It's the holidays. Everyone is rushing around in a hurry to get to Grandma's. The highways are full of holiday drivers: vans packed with crabby kids (some of them mine!), tired moms who stayed up wrapping and baking a tad too late last night, dads groggy from too many hours on the road. It's the time of year to expect the unexpected. We need to watch out for the four-wheelers dodging about under our noses. Many of these folks have their hearts in the right place, but their brains on auto-pilot. If you're trying to get home to your own family, give them a brake and a wide berth so we all get home safely.
Let's just hope Old Man Winter doesn't throw us for another loop! Two weeks ago ice caked the central Plains killing 13 people in highway accidents in Missouri and Oklahoma. Last week another massive storm charged across the Plains and Midwest, dropping snow by the foot. Through Central Kansas I-70 was so snow-packed it had to be closed. That same storm carried snow and ice into New England, making driving through the mountains a real challenge. Yesterday howling winds and heavy snow hit the Midwest again taking visibility down to zero on the highways and causing 11 more deaths as the storm howled across the Great Lakes states. Winds reached 88 mph across Lake Michigan with gusts from 50 to 68 mph around Chicago. In Grand Rapids, the wind was blowing so hard, the snow was falling sideways!
Roads are so icy we don't need snow tires on our wheels; we need ice states! Just be careful out there. Remember, there's free coffee and warm wishes at a lot of highway rest stops during the holidays. Take a break once in a while and take it easy. We want you to get home to your family safe. Merry Christmas from all of us here at Trucker to Trucker.
