...in the land of the clear new snow where it's 99 below...
Yes, here in the land of ice and snow we still have to travel from place to place. We have to get to work, go shopping and take our kids to hockey. We get where we want to go quickly, efficiently and safely. We have some different driving skills and have modified our vehicles. We have such things as winter tires that do a great job.
About 7:30 AM this morning an odd snow flake was floating down. By 8:00 AM it was snowing heavily. By 9:00 AM the wind had got up. The first snow melted on the pavement so the road was wet. Things cooled of and snow stayed on the road so we had a sloppy mess.
Now in the good old days you could step on the gas and the wheels would spin. You would sort of test to find the condition of the road. Was it icy? How icy was it? And then if you go farther back in my time some people (maybe me) would purposely spin the wheels and turn the steering wheel and put the car or pick up in a spin. You could make some very attractive tracks on the road and you could brag to your friends about the skid marks. We rarely went in the ditch. There was nobody else out there to run into. Fun times!
So this morning when I left, I wanted to check the road condition. I pressed the accelerator sharply and nothing happened. The wheels were not going to spin. How come? Well I bought a new fancy dancy car a few weeks ago. It's like one big sensor. There are sensors for everything. One sensor turns my radio volume up and down. At high speeds, when the driving is noisy, the volume is automatically turned up. Slow down and the car is quieter and the volume mysteriously is turned down.
So this fancy car has sensors on the wheels that will not allow one wheel to spin. What a disappointment! I can't spin my wheels anymore. But wait a minute. Didn't I read in the 385 page manual that I could turn the wheel sensors off? I'll have to try it when I get the urge to spin my wheels.
uh oh. :)
ReplyDeleteYep, we did a few things that we didn't want Dad to know about.
DeleteThat's funny! Did you turn it off and spin your wheels for old times sake? Cars are getting smarter than their drivers, it seems. :-)
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is if you get stuck in snow you turn this off.
DeleteCongrats on the new car and I think you should keep spinning your wheels.
ReplyDeleteNow it's only the wheels spinning in my head.
DeleteThat's funny!
ReplyDeletePeople who have lots of snow know how to handle it. Here in hilly Seattle, where snow is rare, we don't and traffic becomes a mess real fast.
Both od our cars are old so we are still smarter than our cars.
The hills are the thing that makes it bad for you. We end up with a dry snow that's not so icy.
DeleteIt's to stop wild drivers like you from polishing up the roadways. Ha!
ReplyDeleteWell, it can be turned off. Actually if you get stuck in snow you are to turn it off.
DeleteWell, how the did the spinning turn out for you? LOL. I hope okay.
ReplyDeleteNow wheel spinning on this car. It does prevent the car from skidding.
DeleteYour weather sounds like our weather! I'd go for the spin....for old times sake!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing what we did when we were young and ...
DeleteThey are getting far too complex. I do enjoy modern cars though.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know how many sensors are in my car.
DeleteI do not remember testing the roads by wheel spinning, although I have had my wheels spin when I was trying NOT to do that. I have not driven in really nasty weather for decades and so glad of that. My husbands car has that radio sensor, but I do not know if my new car does because it is so quiet on the road.
ReplyDeleteI think the spinning is a male thing!
DeleteOh boy, you really were a rascal - seems that maybe you haven't completely outgrown it :-) I'm liking the new fancy dancy cars - I guess I'm not a wheel spinning sort of gal. Thanks for the chuckle this morning!
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy myself and like to have fun.
DeleteYou can always spin your tires on your bike Red, ha,ha or do a wheelie. Yep, most machines are smarter than us now, unless they get a bug that messes up their brain. I want a car that flys from my yard and boy wouldn't I have fun then - eh - I guess I would have to have a pilots licence then eh.. Face it "Spin Boy" - you fellas never change. ha,ha
ReplyDeleteOn these roads now the only thing my bike would do is spin. You're right about a problem with all the electronic. It's a good thing we don't change or all the fun would be gone.
Deletepretty funny,you;ll be wild in the streets .we called it doing a donut
ReplyDeleteBeen there . Done That! Did some bragging too!
DeleteOh Red you poor mature teenager you:) I really like to test the roads too and now I cannot do it either. Seems they think the newer vehicles should be smarter than the people driving them:) Hope spring comes soon.B
ReplyDeleteYou know I think they have a point about newer smarter vehicles. I'm the perfect example of why they should have smarter vehicles.
DeleteI needed a laugh this morning! I remember when guys used to spin their wheels! Well, you were not cool if you didn't let everyone know when you were pulling out onto the highway by "squalling your tires". My sister and I would be sitting in our car at Neil's Grill, the hang-out...guys were always spinning their wheels. :)
ReplyDeleteGravel and pavement are one thing ,but snow and Ice are much more fun.
DeleteBe careful out there.
ReplyDeleteAt my age the only thing I can be is careful.
DeleteWe would call that doing a donut too! So what kind of fancy dancy car did you buy? I think mine is smarter than me too, but I love the way it picks up my husbands cell phone for hands off talking and the seat warmers..I love them:).
ReplyDeleteThere's stuff on this car I'll never discover. A 385 page manual?? I won't live long enough to read it.
DeleteWell I imagine snow is difficult to start off in.
ReplyDeleteYou only have to see the TV news of bizzards in the Northern Hemisphere to see the car pile ups on highways. I often wonder why drive, and end up with a written off vehicle - no wonder insurance is so high!!!
Back in the 1950's here on outback roads, no one moved in vehicles if the dirt was black - Black Mud - stopped everything - except horses!
Ah they were the days - annoying, but as I was young, it never worried me - horse and me - still got to school, via paddocks 7 miles and across creeks - only order from parents was: "Shut all gates" or else????? And "else" was too horrible to think about! And you went through properties owned by other station owners - so you could cop it from more than your parents. Ah, we learnt to obey in those days - or ELSE!
Don't believe those Hollywood stories. they blow soap flakes around for blizzards. The pile ups rarely happen here as I said we have some tire modifications that work and some driving skills to better cope with the weather. The pile ups happen where they rarely get snow.
DeleteThose of us who grew up where it snows know how to drive in it. It's others we have to look out for. :)
ReplyDeleteAhh you're a hoot. I think that if my car decided how loud my radio should be, I'd be pretty annoyed.
ReplyDeleteThat's so sad! I think our cars are over sensored! The sun heat up our car the other day, and the a/c came on!
ReplyDelete