Hacker News Reader

Oof. That bit about teachers pulling kids aside to see if they had a winter coat is 100% truth. When I was a kid, there were basically never any school cancellations due to snow. The reason? The calculus in Montana was that it was safer to risk traveling on terrifying roads than it was to risk kids being home, alone, with no heat, and maybe nothing to eat.

View on HN

wow,

to bed fair, if snow is common then the roads and infrastructure should be aimed at handling it, right?

As a Canadian who's spent a few years in the southern states, I can say that the difference in infrastructure here does help reduce the risks of road accidents when there's snow. In the south the entire city shuts down because the people there don't have the snow plows, road salt, and winter tires to deal with it. However, in a really bad storm the reduced visibility and slippery roads can still make your drive very dangerous.

Yes, but there’s only so fast that so many plows can clear so much snow. Horrendous road conditions are still very much a reality.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com