[ale] OT: Driving in snow...

[Jim Popovitch]

> I spent 10 years in the Bawston Suburbs with the worst possible snow car.
> Suggestions:
> 
>   1. If you get a rental car, be sure to pay for full insurance coverage
>      so that a wreck won't affect your regular insurance.

First check to make sure your credit card doesn't already cover you before
purchasing insurance for a rental car.  Most major credit cards provide this,
and rental car companies don't want you to know this.

> 
>   2. Driving in a New England snow is far harder than the inch or so we
>      get here.  I recommend against it.  If you must, practice in an empty
>      parking lot and decide if you still want to do it.  If it's a heavy
>      snow, wait at least 3-6 hours for the snow trucks to plow and sand
>      the roads.  Plan on going about 2/3 to 1/2 of normal speed, if that.

New England snow is REAL snow, what we get in GA is ice and slush.  Also the
further north that you go, the more likely that the temperature isn't jumping
above and below the freezing level.

> 
>   3. No, the rental car companies do not supply chains and probably supply
>      the cheapest tires available.

Hertz does in select locations, and at certain times of the year.  Best to call
in advance and arrange if you think there is a need.  I once even rented a car
in Charlotte, during the summer, that had tire chains in the trunk.  ;-)

> 
>   4. If it is a severe snow, you are better off taking a taxi to the
>      bus or train station and using those to get near your people in
>      Conn. and a taxi from the bus or train station to them.  It is
>      well-worth the extra cost to avoid a wreck and possibly hurting
>      yourself or others.  In bad snows I preferred a $50 taxi ride
>      to my clients rather than a wreck.

That is very good advice for any out-of-towner, who is probably unfamiliar with
their host city, regardless of weather conditions.

-Jim P.