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The worst parts of my commute this morning
By adamg on Mon, 12/10/2007 - 9:26am
Sure, the fact that the West Roxbury Parkway was wall-to-wall car from the VFW Parkway to Putterham this morning was annoying, but that was nothing compared to a) getting to my car from our front porch and b) getting from my car to the front door of our office. The office parking lot was particularly bad because it looked like it had been treated (there was some dirt scattered here and there) but it really wasn't - thank goodness I parked behind an SUV with big-ass door handles to grab onto when I started losing traction. How was your commute?
Tim Jarrett reports:
... I put my boots on, put on the dogs’ collars, and stepped outside. Two steps down the brick walkway and then… the dogs pulled me down the sidewalk like I was on skates. Oof. ...
Jody reports on some trash truck ballet outside her window:
This morning I was rewarded with a trash truck ballet, in which two different trash trucks slid and skidded and basically had no control. Ya, it's slippery on my street. No sanding again, which is nice. Eventually the truck that slid past the end of my street was able to get itself turned around before the other one almost took out a small snow bank. Eventually they just parked the two trucks and all stood in the street talking, probably asking themselves if it was really worth it to come in to work this morning. ...
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Comments
crawled
I gave up and crossed the sidewalk in front of our apartment on my hands and knees to get to the street where I could continue my walk to my car.
Salt
That's a good reason to keep a jug of rock salt (or similar) on your front porch. (If you have a front porch).
My mother actually keeps a small tub of rock salt in her coat pocket in the winter. Wherever she finds an icy patch she sprinkles it. Since she walks down the same sidewalks all the time, she'll benefit more than once.
Rock salt makes it easier to walk even before it begins melting the ice. I put some on my steps on the way out so my mother-in-law wouldn't fall down on them.
Kosher salt will do in a pinch
Although, fortunately, we have a big ol' bag of rock salt left over from this past February's ice storm, so I don't have to worry about getting a call from wife about her and kidlet going boom ...
Grape Nuts cereal also works
Grape Nuts cereal also works quite well.
Temperature Limits
I'll have to remember that idea! I don't know if I'd have had any left from a 20lb bag halfway through walking my son to school this morning, though, because the going was very very rough. I guess schools near the city don't believe in "two hour delay" days that are common in more ice-prone areas of the Northwest and Mid-Atlantic?
Salt works well at times like right now - when the temps are just under freezing. Below 15F or so, other things work better than salt. Calcium and magnesium chloride have different properties (and I get them mixed up, offhand) - you just have to read the label on the jug to know what works best under what conditions and does/doesn't munch concrete.
Came out to my car to find
Came out to my car to find it encased in a layer of ice. The window scrapper didn't have a fighting chance. 15 minutes later the car had warmed up enough to start chipping away at it. Also, As soon as I got going above 20 the sheet of ice on the roof slid off, I think hitting the car behind me.
Best Practices
Ah, the layer of ice. I had that too. Based on my experience with last year's ice storm, I decided not to even bother trying to chip it off.
That's where two sets of car keys come in handy. Start the car. Crank up the heat and defroster. Put it in neutral, make sure the brake is set. Leave car. Lock car. Go back inside and have another piece of toast and cup of coffee.
Voila: 15 minutes later there is no ice on your car!
This is really the most painless way to take care of the problem. It's the same fifteen minutes it would take you to chip off the ice off all sides of the car yourself.
One of those mornings
As we skated, skiied, and trudged to my son's school, we noted that people we know who almost never warm up their cars had them running. Our greeny neighbors had theirs going, my husband eventually did the same, and others we know who have read their car owners manual (it says not to warm it up) and/or respect the environment had theirs running as well.
When we make our morning walk on a typical day, we pass some cars that are turned on and left running for 10+ minutes in the driveway when it is 45 to 50F. It boggles the mind.
I rarely do it
This is literally the first time I have ever left my car outside running by itself. And I'm very glad I did it. During last year's ice storm, I actually broke something (windshield washer nozzle) from overly vigorous scraping.
I am decidely of the start it and go school. It's pretty useless to leave your car running on a normal cold day. That's what heated seats are for!
But next time I walk out and see four sides of my car encased in ice, I'll happily waste a little gas again. It's really the simplest solution.
Me Either
"Encased in Ice" and "Too Cold for Transmission to Shift" are two exceptions, with a temporary "Son has a leg cast in January and needs to wear shorts" being the third.
warming your car
Yes it may be the same 15 minutes as chipping ice off but this is a very ineffective way to do this your engine will only be ticking over and the amount of CO2 that you are pumping into the environment just to save you from getting cold. It is shameful, use your scraper not your engine.
Slip Slidin' Away
I walked out of my building this morning, and didn't realize how slick it was -- I couldn't see the ice. I got down the steps fine, then walked 2 feet and whoosh, fell on my ass. Got up, walked another 2 feet and slid some more.
2 more feet, and I realized, ain't gonna happen. Especially as the bus went whizzing past me. Then I remembered, my brother had given me a pair of yaktrax a few years ago, so I went back inside and put 'em on, and walking across the icy stretch of sidewalk was a breeze. My shoes looked dorky, but I didn't fall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jen Stewart
Yup...Often, one isn't aware of the ice until they're on top.
Often, one's not aware of the ice until they're on top of it, and one either starts to skid or falls on their butt if they're on foot. This morning, when I drove to my dentist appointment,
I suddently noticed a patch of ice when I started to slip just a wee bit. Fortunately, it wasn't bad, and I got back on track. Be careful, everybody.
Smashing
Jasra posts a photo of her wounded RAV4:
Early winter injury
I also bit it coming out of my house. It didn't look icy on the steps, and my hands were full, I slid right down about four steps on my butt, dinging my tailbone and my elbow something awful. I hit my tailbone a few winters ago and it took a month or so to heal. And i can't move my pinky. I tink just yestesay I was saying how much I loved living where there are seasons. Not any more! Be careful out there!
The risk of bodily harm
The risk of bodily harm makes the seasons all the more worthwhile.
Ouch!
Glad you're OK.