What's the scariest thing about driving in winter? Snow? White-outs? Ice?

Nope.

Other drivers.

I'm astonished at the number of Canadians who are idiot winter drivers.

This is a pretty good summary

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/driving-in-snow-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/article16007476/#dashboard/follows/

The worst are, without exception, SUV drivers who think their 4WD gives them Super Hero powers.

No, dipshit, you can't drive 120 kph during a storm when the conditions determine maybe 80kph

Although I never want to see anyone injured anytime, I do a small cheer when I see one in a ditch.

Another cretin off the highway is always good.

Rant over.

 

While you're at it, good sir, can you tell the people who foolishly think their four-wheel-drive vehicles make them bulletproof on icy roads, that their braking system has no chance of stopping as it does on dry, warmer roads?

 

Black ice, members and moderators.
Salt's inefficacy only makes it a deadlier concern.

 

I just did Sorry, I mistakenly posted before I finished

 

And, just to beat a dead horse, The Seven Sins of Winter Driving

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/cheney-the-seven-sins-of-winter-driving/article15761634/#dashboard/follows/

And, of course:

7. Feeling invincible (a.k.a. All-Wheel-Drive Pride)

A four-wheel-drive vehicle does not make you immune to the laws of physics. In slippery conditions, an all-wheel-drive vehicle doesn’t stop or turn any better than one with two wheel drive. Four wheel drive does improve traction while accelerating, however, which makes far easier to reach speeds that are beyond your vehicle’s turning and braking capabilities.

My approach on a three lane highway is to keep in the right hand lane. All the idiots are driving too fast in the passing lane. I avoid the middle lane because the scared drivers stay in that lane and hey, you can get hit from TWO lanes.

 

Other drivers, on undivided highways. My biggest fear is some idiot losing control and coming at me head-on.

Black ice and ice in general are a close second.

I'd rather drive divided highways any day in winter, but that's not possible in much of rural North America.

 

In 1995 or so, I had a sh_tbox Chevy Cavalier wagon and that winter it came what for D.C. passed for a blizzard.

I was the only person to get to work that day at my office and I must have driven by a dozen SUVs that people had stranded on the sides of the road in snow so deep that none of the four wheels could touch the pavement.

Slow and steady wins the race.

 

@JR - Hogtown can't possibly be worse than out West where every second driver seems to be operating an Alberta Smart Car (Dodge Ram, F-150, etc.) These knuckleheads are by far the biggest hazard on the road during a snowy conditions.

 

Snow doesn't scare me a bit. In fact, on the interstate, sometimes the snowy lane has more traction than the the "clearer" lane because the accumulated moisture off tires, etc., can freeze and turn that lane into a hazard. Especially if the temperature is going from around freezing to below it, particularly if it's windy.

As long as you don't act like a moron -- don't gun it, don't drive too fast, don't make any sudden motion with the wheel, and be easy on the brakes -- you can drive on snow fine.

Ice on the other hand? White-knuckling it all the way.

 

What Bubbler said.

I drive a full-size SUV, but I also know it's no guarantee for staying on the road, especially on icy roads. I want to get to my destination without having to call the friendly, neighborhood tow truck. I drive a lot and another thing I see are little cars speeding along like it's a sunny, summer day. Yeah, and I sometimes pass them down the road when they wind up in the ditch.

Where I live, people really should know better. We have snow six months of the year.

 

Year round residents of Florida find they don't drive any better when they spend their winters down south.

 

Nothing pisses me off more than somebody who slams on the brakes when somebody 200 yards ahead brakes. That's how you go into a slide. TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR first and see if that helps you slow down.