Ok so I was up with my Family in CT to celebrate Christmas (the only time we could ALL get together).  We knew some snow was coming to our home area (MD) and we were thinking about leaving early.  But we decided that leaving at 9:30pm was not a good idea.  My wife and I were just too tired to make the 5.5-6 hour journey home.  So we decided to hit the sack and get on the road by 9am

Sure enough we were up, packed, and on the road at 9am.  Any normal day we would have been in our house by 2-3 at the latest - and the snow wasn't scheduled till later in the afternoon.

FAIL.

By noon we were closing on Trenton when the first flakes were spotted.  I had a gun feeling to take 195 and cross over to PA then take I95 south through PA.  I decided to cross the Deleware later - bad move.

About 0.25 miles after passing the exit ramp not only did the snow get heavier and the traffic get slower, but we saw an electronic sign informing traffic that the Deleware Memorial bridge was closed (the major bridge cross the river).  What followed was a sometimes harrowing, sometimes frustrating drive that took 13.5 hours to get home (basically it took me 10.5 hours to cover what would normally be covered in less than 3 hours).

Some tips/rants.

1.  IF you don't know how to effen drive in the snow - get the hell off the road, or at least stay to the side.  I saw more idiots that would get stuck or go way too slow in the faster lane.  Get a hotel room - there are plenty along the highway.

2.  4WD does not mean you can go any faster or are an instant 'snow driver'.  The laws of physics still apply and you stop no quicker than the Honda Civic - leave several times the room you normally would.  I got bumped by a moron NJ Xtera driver (no damage thanks to the snow and my anti-lock brakes).  There were several stuck SUVs and 4x4 Pickup Trucks on the side of the road...

3.  If you do have a 4x4 pickup, have some good sense to put some weight over the rear axle - it really does help.

4. Keep moving, don't stop on the side of a hill.  Particularly don't stop and then try to make a 90 degree turn into some store (I'll be that minivan is still there).

5. 4WD is great (duh) But my wife's car lacks it.  I found with traction control, decent snow rated tires, anti-lock brakes and a bit of ground clearance it still drives rather well.

6.  If all you have is a RWD sports car - stay at home - really.

7. Know how to use a map and not just call up GPS.  At one point (around 5pm - we had just gotten through Philly on I95) we stopped at a diner for dinner).  Using the Google Maps and it's traffic feature I was able to plot a course using back roads to one of my alternates to I95 (Rt 1).  GPS wouldn't navigate there except through heavily trafficked roads (which were crawling or stopped) it took reading a map and willing to go a few steps backward to at first to go forward in the end.

8. Snow is not the place to be cutting in and out of traffic.

9. It's best not to go by a stadium on game day , in heavy snow with these guys driving all around ->

10.  If you didn't grow up in snow country, but now live or work in areas with snow I HIGHLY recommend you get out to some parking lots at the next snow and learn the ins and outs of driving in snow.  Find some hills too to learn the tricks of start and how get moving again when on the side of a hill.

We had all the goodies in our vehicle we needed, heavy jackets, gloves, boots, and an e-tool (hooah!).  We didn't need them, but we were glad they were there.  Our biggest issue was getting hot.  To keep the wiper blades free of ice (so I could see) I had to have the defroster on full heat.  If I lowered the heat the wiper blades would ice up and leave streaks right across my line of sight.  Blades are getting replaced today - we should have replaced them prior to our trip.

155 you have to keep the windshield fog free so that is going to take some heat - then you're going to have snow melt.

You also have to face wintery mix where you can get rain and snow.

So yeah if you don't want to keep the keep the heat up you'll have to clear the blades periodically.  However they will stay relatively clear if you buy the 'winter blades' which are completely encased in rubber (fewer places for the snow/ice to lock into the blades).

I couldn't stop on the highway was unwilling to stop on many of the backroads to clear it them off so I used heat.

All great tips - I concur !  

While creeping through Philly we would open our windows to let out the heat.  I tried only opening on the passenger side as my side was getting pelted by slush throw over the barricade by the faster moving northbount lanes.

First FAIL, I'm not from MD - I merely live here now, I'm from New England where I grew up driving on snow.

This isn't some two laner in the country.  It's the NJ turnpike, there is no place to turn around.  By missing the ramp I was committed to the next exit ramp at best which was at least 6 miles down the road.

I've been going up and down this highway going on 40 years, driving it myself for the last 25 (and I lived for a year in the area).  When the Turnpike is moving, it's great.  When it stops - holy shit are you screwed.


It's one of those things that you have to decide then and there, if you don't the only way to fix it would be to go down to the next exit get off - pay the toll and take the road up to 195.  Not a bad idea - except the ramp for 206 was hosed up and I was trying to get home ASAP to beat the brunt of the storm (I still hadn't realized how far north the heavy snow had gotten).  

I 276 (second exit down) was our original plan on getting home (we would stop at Cabellas do some shopping, then hit up the nearby Christmas village, it's a family tradition).  However that adds WAY too much time when snow is coming so we dropped that plan at 9am when we left CT.  I turns out to be a good choice as there was a major pileup on I76.



Agreed!  I was thankful we were able to go around such people.  


Possibly it's a learning curve, but I'm using google maps on Android and it's not allowing me to pull the track around like I can on my Windows PC.  The map ends up sliding around instead of the track. Any suggestions?


Stopping was not an option for multiple reasons.  Our jackets were in the rear of the vehicle (I don't wear them in the car on any drive over 20 minutes).  My wife ended up pulling off her sweatshirt though.

I feel your pain brother.

The thing that really surprised me here was not that they can't drive in snow (it's MD - most of MD doesn't get alot of snow - in the parts that do get alot of snow they wisely stay in the mountains and not deal with the baltimorons).

The fact they can't drive in the rain either.  It like freaks so many of them out.  I swear a good quarter of the population here must be transplants from the Southwest.

Amen.  It was easy to get to the Scout shop, then off to work.

Few cars on the road - mostly just truckers and the DOT.

I'm shocked at how empty the parking lot is, there is litterally no snow on the roads.  They are a bit wet, and had some slush in a few places - but the snow isn't sticking well to the pavement (34degF here).

There is, but it's very limited - and definitely wouldn't use the path I did (head North for a bit to get on a better southern route).


Can't do that while driving - especially in the snow with idiots out there.  I spend more time looking for problem children in such situations.


Yep, but I can't do that while on the road and driving.


 
Agreed.

Google bought Waze, on my Google maps it had accidents & incidents reported by Waze on it.  Very useful info.

You may want to know, I've driven the entire US even the Great Lakes around Dunkirk NY (highest snow fall in the US) for about 40 years in rear wheel drive vehicles.  In fact, I was in MO this week, rear wheel drive, during their snow event.  Guess what?  You put some weight back there, they're a lot better, arguably better than a FWD because FWD, you lose traction, you lose steering as well.   Also, twice the weight, twice the friction, and 7,000 lb truck has a lot more traction than a 2,000 lb Civic.  

You just went through first significant snow which is when "I don't think about driving" goes "Oh crap, its snowing and I need to learn all this over again".   Between him going 5 mph and Mr. Holy Cow I'm Going To Show These Idiots, you got a cluster F.  

This happens every year and having lived in seven states, every state.  There's no getting this right.   Its going to be this way and its all of us better off in a hotel than risking our lives driving with the idiots because we can do everything right and the idiot still take us out.

Tj