We’ve got some snow here in Northern NJ tonight. It’s not a blizzard, but the heaviest snow and the changeover to sleet occurred after rush hour, so the crews haven’t exactly been out there plowing, salting or sanding anything. My drive down to Morristown at 5pm to drop off/pick up some stuff from my friends’ house wasn’t bad.

The drive back at 8pm? Horrific. The large four-lane interstates that comprise most of the drive there and back - I-287 and I-80, namely - were impossible to see. All the drivers on the road (including me) were making up their own lanes, using blinkers when moving any direction - just in case - and generally driving about 15 or 20 miles below the speed limit.

Of course, there were some people on the road who just LIVE for this kind of weather. Why? Because of damage to their brains caused by snow (I’m grasping here) OR because it gives them a chance to show off the only practical reason they have for driving an SUV as a single person commuter car - they’re heavy, they have 4-wheel or all wheel drive and the tires are usually massive and good for traction in wet and icy conditions. I mean, you could also drive any Subaru, a variety of Volvo models with available all-wheel drive (S40, S60) and many other cars, I’m sure… but that’s another matter.

So, in order to show-off the only thing worth showing off (and send a little F-you to the other drivers), the bastards opted to tailgate and high-beam (with their blinding xenon or halogen headlights) the cars that were staying to the right side of the road (the slow side), just trying to drive in the tire tracks of previous cars to maintain some traction. What purpose does this serve? Well, other than making an already nerve-wracking driving experience even more so. Um… let me think. Ok. I have the answer.

None. None whatsoever. No one is going to speed up in the slow lane when there’s no visibility and a risk of losing control of the vehicle. No amount of high-beam action or tailgating will make that happen - just switch lanes already. And, dear obnoxious SUV drivers (just the obnoxious ones - I know there are many non-obnoxious SUV drivers who need the car for legitimate sport utility purposes) don’t make it a point to pass on the left with only a foot or so of room between you and the other cars. You know you won’t lose control, Mr. SUV driver, but the little car to your right? They might lose control; while you’ll emerge mostly unscathed, they probably won’t.

I understand this isn’t really your concern - as much as the environment isn’t either - but think about your car insurance, if nothing else. If you’re too wealthy to care, then I don’t know - worry about your eternal salvation? If that doesn’t mean anything to you either, think about the inconvenience of having to take the car into the shop for body work or other such repair post minor accident. You might have to get a loaner. And those are usually sedans. That would suck, wouldn’t it?

My car does pretty well in crappy conditions - the standard tires on a Mazda3 aren’t bad at all (I have it on good authority that they provide better stock tires than Acura does on the TSX - that good authority comes from siblings who both got TSX’s and almost immediately replaced the tires because they were shit). I can throw the car into “fake” manual mode so I can actively drive in a lower gear when there’s a downgrade or crazy turn. But I was still taking it slow - and I have quite a bit of a lead foot otherwise, so that’s saying something.

Sigh. I’m going to enjoy some of the trail mix I made yesterday but forgot to bring to work as snack food. It’s a combination of mini chocolate chips, pecans and Craisins. It would be healthier if the chips were dark chocolate and the nuts were walnuts, but whatever. Next time. This is super tasty.