@dcardani said:
But for some reason, when it's raining, the stupidity jumps about 10-fold.
Something about weather must make people's brains stop working. Here in Canada, pretty much everyone can survive snowy, icy roads. There are a few more accidents than in the summer, but in January pretty much everyone is driving sensibly (except guys in giant 4x4 trucks who don't realize that 4 wheel drive doesn't help you stop any faster than the rest of us.) But, we are just getting to the time of year where there is ice on the road for the first time, and I know exactly what will happen. The very first day there is actual ice or snow on the roads, there will be 10X the accidents and cars in the ditch. After a few days everyone will settle back into their normal driving habits and it will be normal again.
Why, though, is that first snowfall so hard for people? It's not like it doesn't do this EVERY YEAR!
It was even worse when I lived in Calgary. In the winter everyone would be driving slow, then a Chinook would hit, melt all the snow, and everyone would start to drive fast again. Two days later when its cold and snowy, everyone is still driving like its springtime, and crashing into bus stops and each other, and trying very hard to dent my car. This is repeated every few weeks, every time the snow gets melted by the beloved Chinooks. I almost preferred it when it was just -40deg and bone dry. No ice or water to worry about.