When shovelling your driveway, sidewalk, or parking area, do not shovel the snow directly into the road. It just makes a mess and can create ice slicks for passing traffic.
This is one of the simple rules of snow-removal etiquette, but every year people can be spotted by roads, flinging clumps of snow directly into the travel lanes.
Yes, even here on the wet West Coast, we need to remember our snow etiquette, or learn it for the first time, if we鈥檝e never lived elsewhere in Canada where the white stuff is more plentiful.
The rules (and some of these rules are enforced by local bylaws) are pretty simple.
First, if you have a chunk of sidewalk in front of your home or business, it鈥檚 your responsibility to clear it, or have it cleared.
There are some folks who can鈥檛 physically wield a snow shovel. For them, there are volunteer groups, like the local Snow Angels organization, as well as kind neighbours, who will often help.
Failing that, try finding a neighbourhood 12-year-old who needs $25, or whose parents are eager to see them get out of the house and do something other than play video games.
Once your sidewalk is clear, most of our etiquette is about driving in the snow.
Of course, everyone reading this has good snow-rated tires on their vehicle already, and chains ready if they鈥檙e heading into the Interior.
Regardless of what type of tires are in use, the best thing to remember is that winter can make fools of us all. How many four-wheel-drives do you see decorating rural ditches after a sudden snowstorm? No modern technology can take the place of driving slowly and cautiously when the roads are covered in snow.
With those simple rules in place, we just have to hope our municipal and provincial authorities can do their part, and keep our roads clear this winter.
鈥� M.C.
