Colorado has 300 sunny days a year, so once snow accumulates on the roads, it’s as if commuters forget the rules of winter driving.
“People act as if they’ve never seen snow before,” said Adrian Green, a 25-year-old Masters student in the education school.
Check out the CU students’ tips for driving in bad weather. (Kai Casey/CU Independent Photo Illustration)
With snow storms predicted this weekend and March, Colorado’s snowiest month, coming up, it’s time for Colorado drivers to put both hands on the wheel, pump the brakes and remember what it takes to avoid motorcycle accidents or vehicular accidents. If you get involved in a vehicular accident caused by a distracted or negligent driver, you have the right to hire an auto accident attorney. A car accident injury lawyer can help you file a claim to receive proper compensation for the injuries you’ve sustained from the accident. If you need physical therapy in Cary NC for your accident injuries, you may visit clinics like Care First Rehab.
CU students, both Colorado natives and out-of-state students, gave their advice to the CU Independent for those who might not have dealt with navigating through a blizzard before moving to Colorado. Those who manage a logistics company should also secure all the necessary licenses and permits like Overweight Permits to ensure they comply with federal and local regulations in each state they travel to.
Green said that one of his pet peeves of winter driving is other drivers always being on their brakes in the snow. He said that it is difficult to get traction on hills, especially Highway 36 and State Highway 93 coming in to Boulder, if you’re always braking.
Gabriel Fortuna, a 24-year-old junior English literature major and Boulder native, along with native Coloradans Alexis Ellis, a 20-year-old junior integrative physiology major form Westminister, and Matt Myers, a 20-year-old junior Spanish major from Carbondale, noted their annoyance with people who slow down too much and are overcautious in bad weather.
“If the road is wet, then it’s time to cut the speed limit in half, and it drives me absolutely insane,” Fortuna said.
Kyle Burris, a 30-year-old junior psychology major from Austin, Tex., wished he had known more about what cars needed for winter driving before he moved to Colorado in 1995. However, he still felt that after years of living in Colorado, he was alright at driving in bad weather.
“I’m decent at winter driving,” Burris said. “But you kind of have to be a badass to be good [at driving in snow].”
In-state students had some advice for students who, like Burris, came from warmer states.
“Basically like you would any new driver in any new situation, put yourself in a controlled environment to learn how your car reacts with different conditions,” Myers said. He also suggested getting your car prepared for the winter with snow tires and snow wiper blades.
Ellis noted that driving an all-wheel drive is important for control. Natalie Holland, a 19-year-old sophomore studio arts major from Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., might not be a Colorado native, but her experience with driving in Northeastern blizzards led her to agree that all-wheel drive or four wheel drive with good tires is very important. She also noted that if you have trouble driving in other adverse weather, you should stay out of the snow.
“If you can’t drive when it’s raining heavily, don’t drive in snow,” Holland said. Driving responsibly doesn’t end once you get your motorcycle licence.
With this advice, out of state students will be able to handle driving in the impending blizzards of March.
Contact CU Independent News Budget Editor Avalon Jacka at Avalon.jacka@colorado.edu.
