EDITORIAL: Use caution this winter

The time for Game of Thrones references is over. Winter isn’t coming, it’s already here.

While ice, snow, wind and cold are annual occurrences, the first significant snowfall still tends to hit some area motorists by surprise.
Already this season Northern drivers have had more than one taste of winter reality, and we all know there’s more to come.

And winter brings more than just unappealing driving conditions. It’s also the time of year when police declare ad nauseum to “adjust your driving to the road conditions” or to “give yourself more time to reach your destination.”

It may be easy to mock the broken-record safety statements, yet one winter drive to work and back and we’re all reminded how serious those messages are.

Us Northerners, we’re a proud bunch. And many of us might let our egos force us to believe adjusting to winter is an admission this season is too much for us.

This winter, let’s take the safety messages seriously. Let’s put our ego aside and submit to the fact that a blizzard makes for more difficult driving conditions than a clear sunny July afternoon.

Taking an extra 10 minutes to get home is a lot better than waiting for a tow truck to retrieve your vehicle. It’s also a lot better to be a little late arriving at your destination than never arriving at all.