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Beware Southern Drivers During Snowstorms

Guest post by: SarahBeth White

Article Overview: First of all, there are no snowstorms as far south as I live even though the slightest flurry causes everyone to rush to the store and clean the shelves of bread, milk and batteries. It is not safe to be on the road with these fanatics. You may risk getting struck by a driver trying to join the hoards running to stock up on food stuffs they will be unable use in the event there really is a major storm. The scenario is always the same. Mr./Mrs. Weatherman swears up and down that we are going to have snow and the entire city turns into a bunch of lunatics.

Beware Southern Drivers During Snowstorms

First of all, there are no snowstorms as far south as I live even though the slightest flurry causes everyone to rush to the store and clean the shelves of bread, milk and batteries. It is not safe to be on the road with these fanatics or in the stores, where you may get trampled by the hoards running to stock up on food stuffs they will not be able to use in the event of a real storm. Never ceases to amaze me that the scenario is always the same. Mr./Mrs. Weatherman swears up and down that snow is coming so children are sent home from school and classes are canceled for the next day only to find the sun shining and kids disappointed there is no snow. These 'snow days' are allowed by the school board which decides if they have to be made up or not.

Then there is the problem of moms and dads in the work force that may get sent home, also. Some are not salaried so they lose pay. And there is the over night wait and see for the next day if work will continue as scheduled, be canceled for part of the day or the entire day. If schools are dismissed but moms and dads are not, then who takes care of the kids. If you do not have paid time off, you have to find someone to tend to your children if the workplace did not cancel as well. So everyone sits in front of the TV not watching their favorite program but the ticker tape running at the bottom of the screen announcing school closings.

At least 5 or 6 times during the 'winter' they make these snow-is-coming announcements. Someone should hold them responsible for the chaos that ensues with these announcements. We are now the brunt of jokes by those living in parts of the country that really do have snowstorms to deal with.

Something even more strange about Southern drivers (and I do not remember seeing this in any of the many cities I have lived in) is the reckless driving when it rains. It is not like we live in a desert. We see rain quite often here so why should that cause drivers to become even more dangerous to be around? You have to guard your rear by keeping one eye on your rear view mirror at all times because the driver behind you has not allowed enough time to stop on the wet street.

At this point, you close your eyes and cringe begging God to stop their car in time. It also means when the crazy driver in front of you slams on their brakes for some unknown reason, you chance rear ending them and causing a 14 car pileup because all the drivers behind you are either doing the same or may be on their cell phone instead of watching what is going on around them.

To lighten up for a minute, let me mention the use or misuse of blinkers which were intended to let other drivers know when you were going to make a turn which may or may not be a legal one. No true Southerner uses their blinkers. If you get behind someone sporting a license plate from a Southern state with their blinker on, the blinker was on when they bought the car.

Next is the issue of skipping red lights. Everywhere else in the country, green is for go, yellow is caution to prepare to stop and red means you STOP-period. If your light turns green and you have not looked both ways more than once before you proceed, you may be slammed into by a driver running a red light at a high rate of speed.

The rest of the country thinks we are kind of slow talking, slow walking, easy going and soft spoken. Visitors are in for a rude awakening if they intend to venture South of the Mason-Dixon Line in a motor vehicle. If you are going to attempt such a thing, make sure your emergency kits are up to date-flares, those orange reflectors you put on the road hoping drivers go around you while rubber necking the reason you are stopped. Have your id ready along with your insurance card.

God forbid you are in an accident, but this is the time to use that cell phone you are not supposed to be talking on while driving to take pictures of the damage to your car, the street locations, the other driver's car (especially the license plate) and the other driver, if possible. If the other driver produces any kind of id or insurance card, take pictures of those, also. More than likely the other driver is one of those you see on True TV that disappears before or when the police arrive because there are warrants out for them or they are illegally driving with a suspended license and no insurance even though they showed you both. Are you beginning to see a trend here? When you take the picture of the driver's license and insurance card, check the expiration dates on both.

Other than that "Y'all come back now!"

Finally, I have had so many laughs poking fun at my fellow Southerners. I am also happier and more fulfilled than ever because I get to write fun articles like this. I also enjoy the special time I have with my son; the great times hiking with my dog, Mo; and having the time to spend with friends and family. Time = Freedom.

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Article Tags: batteries, business, entire city, hoards, rainstorms, shelves, snowstorms, surviving storms, weatherman
Referred by: http://jaykubassek.com



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