ice storm in Metro Detroit, my dad and dozens of other motorists had to get pulled out of a ditch along I-696, or one of those freeways. A local cop showed up after the fact and wrote all of them "too fast for conditions" tickets, and said the fact that they ended up in ditches was proof enough. My dad claimed he had been literally only crawling along at 25 MPH when he slid off the road.

he ended up going to court and paying a fine to knock it down to a non-moving violation & traffic school (that BS deal for first time offenders).

I told him I'd never heard of such an easy ticket to get dismissed. he should've contested it and forced them to present evidence - which they obviously couldn't do, since the cops didn't witness anything, and couldn't contest his side of the story. The magistrate would've had no choice but to dismiss it.

he was like "oh, shit, yeah, I should've called you first." ...

hmm. I was so young, 19 at the time, I didn't know what to do. I just figured okay I'll take my punishment and move on. The last ticket I ever got. But I did get to talk to my worrisome sister at the time who said "Is the car okay." Not me of course but the car..

 

[Mitchrapp]

One guy did get arrested here for being out during the driving ban, though he was also going 80 in a 55 zone (in a fucking blizzard!) and had an outstanding warrant on him, so he was extra stupid.


As for the driving ban itself, I was fine with it. No reason you should be out in a blizzard anyways except in an emergency (and there were emergency exceptions), and having no one on the roads meant that they got plowed REALLY quickly.

The ban sounds like a good idea..

 

[deathroh]

I have never once encountered this and lived in Michigan all my life. So I googled it and also found nothing that even comes close to backing up that claim.

It's a County thing, they're called Snow Emergencies in Lucas and Wood county in NW Ohio and a Winter Travel Advisory in Monroe County in SE MI. Level 1 just means there are bad road conditions, Level 2 means you should only travel if absolutely necessary, with a Level 3 only emergency vehicles are supposed to be on the roads and you could be ticketed if you are out.

Not sure if anywhere else in Michigan has them, Monroe just added theirs last winter.

 

[Mitchrapp]

It's a County thing, they're called Snow Emergencies in Lucas and Wood county in NW Ohio and a Winter Travel Advisory in Monroe County in SE MI. Level 1 just means there are bad road conditions, Level 2 means you should only travel if absolutely necessary, with a Level 3 only emergency vehicles are supposed to be on the roads and you could be ticketed if you are out.

Not sure if anywhere else in Michigan has them, Monroe just added theirs last winter.

Probably because they're so close to Ohio. But I never heard Michigan with a drive ban. Maybe a warning not to go out there..

 

[Michchamp]

damn nanny state telling people when they can and can't drive on the roads.

Chris Kyle didn't go and shoot 100+ Iraqis just so some liberal could come and take away our FREEDOM to drive where and when we want.

 

[hailhail]

damn nanny state telling people when they can and can't drive on the roads.

Chris Kyle didn't go and shoot 100+ Iraqis just so some liberal could come and take away our FREEDOM to drive where and when we want.

To be fair, driving "where and when we want" basically became an American right in the 50s and 60s when we bulldozed every city in the country to make way for this awesome highway system that sucks anyway but we can't even afford now.

 

[turok]

When I bought my first car @ 18 (a used '71 Chevy Nova), I also bought studded snow tires for the rear wheels. Never got stuck or slid on snowy/icy roads with them. they were even better than having 4WD or AWD, esp. for stopping...but of course they soon got banned, allegedly b/c they damaged the roads...ya, right!!

But semi-trucks here still are allowed to carry the heaviest loads in the US (80K) That is why MI's roadways are in the "pits" nowadaze, and the bureaucrats in Lansing are trying to figure out how to make Michiganders pay increasingly higher gas taxes or an increased sales tax to repair them.

 

[Michchamp]

To be fair, driving "where and when we want" basically became an American right in the 50s and 60s when we bulldozed every city in the country to make way for this awesome highway system that sucks anyway but we can't even afford now.

Oh. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[kalinecountry]

There appears to be another snow storm coming from across the midwest and Michigan, and or hooking up with one in some mid-southern states and then coming up the coast again.

If I am understanding it correctly we will get another foot of snow on Monday.

Thankfully it is light fluff snow like much of the blizzard was, before the below zero wind chill temperatures we have had on and off since.

 

[Michchamp]

Whoa-ho. Whoooooooooooooa... We are taking a pounding here. I'm am not looking forward to digging out. Totally screws our breakfast plans.

 

[spockmaster]

All right New Englanders, are we ready for SNOWPOCALYPSE 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO?

 

[turok]

Weren't likely gonna dodge all of the bad weather that the Midwest was largely spared from so far this winter. Still have about 2 1/2 months left when it can snow in significant amounts and ~1 1/2 when it can stick around for awhile. There are some cities and towns in Canada that have set their all-time record sub-zero temps in February, not January like one would expect their coldest temps to occur. But @ least we in the lower 48 never have a period of days, weeks or months when there is not even any daylight around the clock....talk about being a prime candidate for acquiring SAD.

 

[spockmaster]

That is why MI's roadways are in the "pits" nowadaze, and the bureaucrats in Lansing are trying to figure out how to make Michiganders pay increasingly higher gas taxes or an increased sales tax to repair them.

As much as I dislike actually paying it, I like the yearly excise tax most NE states have on cars. The roads here are WAY better than Michigan's, construction generally gets done more quickly (not always, buy still), and they are really good at getting the roads cleared quickly. Also, our plate registrations are good for 2 years (in RI at least) and cost less than 1 year in Michigan did for the same cars, and insurance is a bit cheaper too.

Also, the vehicle inspections every 2 years cut down on shitpiles on the road, in the ditches, and for sale used, and its not expensive either.

 

[Thumb]

As much as I dislike actually paying it, I like the yearly excise tax most NE states have on cars. The roads here are WAY better than Michigan's, construction generally gets done more quickly (not always, buy still), and they are really good at getting the roads cleared quickly. Also, our plate registrations are good for 2 years (in RI at least) and cost less than 1 year in Michigan did for the same cars, and insurance is a bit cheaper too.

Also, the vehicle inspections every 2 years cut down on shitpiles on the road, in the ditches, and for sale used, and its not expensive either.

Well you also have a much smaller area, populated about 10x as densely. That helps immensely tax wise.

 

[Michchamp]

I just spent 45 minutes digging my car out to go get groceries. No idea where the hell I'm going to park when I get home.

 

[turok]

I just spent 45 minutes digging my car out to go get groceries. No idea where the hell I'm going to park when I get home.

One of our local (Detroit) news stations reported that most grocery stores here were left mainly shelf-bare by 11pm yesterday. I won't be able to get anything from the grocers until after the direct-deposit of my OPM.gov disability tomorrow. (a day late) :/

 

[Michchamp]

We ended up with 19 inches... 5th highest snowfall in Chicago history. This off a prediction of 10-12 inches that would be over by the early afternoon. It JUST stopped this morning.

When I went out to shovel I saw that the wind had swung around to the N/NE and I knew we were screwed (that brings in lake effect from Lake Michigan).

I left our shovel in the alley by my neighbors house, figuring Id get it when I got back from the grocery store, but some asshole took it. Now I need to go buy a new shovel before I come home. Fuck everything.