Written by There have been many tweets on Twitter asking why #uksnow is a trending topic as we always have snow in the UK don’t we?
Well my friends, I can reveal that snow is not generally a normal part of the UK winter. Yes we get localised sprinkings and such like, but it generally is only Scotland and the highest parts of the north such as the Yorkshire Dales and Pennines. For the south to get any decent snow is a rarity indeed!
I do actually remember snow up to the age of 6 when I was in Berkshire, and it appeared to be quite normal – I once fell over on the way to school and cut my knee to smithereens on the ice, but mum still made me go to school – first stop school office for plaster!
But since moving to Essex, snow has been lacking! My first year at senior school we had a good lot of snow – even my dad stayed at home which was unheard of! The snow was up to my knees and that is the deepest I remember it being. We had some winters with snow that was just enough for sledging, but not often.
Now, onto the other thing that people moan about. The seeming lack of preparation by councils.
Right, who wants to pay more council tax? Because if you want your council to invest in specialist snow equipment, you are going to have to pay for it. So for once, the council’s have it right. We do not have enough snow in the south to warrant the cost of buying and maintaining snow ploughs and the like.
What would actually help is if you numpty’s would stop suing because you lost your footing and broke you leg. The councils are reluctant to remove snow and ice using shovels because someone will sue if they fall over on a tiny bit of ice that had been left behind. The judge that made that ruling should be shot.
Many Americans and Canadians talk about summer and winter tyres – I know about them but use all rounders, as do most of the UK population I would imagine. And are we going to change our tyres for a few days of the year? It’s not like we have 4 months of snow – next week it’ll probably be unseasonably warm!
Part of the problem lies in lack of experience and lack of a general understanding of cars.
My first car had no ABS, no power steering, no electric windows and a manual choke. So I learnt to drive a car properly to a certain extent. I knew the limits of my car.
Most kids today get into a car that does everything for them and maybe this is a contributing factor. Maybe.
But during the 6 months in which I had my driving lessons, I don’t think I had one lesson on the rain. One or two in the wet or on damp roads, but not actually in the rain. And certainly not in the snow.
I think part of the driving test should incorporate a test on a skid pan. It will make people realise how easy it is to lose control, and may help to temper people’s desire to drive faster than the conditions allow. It may even help to bring down the accident rate as more people may be able to learn to control skids.
I have digressed a little, but basically, we should go a bit easier on ourselves and our country when it comes to things that happen only occasionally – and harder on those that seek to make money from those that are trying to help.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
I partly agree with you but its not about spending money and being prepared, it’s about attitudes to adversity. At the first sign of snow yesterday, my local bus company pulled all the busses off the road leaving us without transport. The road was clear the entire day. Our local council actually does have snow plows and they used them. So why were there no busses? They are afraid of their own shadow.
When I was a child, people still remembered the wartime spirit. They were prepared to ‘make do and mend’ and battle on through adversity. These days, everything is someone else’s fault and people give up at the slightest difficulty. So I do agree with you that we should lighten up and stop blaming the council. It’s down to each and every one of us to carry on regardless.
Trouble is, the reason buses get pulled so quickly is that everyone’s so quick to sue – in the old days if the bus got stuck, all the passengers would have got out and helped the driver. These days they would likely just tut and moan – and possibly even get aggressive. Yep you are right – the attitude of everyone needs to change. Take some responsibility and let’s get some community spirit back and all get out there and clear a bit of our own roads instead of just moaning that the gritters haven’t done any of the side roads.