Sunday, January 25, 2009

Travel, Bad Weather, I Hate It

Travel, Bad Weather, I Hate It

Oregon DOT's road conditions web page described part of my journey as "Severe Weather Hazard" with patches of ice on the road, but also "snow flurries." Huh? Snow flurries don't sound so hazardous, but what do I know? I grew up in Southern California, three blocks from the Pacific.

Snow flurries add up, and there was definitely some ice in patches on parts of U.S. 20. I never felt like there was any danger of losing control, but I could definitely feel an interesting wiggle from the steering--rather like the system was trying to compensate for intermittent problems of insufficient traction.

A couple of miles driving under these conditions would not be a problem, but doing so for a couple of hours is exhausting, and scary, because a moment of inattention can mean a serious accident. Most of this section of U.S. 20 is flat, and a slide-off accident would not be terribly dangerous--but a head-on accident--even with both vehicles going 30 mph--would be a different matter.

I am so anxious to find a job closer to home.

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