Motorists driving 3X as fast as sanity calls for, because they've got 4wheel drive, which is useless on ice
We saw a wonderful example of that a couple of years ago. We had to drive about 15 miles away, at about 5am, on the Interstate. It had snowed a little, and had also sleeted just a tad, during the night. We were fortunate to follow an IDOT salt truck down the ramp onto the Interstate, and followed him at a safe distance, at 45mph, the entire way. About 5 miles from our destination some [-]way-to-cool for his own good, brave soul[/-] brain-dead moron in a 4-wheel drive SUV passed us like we were parked. Our lane (right-hand of course) was patchy snow and slush, with an occasional icy patch, but we also had a fresh layer of salt for added traction. The left lane was 100% snow packed and icy.
About a mile before our exit, we could see flashing lights ahead....and some taillights in the ditch. Seems the moron's luck ran out.....his 4-wheel drive SUV had skidded on the ice and buried his @ss in the ditch about 50' from the roadway. Luckily the state police headquarters is only a mile or 2 away, and they have a constant presence on that stretch of road, so they were 'johnny on the spot'. Although the idiot didn't total his SUV, or kill or seriously injure anyone, I'm quite sure his wallet took a major hit! The state police around here normally issue tickets for those who prefer to drive in the ditches...they usually refer to it as 'driving too fast for conditions' and/or 'improper lane usage'...and they very seldom alter that procedure.
Plus, then the guy gets to pay a good chunk of change for a tow truck to come drag his sorry butt out of the ditch. Nice weather, during normal business hours is about $75.....nasty, cold, foul weather before or after normal hours starts around $125 and goes up from there...the busier they are, the higher the price...and the longer the wait.
These days, I
won't drive in those conditions! If I need to be in another town to leave on a trip, and the weather is supposed to turn to cr*p, I get a hotel room in that town before the weather gets ugly. That way, the next morning I only have a mile or less to navigate to get to the travel company.....or they have a mile or less to come to get me!
