Vent/JAWM: employers not excusing weather related abscences

[TheReader]

Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh. 

 

I know our "winter weather" is making all the northern folks laugh, but we are not equipped for this. It happens so rarely (last time we had the temps will have tonight was in 1996.....) that folks don't know how to drive on it, we don't have salt trucks and de-icers and all of that (heck, I don't even know enough to know what it is you northern people have & do to deal with this junk). 

 

So, when ALL of the school districts in a 100+ mile radius are closed, colleges included....

 

when many of the city governments are closed.....

 

when all of the news stations are warning folks that if you venture out this morning (when it was just rain and still above freezing), you'd likely end up stuck on the road or at your destination by the time you tried to leave.....

 

when the big warning was & is "As the day goes on, temperatures are rapidly dropping, so the wet roads NOW will be icy, slick roads within a few hours...." (they are calling it a flash freeze....)

 

.....it would be really, really nice if employers would say "Stay the heck home, people...." instead of "if you feel it's unsafe, don't come in, but I am here already....."

 

....and it would be extra nice if they'd go ahead and say "no, we won't count today as a vacation day if you choose to stay home, we will excuse it due to the weather....." 

 

Because what ends up happening?? Everyone goes in, because the boss made it in. And while they all planned on leaving at 11 ("to beat the ice") -- guess what? Already road closures between work and home for several of them. Available detours are currently open, but for who knows how long, and "open" does not necessarily mean free of ice.  :sigh: 

 

Have texted the info to DH (because the updates are coming in over FB, via the police depts, and they can't access FB from work....) and hope he is able to communicate it to his boss and send everyone home, excused, before it gets worse and they are all stuck at work. (we wont' see temps above freezing until tomorrow afternoon sometime; in typical crazy TX fashion, as the day goes on today, it's getting colder, not warmer)

 

Also getting our house ready in case we need to bunk people here......so far the road closure is north of where dh turns off, so the route to our home is still open (though may or may not be icy)....but ice is reported in areas further north of us, so not sure how it impacts his employees. 

 

I really really really wish DH's boss would have just made the call to stay home this morning. 

[marbel]

:grouphug:   Got to be so frustrating.  And a little scary.  I live in the north and I get nervous driving in more than a tiny bit of snow.  

 

By the way, I am a northern person who is not laughing.  People who are used to snow, ice, etc and all that winter weather entails sometimes don't get that not every city has a fleet of salt trucks and plows ready to go.  

[HomeAgain]

Ugh.  I feel your pain.  Dh is now at a job where he is "essential personnel" (something must be manned 24/7).  He has to go no matter what.

[Bluegoat]

I'm not laughing either - weather requires the right infrastructure.

 

It might be that's part of the issue though - people aren't used to thinking about when they should just say they are not opening.

[happypamama]

Ugh that is so annoying!

 

And yeah, I’m not laughing. I live in the north, but I haaaaaate slipping and sliding on the roads. I’ve had two occasions where it took me an hour and a half to get home from friends’ houses (less than 30 miles), where I barely made it up the hills, because of snow. There’s just no reason to be on the road if it isn’t essential, especially if you aren’t equipped for snow and ice.

[Bambam]

I feel your pain. My dh is home today due to same conditions in TX. But he is taking a vacation day - because - well it just isn't safe to drive these roads. The local police have closed at least one underpass in the city - probably because people couldn't make it up the other side. 

 

And tomorrow morning won't be any better - in fact, it will probably be worse. Joy. 

 

But at least the snow on top of the ice is pretty! My youngest was so disappointed to realize that you can't make snowballs with some snow. Yep, sweetie, this is the powdery stuff which is lovely but useless for snowballs or snowmen. 

[goldberry]

Once in Texas, we actually got a call from the boss telling us that HE couldn't make it in, but that was only because of the hill on his street, and the rest of us SHOULD be able to make it in.   :glare:

[teachermom2834]

We are in the south too. When we have these ice events it is a mess. It is totally not worth the risk to go out unless your job is absolutely essential. My dh has a 40 minute commute through mountains on a good day. It has always been hard to get him to err on the side of caution because he doesn't want to be that guy that couldn't brave the conditions to get in. I encourage him to take a change of clothes because I'd rather him stay at the office or get a hotel than make the trek home in bad conditions.

 

He currently has a boss with small kids so when schools are closed people can work from home. It has saved so much worry this winter.

 

I feel for you and don't let the northerners laugh at you. I'm from Buffalo and snow days were rare growing up but we just arent equipped for it here (and we are in the mountains). It is a completely different story.

[chiguirre]

I had to go to CVS this morning at 7:30. I beat the ice but just barely. When I got home, my wrought iron fence gate was frozen shut already. I would not go out in this at all. It's not that you'll get frost bite and hypothermia, it's that you'll slide on the ice and wreck your car. Possibly on an overpass, possibly blocking traffic completely.

[Pawz4me]

I'm gathering from your post that this is an ice storm event much more than snow? Nobody really drives very well on ice (although too many people think they're the exception). IMO it's totally unreasonable to pressure people to be out when an ice storm is expected. It puts citizens in danger and it puts LEO and first responders in needless danger. Irresponsible.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

I agree.

 

Yesterday my dh had to tell his team and other manager that one of their coworkers died in a weather related accident on the way to work. This particular employer never closes for weather and would also not excuse days off for weather.  It is heartbreaking and anger inducing. We aren't talking first responders or any kind of job that can't wait another day. 

[ktgrok]

I'm gathering from your post that this is an ice storm event much more than snow? Nobody really drives very well on ice (although too many people think they're the exception). IMO it's totally unreasonable to pressure people to be out when an ice storm is expected. It puts citizens in danger and it puts LEO and first responders in needless danger. Irresponsible.

 

This. Sure, if you work at a hospital, or other need to be there place, yes, I get it. But otherwise, take some volunteers for a skeleton staff or close up, or run it yourself. It's not fair to the first responders who have to go save your employee's lives after a wreck. 

[JFSinIL]

Heck, even folks raised to drive in snow etc can get stuck. DD was visiting friends in Indiana, and had to drive home to her college in Illinois (an hour south of us)in yesterday's snow. She was a mere ten minutes from her townhome when GPS had her turn onto the most direct road..and it had not been plowed. She was not the only person to slid off the road and partially into a ditch. She called AAA then me, and in the background I could hear male voices asking if she needed help. She told them no, AAA had been called. I heard them drive off...then another potential Good Samaritan stopped. OR - was this one a murderer or rapist? (I was more worried about my 21-year-old petite dd standing beside her car on a dark rural road than she was). Plus I know how she underdresses for the weather. Hubby was about to leave to drive down there (probably beating AAA considering how many calls they get this time of year) when DD said another tow truck had just pulled someone else form the ditch, and would help her for $150. Since I was able to look them up on-line and see they were a reputable company, I said YES. Dude didn't just pull her car out, he towed her to the nearest gas station (she was about out of gas, too) rather than have her try to drive again on that unplowed road.

[Guest]

And then I have friends posting on FB “the weather isn’t keeping me from my Y Super Pump class†or “we have such cabin fever we just had to make a Target runâ€. Crazy.

[Lanny]

I hope that your DH can get home safely!   Texas A&M in College Station has a "Maroon Alert" because of the Winter weather. Classes are closed today and  only essential personnel are supposed to go to work.  I doubt that in Washington DC they would count taking a day with bad commuting conditions against ones Vacation days, but then working for the government is different, and they also have other days they can take off.  Based on my own experience, I was a Contractor and got paid by the hour, when I went to work in Huntsville AL and it was minus 13 F., most of the "Permanent" employees did not show up and not much work was done that day.   I agree with the title of your thread...

[Selkie]

I'm in the north and I never drive on ice if I can possibly avoid it. Ice is so much worse than snow. Driving in snow is usually manageable if you have 4WD and good tires, but driving on ice is just downright dangerous.

 

Dh and I always tell our employees to stay home when the roads are bad, but there are usually some of them complaining because they want to come in anyway. :rolleyes:

[dirty ethel rackham]

It does make me mad to hear of so many employers willing to risk the lives of their employees and others requiring them to come in for non-essential jobs.  As a northerner who regularly drives in snow, I do not venture out in ice (except to walk the dog and that is wearing YakTrax.)  

 

:grouphug:   Got to be so frustrating.  And a little scary.  I live in the north and I get nervous driving in more than a tiny bit of snow.  

 

By the way, I am a northern person who is not laughing.  People who are used to snow, ice, etc and all that winter weather entails sometimes don't get that not every city has a fleet of salt trucks and plows ready to go.  

It doesnt matter how prepared you are. Even if you have a fleet of salt trucks, you can't pre-salt for freezing rain like you can for expected snow.  The rain washes away the salt and then freezes, creating hazardous conditions.  Also, if it is too cold, the salt is ineffective.  

 

I just drove home from Minneapolis on Sunday trying to get home ahead of the snow, but ended up driving through it.  I am thankful for salt trucks and plows, but the trip took much longer than expected due to reduced visibility.  I had trouble seeing the lane lines in more rural areas of Wisconsin.  Plus, changing lanes was treacherous.  

 

[teachermom2834]

Our biggest issue is that the university dc go to for de does not close for weather (or it would take a very extreme event). All the schools and community colleges in the area close but not the university.

 

I hate having to make the call to keep my high schoolers home and miss class versus sending them out in questionable conditions. Obviously I will put their safety above their grades but I hate it when it is a grey area and I have to make a call.

[Arcadia]

One of my previous employers would just dock a day of annual leave from every employee that need to work in the office while all the staff that can do their work from home would have to work and conduct meetings by teleconferencing. It was stated policy though so employees knew during the interview phase.

 

My husband’s current employer goes by honor code so nobody’s annual leave gets docked but the engineers work from home and the lab technicians have to overtime to finish the backlog due to bad weather or riots near their homes (e.g Oakland).

 

My mom was a nurse and during the time when flooding was horrid many decades ago, the hospital had a big covered truck come by to drive those living nearby to work.

 

Your husband’s employer do need to come up with a bad weather/shelter in place policy though. People need to know when they can shelter in place at home without being counted as a “no show†for work. Bad weather days here is when we see utilities employees out on the streets restoring services.

[brehon]

I'm gathering from your post that this is an ice storm event much more than snow? Nobody really drives very well on ice (although too many people think they're the exception). IMO it's totally unreasonable to pressure people to be out when an ice storm is expected. It puts citizens in danger and it puts LEO and first responders in needless danger. Irresponsible.

As one of those who would (probably will) have to respond to needless wrecks, in addition to the usual plethora of sick calls, thank you. I’d prefer to go home tomorrow.

 

—written while watching sleet and ice come down

[regentrude]

Okay okay, I know this is JAWM, but I don’t think we are ranting about the same weather.

 

What I don’t get is when I’m driving around in my front wheel drive mommy van without issue for medical appointments and they’re canceling school multiple days in a row, with light snowfall or SUNNY weather and passable roads. What the heck?!

 

The ice thing I get - ice is a hazard and even chains don’t really help. But that’s not what we are dealing with here. It’s insanity how freaked out everyone is by good winter road conditions. It’s not even dangerously cold. Mind boggling.

 

:iagree:

Same here. Our campus got closed (for the first day of classes!) because it is cold. It is absolutely ridiculous.

 

I get ice. If there is ice, one cannot drive. Physics makes that impossible. People need to just stay home.

But zero degrees? Yes, I get that Californians would not own coats, but this is a state that sees these temperatures every winter. 

[Big Buckin' Longhorn]

My Baby Boy, who is 24 BTW, works graveyard shift in a hospital. I was a panicky mess all morning until he called and said he was home safe. Everything is closed. Even city and state government offices. Everything.

 

Except hospitals, of course.

 

I’m not laughing with you.

[wintermom]

I think in the north here, we are forced to be a little more flexible because every situation and storm is different. Good intentions are just that, an intention. We'd all like to get to work, school appointments on time without accidents and stuff, but the reality is that sometimes it's just not possible. If one were to lose one's job for one weather-related absence I'm sure there'd be a lot of necessary strife and legal battles. 

Edited January 16, 2018 by wintermom

[TheReader]

I'm gathering from your post that this is an ice storm event much more than snow? Nobody really drives very well on ice (although too many people think they're the exception). IMO it's totally unreasonable to pressure people to be out when an ice storm is expected. It puts citizens in danger and it puts LEO and first responders in needless danger. Irresponsible.

 

Oh, yes, ice. See, I don't even know enough to know there's a difference. Ha! (I mean, I know the difference in the substances....I didn't realize snow is easier to drive in). What we're having is mainly "freezing rain" so it falls down as rain then freezes when it lands on the frozen roadways. It's such a rare thing for us that the news reporters are having to define the term every time they use it.....

 

Then, since it started off as regular rain before the freezing rain, but *then* the temperature of the air is dropping below freezing, roads that were fine when people went to work are freezing/turning to icy roads throughout the day. Bridges & overpasses first, surface streets later. Plus the sleet, freezing rain, etc. So the advice from the experts was....stay home, or prepare to stay at your destination until tomorrow afternoon. 

 

I agree.

 

Yesterday my dh had to tell his team and other manager that one of their coworkers died in a weather related accident on the way to work. This particular employer never closes for weather and would also not excuse days off for weather.  It is heartbreaking and anger inducing. We aren't talking first responders or any kind of job that can't wait another day. 

 

Oh my word, I am so very sorry. :( I cannot imagine. 

 

 

 

I hope that your DH can get home safely!   Texas A&M in College Station has a "Maroon Alert" because of the Winter weather. Classes are closed today and  only essential personnel are supposed to go to work.  I doubt that in Washington DC they would count taking a day with bad commuting conditions against ones Vacation days, but then working for the government is different, and they also have other days they can take off.  Based on my own experience, I was a Contractor and got paid by the hour, when I went to work in Huntsville AL and it was minus 13 F., most of the "Permanent" employees did not show up and not much work was done that day.   I agree with the title of your thread...

 

Thanks, Lanny. All of the schools around us are closed, universities included. Gov't offices too, and as you can imagine, the freeways/overpasses in Houston are all shut down or on the way to being shut down. Fortunately we are out of the city proper and don't have many overpasses/bridges out here.....dh has to cross a river, which is the only spot that really worries me for him (although ice just past there means several of his employees will have to detour through back roads). 

 

This isn't unusual for his employer; several years ago we had mandatory evacuation for a hurricane....but the plant/facility itself wasn't in a mandatory evac zone, so it wasn't until afterwards that they decided those in the evac zone wouldn't lose a vacation day. Same for one of his employees during Harvey; she was out for an extended amount of time due to living outside the main area, and while they did excuse it in the end, when she left she was having to ask if it would count against her or not. 

 

I really wish they'd make a standard policy of "If this, then it's excused" and list the main things (like, you know, hurricanes and icy roads.....). 

 

Okay okay, I know this is JAWM, but I don’t think we are ranting about the same weather.

 

What I don’t get is when I’m driving around in my front wheel drive mommy van without issue for medical appointments and they’re canceling school multiple days in a row, with light snowfall or SUNNY weather and passable roads. What the heck?!

 

The ice thing I get - ice is a hazard and even chains don’t really help. But that’s not what we are dealing with here. It’s insanity how freaked out everyone is by good winter road conditions. It’s not even dangerously cold. Mind boggling.

 

Yea, what I'm talking about is freezing rain, where the temps/road conditions in the morning were wet but not icy. Then temps dropping throughout the day, so that now at 10:30 there's already a closure blocking the route of at least 3 of the employees I'm aware of, and that's not counting the icy roads that are open but not ice-free. The detour route for the closure involves a few bridges over creeks/rivers, and that's reported to have ice on it as well, so it's going to be unsafe driving for everyone going home. All the roads are wet, and wet is fast turning to icy/slick, and it's expected to stay that way until past Noon on Weds. 

 

Combine these conditions with southerners who haven't had an ice storm since 1997, and haven't had these temperatures since 1996, and it becomes even more dangerous because the natives down here simply don't know how to drive on this. The news is reporting people driving normal speeds......on roads that look "wet" but are actually slicked over with ice. Which is of course leading to accidents. 

 

I definitely get how the opposite would be frustrating; we certainly have a tendency to overreact down here, and I imagine that's what a lot of the folks on the road thought...."oh, they're just overreacting..." Except, nope. Not this time. 

 

One of my previous employers would just dock a day of annual leave from every employee that need to work in the office while all the staff that can do their work from home would have to work and conduct meetings by teleconferencing. It was stated policy though so employees knew during the interview phase.

 

My husband’s current employer goes by honor code so nobody’s annual leave gets docked but the engineers work from home and the lab technicians have to overtime to finish the backlog due to bad weather or riots near their homes (e.g Oakland).

 

My mom was a nurse and during the time when flooding was horrid many decades ago, the hospital had a big covered truck come by to drive those living nearby to work.

 

Your husband’s employer do need to come up with a bad weather/shelter in place policy though. People need to know when they can shelter in place at home without being counted as a “no show†for work. Bad weather days here is when we see utilities employees out on the streets restoring services.

 

Seriously, they really do. Even a "make up the hours" policy would work (and they've done that in the past for things). It gets confusing, IMO, when the morning of everyone's texting the boss to find out (and dh is a boss, but not the deciding boss), and the boss texts back "If you feel it's unsafe, stay home, it's okay" but no one knows if that means they'll still be docked the vacation day or not. 

 

Since it was unclear, they all came in for a half day, just in case. (dh sent one employee home at 9:30, when part of her route was already closed due to ice....) 

[TheReader]

As one of those who would (probably will) have to respond to needless wrecks, in addition to the usual plethora of sick calls, thank you. I’d prefer to go home tomorrow.

 

—written while watching sleet and ice come down

 

Yes, I tried to tell DH to pack a bag and stay put vs. venture out to come home. If he delays much longer, I will still encourage that even though he did not pack a bag. I'd rather him stay overnight there and get home safely tomorrow evening, then try to make it home and slide off a bridge into a river or something. Even a minor fender bender wouldn't be great....I'd sure not venture out to rescue him. 

[emzhengjiu]

I feel so strongly about staying home when it's not safe to drive. A acquaintance's 22 yo daughter was killed when she lost control of her car after hitting a patch of black ice in the Dallas area several years ago. Her mom wanted her to stay home, but she was afraid of losing her job. Her boss was known to be rigid about time off. So sad

[wintermom]

I feel so strongly about staying home when it's not safe to drive. A acquaintance's 22 yo daughter was killed when she lost control of her car after hitting a patch of black ice in the Dallas area several years ago. Her mom wanted her to stay home, but she was afraid of losing her job. Her boss was known to be rigid about time off. So sad

 

This is exactly why our school buses stop running when it's icy. A bus load of children crashed and many were killed here a few years ago. It takes a tragedy to wake some people up to the realities of poor driving conditions, unfortunately.

[TechWife]

I hope that your DH can get home safely!   Texas A&M in College Station has a "Maroon Alert" because of the Winter weather. 

 

Oh, my. I read that as "moron alert." It may be appropriate for some people who see a sheet of ice on the street and think "Hey, Joe, watch this!" 

 

On another note, the weather is supposed to hit here on Wednesday with an estimated 2" of snow. I have a job interview at a hospital first thing Thursday morning. The good news is they are already spraying the roads with brine, so hopefully it will be safe. I'll have to leave earlier than I planned that morning, though. Ugh. 

[Sdel]

Well, I'm probably heading out onto the icy roads of death in a couple of hours.  Horse has to go to the vet.  Fortunately I'm not hauling her and its only 3 miles or so down the road....a twisty and hilly road.

 

Stefanie

[cintinative]

We aren’t even zero today. It’s TEN OUT. And SUNNY. And they went from delaying school and cancelling the morning preschool to just flat out cancelling.

 

All I can figure is that the busses wouldn’t start because they refuse to build bus barns and don’t have plugs and oil pan heaters. Or something. But this isn’t unseasonable or abnormal conditions for central Ohio, either. *headdesk*

 

Edited because the temperature did drop a bit ;)

 

 

Welcome to Ohio.  =)

 

Honestly they did not do this when I was a kid. They never cancelled for "cold" to my knowledge. It makes more sense in districts where the kids might have to catch a city bus or walk, but in the suburban districts, I just don't get it.

 

Oh, and no I don't think they have bus barns or heaters for the batteries like they do in MN, etc.

[Junie]

We are expecting winter weather tomorrow.

 

While I was reading this thread, the phone rang.

 

It was ds17's manager, telling him to not worry about coming into work tomorrow.   :hurray:

[happi duck]

I wish our culture was more understanding of missing work when sick and missing work due to dangerous conditions.

 

It's best for individuals, not getting in a wreck and being able to get well, and it's best for the community, not tying up emergency services and roads and not spreading disease.

[Pawz4me]

Oh, yes, ice. See, I don't even know enough to know there's a difference. Ha! (I mean, I know the difference in the substances....I didn't realize snow is easier to drive in). What we're having is mainly "freezing rain" so it falls down as rain then freezes when it lands on the frozen roadways. It's such a rare thing for us that the news reporters are having to define the term every time they use it.....

 

I live in an area that doesn't get a ton of winter weather, but what we get tends to run the whole gamut -- anywhere from a dry, powdery snow (pretty easy to drive in as long as you've got a bit of common sense) to freezing rain (the absolute worst).

 

Freezing rain is by far the worst because it falls as rain, coats all surfaces and then freezes. It's very dangerous, and pretty much impossible to drive in/on.

[TheReader]

...and now dh is trying to come home, if anyone's inclined to pray he makes it safely, I'd appreciate it. 

 

I urged him to stay put, honestly, but of course he feels he'll be fine. :sigh: 

 

I really hate weather like this. 

[TheReader]

I live in an area that doesn't get a ton of winter weather, but what we get tends to run the whole gamut -- anywhere from a dry, powdery snow (pretty easy to drive in as long as you've got a bit of common sense) to freezing rain (the absolute worst).

 

Freezing rain is by far the worst because it falls as rain, coats all surfaces and then freezes. It's very dangerous, and pretty much impossible to drive in/on.

 

thanks. It's currently doing exactly that.....and dh is attempting to come home. :sigh:  I really wish he would have listened to me, packed an overnight bag, and just stay put at work. I'm going to be absolutely a nervous wreck the entire time he's driving home.....he crosses a handful of bridges (over rivers), and with the freezing rain, everything is ice even though it just looks wet. 

 

Why do men never listen? 

[ScoutTN]

Welcome to Ohio.  =)

 

Honestly they did not do this when I was a kid. They never cancelled for "cold" to my knowledge. It makes more sense in districts where the kids might have to catch a city bus or walk, but in the suburban districts, I just don't get it.

 

Oh, and no I don't think they have bus barns or heaters for the batteries like they do in MN, etc.

 

 

I grew up in Dayton (Oakwood and Kettering neighborhoods) and went to a prep school School was rarely cancelled for snow. They built in snow days, so if we got a good, deep snow, they did cancel the first day so everyone could enjoy it. 

 

When I was in 3rd grade, during the 70's "energy crisis", the price of oil was so high that the school could not afford to make it through the winter. They cancelled Spring Break (March), extended the year into June by a week or so,  and gave us February off. That same winter we had mega snow (for OH). It was 4 ft deep in our front yard and our street had  3 massive snow forts. It was great. 

[Debbi in Texas]

thanks. It's currently doing exactly that.....and dh is attempting to come home. :sigh:  I really wish he would have listened to me, packed an overnight bag, and just stay put at work. I'm going to be absolutely a nervous wreck the entire time he's driving home.....he crosses a handful of bridges (over rivers), and with the freezing rain, everything is ice even though it just looks wet. 

 

Why do men never listen? 

 

I get it. My dh is supposed to drive home tonight. The commute is just over an hour in good conditions. I wish he would just stay put.

[ScoutTN]

My Dh works from home whenever the weather is yucky. Thankful for that!

 

For us, in addition to the safety issue, is the financial one. We cannot afford to replace a vehicle right now and our old cars are worth far more to us than an insurance company would pay out if they were totaled. Even if it means giving up a vacation day, we stay home in the snow, ice, sleet etc.

Edited January 16, 2018 by ScoutTN

[Farrar]

Boo.

 

Someone I know is a teacher in a district to the south where there's no winter infrastructure. When I taught in public schools, if school was canceled, we didn't have to go in. And that was that. While schools are often canceled because of particular conditions that make buses dangerous or make a particular part of the district dangerous, in general, schools are canceled because it's UNSAFE. So of course you shouldn't go in. But in her district, if school is canceled on account of weather and she doesn't go in, she loses pay. I was like, but you're going to have to make those days up eventually with kids beyond the ones built in. Do you get more pay? Nope. She was convinced this was normal, but I was astounded. I think my jaw dropped. So messed up on multiple levels.

[teachermom2834]

My Dh works from home whenever the weather is yucky. Thankful for that!

 

For us, in addition to the safety issue, is the financial one. We cannot afford to replace a vehicle right now and our old cars are worth far more to us than an insurance company would pay out if they were totaled. Even if it means giving up a vacation day, we stay home in the snow, ice, sleet etc.

Definitely. I've tried to convey to my young people that even if you are going slow and don't end up dead, just having a fender bender or sliding into a ditch or whatever is costly and inconvenient. For most things it is just not worth the risk.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yeah that's sucky.  My DH is fortunate because he can work from home pretty much whenever he wants.  So on those days he usually works from home.  The place is pretty close by, but sometimes the weather is so crazy we can't get out of the alley.  His employer is very reasonable though.  They have been known to close early and stuff like that. 

[lovinmyboys]

I'm gathering from your post that this is an ice storm event much more than snow? Nobody really drives very well on ice (although too many people think they're the exception). IMO it's totally unreasonable to pressure people to be out when an ice storm is expected. It puts citizens in danger and it puts LEO and first responders in needless danger. Irresponsible.

I totally agree. One time we were driving home from my moms because Dh “had†to be at work the next day. It was so icy we ended up sliding off the road. So, because we have 4 kids, 2 separate LEOs has to come rescue us. I felt so horribly guilty to be putting other people’s lives at risk. I try to never go out if it is really bad unless it is necessary. I wish everyone except the most essential personal could stay home during ice.

[Starr]

In the north we try not to head out in freezing rain and ice until roads are salted and sanded and well, sometimes your door to the car is frozen shut. It's crazy. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

In the north we try not to head out in freezing rain and ice until roads are salted and sanded and well, sometimes your door to the car is frozen shut. It's crazy. 

 

Oh yeah I've had my door freeze shut!  That's always interesting.  LOL

[gardenmom5]

while weather requires the right infrastructure - it also requires the right "terrain".

I'm in an area with bridges/overpasses - and lots and lots of hills.  some very steep.   I live on one where the only way out is up, and I have watched four wheel drives not get up the hill.

there are conditions it honestly doesn't matter how many sanding trucks there are.   maybe if there were enough plows, but that is a lot of plows to handle it before it freezes - plows won't scrape up ice.

ice is far worse, and potentially more dangerous, than "just" snow.

 

it sounds like that's what you are being threatened with - is ice.

 

[wintermom]

In the north we try not to head out in freezing rain and ice until roads are salted and sanded and well, sometimes your door to the car is frozen shut. It's crazy. 

 

Yes! Our sliding door on the van froze shut for several days. We had an opportunity to park in an underground parking lot, which warmed things up enough to melt the moisture. Now the kids don't have to climb over the front seats to get into the back.  :hurray:

[Catwoman]

...and now dh is trying to come home, if anyone's inclined to pray he makes it safely, I'd appreciate it.

 

I urged him to stay put, honestly, but of course he feels he'll be fine. :sigh:

 

I really hate weather like this.

Praying he gets home safely! :grouphug:

[Tess in the Burbs]

when I waited tables in college, if it was snowing you had to choose to stay the shift or leave to go home.  If you stayed the shift they fed you, put you up in a hotel within walking distance, and then you had to work the next morning shift. Due to safety you couldn't just go home, you agreed to work, stay overnight in the hotel, and work in the morning.  I appreciated their concern about staff and that they offered to pay for the food/hotel.   I worked at an OB office long ago and we had 24 inches fall with no warning...they were saying flurries...so no one had stocked up on food, etc.  I had 4x4 and the office manager knew that.  I had to go in and and pick her up on the way.  ticked me off.  I get people keep having babies but the Dr's were there, they didn't need my help!    It's weird how some places are so unconcerned and others do care.  

If the news is saying not to go out, I would want something in writing from the boss saying they will cover your losses when you wreck LOL

[YaelAldrich]

Yes! Our sliding door on the van froze shut for several days. We had an opportunity to park in an underground parking lot, which warmed things up enough to melt the moisture. Now the kids don't have to climb over the front seats to get into the back.  :hurray:

Our Toyota Sienna does that.  I have to remember each winter before it gets below 30 to grease up the black rubber gaskets to keep the doors working.

[wintermom]

Our Toyota Sienna does that.  I have to remember each winter before it gets below 30 to grease up the black rubber gaskets to keep the doors working.

 

Great idea. Our van is a Sienna, too.