KazzyKaz
ZOMG.. Our governor is having a presser and the press is PISSED and out for blood
Misha
where are you again Kaz?
KazzyKaz
Misha
in downtown Atlanta.. our mayor has been getting it just as bad as well
Misha
for the lack of preparation and planning? or what?
KazzyKaz
hrmm.. that's part of it.. he said he was following along with the NWS, even though every local station was saying their models showed it would hit the city..
KazzyKaz
there was a reporter camped out over an overpass for about 24 hrs and she said she has yet to see a salt spreader on one of the most traveled expressways through the heart of the city
tathi
meaning ur streets are still covered with snow?
Bacc
Lake Shore Drive in Chicago in 2011. sometimes even northern cities are helpless against snow
Lake Shore Drive in Chicago in 2011. sometimes even northern cities are helpless against snow
Misha
i really feel bad for you guys right now
Phodin
it snow or ice? 'cause you can't salt the snow away...
KazzyKaz
tathi
no.. the snow is just on the sides.. there was so much traffic trying to leave yesterday that the snow compacted down to a sheet of ice about 1 inch thick (2.5cm)
Phodin
you can't salt 2.5 cm of ice away either. you need sand.
KazzyKaz
yeah.. more accurately, you need to pre-treat the roads and not start your response 6 hours after the snow starts to fall
tathi
Phodin
: sand? how does it work with sand?
KazzyKaz
that's pretty much the heart of why people are pissed
Phodin
Sand mixed with a bit of salt to make it stick. Creates friction again.
tathi
KazzyKaz
: we have the same problem but with Summer T-Storms like happened last week. 
i know the feeling.
i know the feeling.
tathi
Phodin
: tks 
KazzyKaz
they went to northern states and learned about a brine mixture (salt + water.. it looks muddy, but doesn't freeze).. they didn't even want to spray that on the roads until there was snow..
KazzyKaz
by then it was too late because it had started to stick to the road
KazzyKaz
tathi
if you get a bad storm, you could come stay with me
Phodin
you also need studded tires and our mandatory ice driving classes before you get a license, lol.
tathi
KazzyKaz
: i´ll find pics fromlast friday, so you can see the drama here
Phodin
that's another way. you scrape the ice up and add sand or gravel to it.
that's another way. you scrape the ice up and add sand or gravel to it.
KazzyKaz
awhh, well then we'd never be able to drive.. the last time we got snow was 2011
KazzyKaz
they don't even sell snow tires here because we don't use them
Phodin
Oh, I did my ice driving lessons on oil since I got my license in summer.
tathi
^driving on oil does not seem super safe, but i see the point! although driving on snow is quite easy to me.
tathi
KazzyKaz
: even if they did sell snow tires, how many ppl would actually buy it if you dont get snow that often?
Phodin
lol the point is to learn how to do it safely. mixture of water and oil on metal plates 
Misha
Phodin
: oh that's interesting
Phodin
it's in a controlled space. much safer to learn how to handle the car in those conditions in a controlled environment than realizing you have no idea in traffic once it gets icy.
KazzyKaz
I asked a few people, because I didn't know, and was told that driving snow tires on regular roads would destroy them. They probably would be very expensive and most people probably couldn't afford or wouldn't
Phodin
yeah, studded tires are only allowed during winter here. but there are non-studded ones that you can drive on clear roads without destroying them. they're less effective, but better than none.
KazzyKaz
buy them for the little bit we actually do get. When it does snow here, it's usually not very much and gets compacted to ice very quickly.
Misha
here, tbh, i have to drive an hour and a half 95% of the year to reach snow, we only get about 2 weeks total of really nastiness, so we somewhat forget as well
tathi
KazzyKaz
: yep, they are too expensive, you cant use them all year round, what´s the point to get them if you´re notusing them?
Misha
but as much rain as we get here, year-round? it's almost as bad, especially when it's done nothing but pour down buckets of rain for a couple of weeks
tathi
Phodin
: that looks quite interesting!!! 
and it is safer to learn that way
and it is safer to learn that way
Phodin
it was SO much fun to take those classes, lol
Phodin
like.. speed up and hit the breaks so that the car gets out of control and then steer it back up again.
KazzyKaz
Yeah, we're used to driving in.. (wait for it..) driving.. rain.. lol
tathi
Phodin
: i can imagine the fun, wish i had driving lessons like these
KazzyKaz
I just stay home if I can because it scares me too much to drive on that. I spun out completely on the interstate once and crossed every lane.. I was only going 30mph (48km/hr)
Phodin
rule one: if you spin out on ice, do NOT touch the breaks. Let go of the gas pedal and steer.
tathi
KazzyKaz
: come and teach my sis, she sucks at driving under heavy rain on friday i almost changed places with her in the car because she was driving me crazy
on friday i almost changed places with her in the car because she was driving me crazy
Phodin
rule two: If you are spinning when trying to move from standing still, rock the car into motion. If you just hit the gas pedal and spin you'll just make the ice even more slippery.
Misha
good rule of thumb, when in doubt, stay home.. people who aren't trained to drive in it, and think they can handle it, are more of a danger to the other people on the road
KazzyKaz
another thing that compounded the problem is that every news station was saying it would be a bad storm, but yet the schools and state government was still opened
KazzyKaz
some children had to be rescued from their bus by the national guard around 2am
tathi
guess ppl there did not believe it could get this bad 
Phodin
doesn't atlanta have -extremely- heavy traffic too?
KazzyKaz
the feeling of residents is that the governments didn't start doing anything until it was too late
KazzyKaz
yes we do.. at the best of times.. I have seen traffic jams at 10am on the weekends downtown
Misha
listens to Pho intently he sees more snow and ice in a given year than i've seen in my entire lifetime
KazzyKaz
The actual city limits isn't all that large, but has sprawled past 160km from end to end.. many people drive into the city for work, and then back out to their homes
Phodin
if they had gotten the brine out before the snow it would have been fine. I looked at some pictures and it wasn't a lot of snow really... the brine would have handled it.
KazzyKaz
yes.. yes.. I agree fully.. and the Atlanta press agrees with you considering how aggressively they just went after our state's governor
Phodin
actually, it's a tiny amount of snow, lol. it's just stupid to have let it get to that. even with limited snow clearing resources it should have been doable...
tathi
wonders where
Phodin
lives to be so used with ice and snow...
Phodin
tathi
: Northern Sweden. We're snow covered 5-6 months a year.
KazzyKaz
yesh.. okay.. they just reported that we have 40 salt spreaders, 30 sand spreaders just inside the city of atlanta.. then 120 sand spreaders for the entire state
Phodin
Which makes me sound like a douchy besserwisser up in here, lol. Apologies.
KazzyKaz
no it doesn't.. at least you haven't been like americans in the north and calling us stupid
Phodin
I just call the south of Sweden stupid when they end up in chaos because of snow. But they do that every years. Plus they're my people, so I'm allowed.
KazzyKaz
yes it's a failure of the government and yes we're not used to this, but it's not the resident's fault
tathi
Phodin
: now everything makes sense 
you really need to know a lot about ice/snow.
you really need to know a lot about ice/snow.
Misha
not all of us Kaz, some of us are cognizant enough to realize the rarity of what's going on, and how ill-prepared things are for the events of this winter
KazzyKaz
Misha
oh no.. that's because you're a sweetie..
KazzyKaz
I want to take a picture outside, but even I know that a light mist on top of snow = sheet of ice..
Misha
tbh, i get just a smidge more snow than you do
KazzyKaz
the last time we had snow I was coming back from Asia.. and watching the winter Olympics from the plane
Misha
but the ever constant rain that i drive in, is not all that different as far as danger
KazzyKaz
yes, I agree, but thankfully, as long as it doesn't flood, you can go super super slow and still make some distance in rain
Phodin
You can do that on ice too... but the problem is that all it takes is ONE idiot who doesn't keep the speed down to cause an accident.
Misha
^that right there
Phodin
And you also need a different driving technique, and if you never learned that, well...
Misha
or it raining so hard, that even on high your wipers can't keep up, or under-inflated tires, or bad tread
KazzyKaz
oh, when it gets that bad, I pull off to the side and sing along to my CDs until I can see.. haha
KazzyKaz
I love that even the meteorologists are taking little digs at the state.. this lady just said, "since most roads in the city are still covered in ice, whatever melts today will refreeze tonight"
KazzyKaz
the news reporter is standing on the expressway and tried to cut into the ice on the road and couldn't
Phodin
They should have just called Canada and asked for advice.
KazzyKaz
Some of the problem -- we have interstates that cut through the city and then one that rings the city. Signs are up saying that 18-wheelers are only allowed inside the city if they have business...
KazzyKaz
There are more 18-wheelers stuck than cars, so I wonder how many of them were just trying to cut through and made the traffic worse
KazzyKaz
At this point, Canada would probably tell us to just give up, go home and drink hot chocolate until it melts
KazzyKaz
I am proud of the residents who lived near the stuck people, hiking out last night / this morning to give them water and food
tathi
KazzyKaz
: they would tell you to have some bacon with maple syrup, and pls bring me some 
KazzyKaz
haha well, I do have a pancake mix and syrup.. I don't eat it that often though