Midwest Driving School – IOTW Report

Midwest Driving School

I’ve been looking around lately for a Midwest version of “Its a Southern Thing” channel on YouTube and I think I’ve found it. Well, it’s Wisconsin to the core anyway. With a good 6 inches of snow blanketing the state (upwards of 20 along the North Shore), it seems a good time for some winter driving tips. Watch

16 Comments on Midwest Driving School

  1. Funny video. I’ve seen a number of these already- very relatable. Lots of Midwest teenagers learn to drive in winter weather. That’s when I took lessons and got my first driver’s license.
    One thing the video inadvertently highlights is that not all Midwesterns have the same dilect. Im from Illinois and don’t speak that way. These guys definitely sound like they’re straight out of the “Fargo” film. Not so for other Midwest state residents who sound more like Johnny Carson and McLean Stevenson of the show “MASH”. Chicagoans are an exception. Yet, the attitude in general is spot on.

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  2. I knew somebody who was on the Washington State Patrol. From time to time troopers would go back to the academy to brush up their driving skills.

    The skin pad was fun. The guy from east of the mountains would go through at a pretty good clip and remain in perfect control. The guys from west of the mountains would barely be moving, slipping all over the place, and have a death grip on the steering wheel.

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  3. Heh, deep South, when it snows here, I stay home in self defense, can drive in the snow.
    One year it snowed, my father was in the hospital dying of cancer, I had to go to the hospital, Mom said so.
    Luckily I had a Rabbit, front wheel drive and good brakes.
    Sitting at a stoplight I was watching in the mirror, always watch the mirror in snow.
    A lady was barreling towards me, panic in her eyes, turning the wheels to and fro to no avail, brakes locked.
    I let off the brake and she punched me through the intersection, no damage done.
    Luckily, due to the snow, no oncoming traffic.
    Got out and she was soooo apologetic.
    I asked her if she had ever driven in the snow.
    “No !”
    I told her unless her father was dying and she needed to get to the hospital, go home and stay there.

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  4. @ 99th

    When I lived in Lake Geneva we could easily pick out the “flatlanders” from south of the border just by ear – youse guyz. They were always thick between the ears and had attitudes, but they were bar-hopping dudes. 90% of the women from there weren’t so bad.

    As a Texas teen I learned courteous driving in Dallas. It was nice. Six years of going to Chi-town with the warehouse truck taught me to be technically legal when I changed lanes by hitting the turn signal AS I changed lanes. Otherwise, every single driver there would speed up just to eff with you.

    When I got back to Dallas in late 1980, I found the Yankee invasion had happened and they brought their aggressive driving habits with them.

    At least I was trained to drive amongst a-holes already. Favorite bumper sticker the next few years – (Heart) NY? Take I-30 east.

    When some Yankee would start in with “We don’t do it that way back home” I would remind them they aren’t there any more for a reason. Maybe you were doing it wrong.

    Loved my time in Wis. Don’t wish to go back, though. Michigan is starting to look good, well, specifically Claudia’s scene. 😉

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  5. @ OTD

    I was given a set of chains for my truck one year. Thought it was pretty cool and wanted to use them. After a couple of winters, I realized there is no point in going out on a slippery road in Dallas unless it’s to the hospital. It’ll be clear either later that day or soon afterwards, but more importantly – no one else has chains OR EXPERIENCE and you are going to be hit by one of them that have no effing clue how to drive in those conditions. Add to that that you will get even more damage because your vehicle now has traction and won’t slide so easy when hit.

    So I sit and enjoy being at home. It ain’t like it’s going to snow your doors up to the roof line.

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  6. Dadof4, I love my area of MI. We are far enough away from Lake MI (one hour drive) so we don’t get the huge snowfalls. Worst we had so far this year was 3 inches. Nice thing about here is that the snowplows are out before you know it and driving is rarely an issue. Most of the time, that is.

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