To give them credit, some people do prepare their cars for winter and fit winter tyres and top up oil levels etc. but the vast majority of us do nothing. Is it any wonder such chaos is caused when the roads are covered with snow and ice?
I think this is partly down to the attitude that most people have towards cars. Motoring used to be a thing of pleasure; a thing that only people who enjoyed driving would take part in. But ever since cars became the #1 method of transport in the known world, the joy has diminished and people simply see them as very small trains.
If people on the whole were more interested in driving and their own cars, I think the problem of winter driving would not be nearly as severe as it is now. Most people are hopeless drivers in the snow, who get stuck and require rescuing.
If only they had prepared their cars for the winter and knew how to drive in the snow, they would be much better off as a result.
You don't even need a 4x4 to drive safely on a snowy road. Experience and knowledge is the key. It's incredibly frustrating that the same thing happens every year: complete hopelessness in the face of extreme weather. It's a wonder that the country still runs itself when it snows.
It also makes no sense whatsoever that there is nothing in the driving test that prepares people for a time of the year that will happen - every year - when driving conditions become very challenging.
So here's what I propose: on every driving test and in one lesson, there will be a section involving snow/ice road driving. Little test roads should be built that can be artificially frozen and snowed on. It makes total sense.
As a result, if it was a section of the driving test, the whole country would be much safer in winter and hopefully people would be aware of the risks of winter driving. They might even prepare every winter for these conditions.
It's a mystery that such an obvious solution hasn't been implemented yet.
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