Montreal: 1, Pennsylvanian Driver: 0

[eveglass]

On my three-block walk to the metro today, I saw a car with Pennsylvania license plates stuck in the snow. Don't ask me why a Pennsylvanian was in the middle of suburban T.M.R -- your guess is as good as mine. What was he doing there? At the time, he was trying to get his car unstuck.

Allow me to paint the picture: a young-ish man, probably in his mid-20s, in corduroys and a knit sweater, no winter coat. A small white car, beginning to show its age, stuck at an intersection in approximately 6" of snow. Yes, that's right. Six inches. To a Montrealer, a six-inch pile of snow is barely a speed bump, but it managed to stop this guy. He's alternating between sitting in his car open pumping the gas (as I watch his wheels spin uselessly in place) and getting out and pushing on the hood, trying to force the car out of the miniscule snow-bank.

Being the good citizen that I am, I asked whether I could help. He told me to go inside and press the gas. I did so, as he stood at the hood and pushed. His hips bucked with the effort. The car, with the tenacity of a determined mule, refused to move.

I got out. I did what I should have done in the first place, which was tell Pennsylvania Driver how to get out of the snow-bank: namely, alternate between reverse and drive, "rocking" the car until you get enough momentum to pop yourself out of the snow. His eyes glazed over. He nodded, got back in the car, and proceeded to pump the gas in reverse, as he had been doing the whole time. All he accomplished was to wear down his tires and waste gas.

It was at this point that I left. I'm not *quite* confident enough in my driving to get a car that I've never driven before out of a snow-bank, especially when it's fronting onto a T-intersection and the oncoming drivers don't have a stop-sign. I felt bad leaving, truly. On the other hand, this guy didn't seem to want the help much. He wanted someone to help him do things his way, which would accomplish nothing, and I didn't have time to wait around while he realized this unfortunate fact.

So good luck, Mr. Pennsylvania Driver. Hopefully you took my advice. If you didn't, hopefully someone else gave it to you more clearly, or (better yet) got in your car got it out for you. I have no doubt that you will drive away from Montreal winter as quickly as possible, and this is probably best for everyone involved.

Comments

[nearlyvalkyrie.livejournal.com]

I've heard an urban legend that in northern states like Michigan and Wisconsin, if you don't have snow tires on your car, and get stuck in a drift, road services puts your license plate number on a list before they pull you out. If you get stuck a *second* time and still don't have snow tires on, they'll give the people a ride home, but the car gets to stay there until spring thaw, because obviously you shouldn't be driving this far north. Probably not true, but it's a satisfying thought :-)