Why Seattleites Can’t Drive in the Snow | Bellevue Auto Accident Attorney

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As a Seattle snow accident attorney and personal injury lawyer in Bellevue Washington, but even more so as a native to the Seattle area, I greet snow with a look of terror as Washingtonians take to the roads. Just between 9 am Monday and 9 am Tuesday state highways in Snohomish County alone had 75 reported accidents. A recent article by the Seattle Times touched on the various reasons contributing to our inability to drive well in the snow.

According to experts, there are a variety of factors contributing to Washingtonians inability to drive in the snow including failure to prepare, the moist climate we live in, and the simple fact that we never experience snow. After the rough winter we experienced in 2008, Mayor Greg Nickels quickly lost his place as governor and the city of Seattle vowed to prepare better for future snow storms. The city did prepare, but putting down a chemical de-icer before the snow hit, this de-icer, however, became diluted with the snow and then the cold temperatures led it to freeze creating a different type of icy chaos. Truth be told, in spite of brain storming ideas to prevent a repeat of the cities closure in 2008, Seattle does not have enough experience with snow to truly prepare for it.

Another problem Seattle faces that other snowy areas do not is an extremely moist climate. Typically when it snows in Seattle the ground is warm and the snow melts which leaves the roads wet which leads to ice when the temperatures drop. The snow then sticks to the ice making a slushy and dangerous mess.

The last problem Seattle drivers face is that they are inexperienced driving in snow and it scares them. They have no idea how to drive in it because they rarely face it and so they drive too quickly, break too hard and do not give the vehicle in front of them adequate space. For information on how to properly drive in the snow read the post: Snow Driving Safety Tips.