78
188
u/zgrizz Feb 02 '23
Texas has almost 700,000 road miles inside it.
Minnesota has 12,000 and has 800 plows.
Texas would need almost 45,000 plows to use one day a year.
People need to just stay home. It will melt.
70
u/BlueStateMAGAtDude Feb 02 '23
Why not just buy blades to add to existing work trucks?
Years ago in unincorporated WA my buddy just bought a used dinged up blade for his F350 for a couple hundred bucks, plowed his neighborhood In like 45 mins - was the local hero.
Like there seems like there should be a solution between a full fleet and nothing.
36
u/Potatooooes_123 Feb 02 '23
why not just use winter tires. 2 inches of snow is absolutely nothing
36
u/Ohnah-bro Feb 02 '23
I grew up in MA, moved to Dallas (where that photo is taken). 8” of snow in MA is no biggie, can often still hit the road during and immediately after, plows, salt, sand all happening throughout.
In Dallas, there is fucking nothing. You could ice skate in my street yesterday. There is not a single plow, not an ounce of salt going on those roads. You can’t buy a snow shovel. I would not drive over a bridge if you paid me. As someone who grew up driving in the snow like no big deal, I have to check myself extra about this. It is crazy to drive here during this ice unless you absolutely have to.
All these motherfuckers in their huge ass trucks with halogen headlights blinding you, none of them plowing.
6
u/arcspectre17 Feb 02 '23
It was ice bro 1/4 inch of ice is deadly!
-9
u/Potatooooes_123 Feb 02 '23
Im Canadian mate, everything you guys have is nothing to us. Dont drive like an idiot and everything will be alright. A pickup truck is not better because of its size
6
u/CoraxTechnica Feb 02 '23
There's a huge difference between an infrastructure that's ready for snow and ice and one that only gets it a few days a year every few decades.
It's all ice here and absolutely nothing to melt it.
There are no studded tires or tire chains.
Most people don't even buy winter tires here.
Don't be obtuse
-2
u/Potatooooes_123 Feb 02 '23
We drive during snowstorms. Very commun to see 2-5 inches of snow on the road until the snow removal operations catch up. I really dont see the point to waste hundreds of millions for 2 days of snow. Stay home or take the bus/subway. Or even better, grt yourself a set of winter tires if you really want to be safe
1
u/arcspectre17 Feb 02 '23
I dont live in texas i live in missouri and lived through real ice storms but any ice is deadly when stupid people are driving.
In 2009 missouri we got 2 to 10 iches of snow with 2 inches of ice. The woods sound like a warzone with tree branches breaking. Again any ice is deadly as a candian you think you would respect mother nature.
1
u/Potatooooes_123 Feb 02 '23
We do respect mother nature, that's why there's no issue for us. Idiots are deadly, not ice. Sadly, US is full of them
3
1
u/CoraxTechnica Feb 02 '23
Ice
-1
u/Potatooooes_123 Feb 02 '23
Winter tires with studs
2
u/CoraxTechnica Feb 03 '23
Not allowed on roads here and lots of other places that actually get ice for months
0
u/Potatooooes_123 Feb 03 '23
In texas? doubt it a lot
1
u/CoraxTechnica Feb 03 '23 edited Feb 03 '23
Studs are illegal in a lot of places. They fuck up the roads really bad.
Also studs are best for hard pack and deep ice which we almost never get in TX.
Studs are actually worse on paved roads that are just wet or with black ice, they will decrease traction instead.
2
1
u/Adventurous_Set_3787 Feb 02 '23 edited Feb 02 '23
This is economical and freaking better than days of shut down waiting on the sun. People aren't prepared for this kind of weather in TX and the state doesn't seem to be proactive.
2
u/CoraxTechnica Feb 02 '23
This weather comes a few days a year for a few years every decade.
It's not more economical to spend money on purchase, maintenance, the employees, facilities, supplies, and logistics of all that for what amounts to a week of ice.
Not to mention in the post pandemic world, everything here, including the court system and jails, is ready to work remotely.
0
u/Adventurous_Set_3787 Feb 02 '23
Hi there. Yeah I was referring to the 4x4 and street blades but completely get what you mean. Have a fab day brosie.
3
u/CoraxTechnica Feb 02 '23
Yeah i hear ya. Even then, I don't think any local shops even sell blades lol, would have to "import" it ha ha.
1
u/Adventurous_Set_3787 Feb 02 '23
Shoot, I can think of a couple ways to make something from recycle. Wish I had a 4x4
-13
Feb 02 '23
It's hard feigning sympathy for them, they have the government they voted for.
Everyone's a Libertarian until winter hits.
2
0
u/keep_trying_username Feb 02 '23
Why not just buy blades to add to existing work trucks?
Buy 45,000 plows, equip 45,000 trucks so they can use the plows, have a spaces for all those plows, get enough people trained, and then put the plows on the trucks ahead of time whenever you think it's going to snow.
The thing about it is, it only helps if everything is done correctly. If it gets half-assed because it only snows once a year, then it will just be an expensive waste of time.
0
u/Helplmchoking Feb 02 '23
Something something stick a plow on a combine harvester? Iirc that did technically work
2
u/Majestic-Succotash-9 Feb 02 '23
Combine harvester is probably not a good idea but dump trucks work great
1
u/Helplmchoking Feb 02 '23
Oh yeah, it's probably not actually a good idea I was just referencing that one top gear episode. Dump trucks make sense, I didn't consider that because when I think dump truck I think the gigantic ones in Australian mines lol really you just need something heavy and powerful enough to push through the snow
13
u/unixstud Feb 02 '23
also, the average snow fall in Minnesota is 26 to 70 inches a year, Texas in less than one inch. The amount doesn't justify the cost.. but I bet we got more air conditioners!!!
10
u/TheQuestionableEgg Dirt Is Beautiful Feb 02 '23
Didn't a bunch of people die in their homes cause the power grid died? I think just stay out of texas
10
u/shreddedtoasties Feb 02 '23
Texas is a great state besides the 2 weeks winter we get. Low cost of living and HEB
2
u/Sir_Honytawk Tech Tips Feb 02 '23
And no freedom to have abortions.
Such great state
/s2
u/Elemental_Storm Feb 02 '23
I feels like it's wrong to just throw away the life of an unborn baby I mean if you really don't want it can't you just put it in an adoption center
And I swear if I get a bunch of downvotes I'm going to be disappointed in humanity even more
-5
u/Crawkward3 Feb 02 '23
As someone who isn’t from but has spent large amounts of time in Texas that’s probably for the best
1
1
1
u/RalphFungusrump Feb 02 '23
Minnesota has 135,000 miles of roads. MNDoT only covers a small percentage. Just leave the side streets for later and focus on the main thoroughfares. Salting would make a huge difference inTX since it’s almost never below 10-15 which is where the salt doesn’t work very well. As for damage to the car just run it through a car wash or hose off your underbody.
61
u/SandsofFlowingTime Feb 02 '23
As someone who lives in Alaska, I honestly don't see the issue. There's barely any snow on the ground, it's fine
32
u/CrustyMilkCap Feb 02 '23
Problem is that they don't have winter tires. Why spend the money on the low chance of snow?
16
u/SandsofFlowingTime Feb 02 '23
Just drive a little slower and it won't be an issue, doesn't matter if you don't have snow tires
11
u/CrustyMilkCap Feb 02 '23
Agreed. People think they can drive in these conditions. I live in GA and the 4x4 morons get extra confidence
1
u/shadowdash66 Feb 02 '23
Can confirm, saw someone almost roll their lifted truck on a bad snowstorm in the east coast.
2
7
u/aCasualGoon Professional Dumbass Feb 02 '23
Like semi-urban Alaska or 'I could build a fucking 30 story house and it would be covert in snow the next morning' Alaska?
3
u/SandsofFlowingTime Feb 02 '23
More of the first one, though we have had days where we get like 2 feet of snow overnight
9
u/blueberrypancakes198 Feb 02 '23
It's not snow. It's ice. Snow is easier to drive on. You can drive slow but if the hill is steep enough or long enough, you aren't going anywhere.
7
u/Kindaspia Feb 02 '23
They don’t have the infrastructure to handle this. They don’t have experience driving on snow and ice. Their power grid is not meant to handle any snow. To us, this would be any other day. But they are not used to this or prepared for this. This is truly dangerous to them, and discounting their experience based on our own is not right.
7
u/Kingofauui Feb 02 '23
Anyone who thinks they can drive on ice is delusional. They are the ones who crash. Ppl that have lived here long enough know to get food for 2 weeks and stay home.
-1
u/SandsofFlowingTime Feb 02 '23
I'm not discounting it, I'm just saying that if you're in unfamiliar weather conditions, just drive slower, and it should be fine. Sure they have their own power grid, but that's been shown to be a bad thing when they had a little bit of snow last time and didn't have power for a while
7
u/Rider403 Feb 02 '23
No winter tires. No grip. Weather temp go down rubber gets hard and grips less. Slippy slide on on interstate
4
u/SandsofFlowingTime Feb 02 '23
Instead of driving at 60+, just do 30-40. Even if you don't have grip, just don't try to over correct it, and if it spins out a lot, maybe you should slow down more
3
u/Rider403 Feb 02 '23
Yea but that makes sense to me. A Canadian. Think as a texan who only seen snow in movies.
1
u/SandsofFlowingTime Feb 02 '23
True, it's hard for me to fully understand since I'm used to stuff like this and we regularly make jokes about it here
3
u/junkforbunk Feb 02 '23
I work for my city and we put chat (gravel or sand or whatever you want to call it), the issue is most people don’t have the right type of tires, don’t know how to drive in icy conditions, and then you have idiots who want to “have fun” and spin out/drift around.
5
u/thestigiam Feb 02 '23
It’s also not snow. It’s ice. For years they used sand, and have only recently started brining the roads, but they can only do so much with ice/sleet
1
u/SandsofFlowingTime Feb 02 '23
The picture clearly shows snow. Gravel also kinda works, but again, drive slower and it won't be an issue
2
u/thestigiam Feb 02 '23
That might be from the snow storm 2 years ago. Either way, this most recent storm was a thunder ice storm. All ice and zero snow. Also freezing fog because why not
20
7
u/nerfdogman Feb 02 '23
I see a lot of aggressive comments amongst each other. To clear the air, this year there wasn't actual snow fall. The precipitation in the DFW metroplex was a combination of sleet, hail and rain. The night after, it dropped into the teens to freeze everything as large sheets of ice on the roads. While a snowplow would work in theory to break the ice, they'd have to find a spot to start with traction, something the roads currently lack. As someone who has driven in the snow and has an entire family from the Canadian border living in Texas, it's not ideal driving. Doable but not ideal.
14
4
4
7
u/Recipe-Jaded I touched grass Feb 02 '23
I have lived in both Alaska and in Texas. I can say without a doubt that Texas has some crazy ice storms. It isn't snow, it is literally just ice. No "snow plow truck" can fix this.
Also, every year in Alaska we saw the same stupid accidents and highway blockages during the first month of snowfall, so don't act like this is not normal.
9
u/MasterofImpZ Feb 02 '23 edited Feb 02 '23
It isn't snow, it's ice. Tried to go to work this morning, car slid sideways off my driveway. Tires are just spinning and literally can't move my car, could barely get back in the house without slipping. It's just solid slick ice everywhere. This is very different then snow, which I can actually drive on.
Edit: Yeah downvote me, I'm right, a bunch of people are calling into work now stuck in the ice.
2
2
2
1
4
2
2
u/incredible_poop Feb 02 '23
Also, what about some wintertires? You usually dont get stuck on that much snow unless its realy steep. Seems like shit tires may play a role here
2
u/Sinsid Feb 02 '23
Texas has got more snow than NYC this year! Texas is hurricanes, tornadoes, blistering heat, Arctic cold. New England is shorts to the supermarket in February.
1
u/BainbridgeBorn 🍕Ayo the pizza here🍕 Feb 02 '23
Texas: produces a shit ton of gasoline rivaling other nation states in terms of production.
Also Texas:
5
1
u/Outlandish_dishes trans rights Feb 02 '23
who wants to bet ted cruz is probably looking at another out of country resort to stay in for the next three months right now?
1
u/poopinsheets Feb 02 '23
Or, Texans could stop driving on bald tires and rear wheel/front wheel only vehicles.
1
1
u/pburnett795 Feb 02 '23
Are snowplows funded by the state where you live? Honest question. I assumed they were funded by local municipalities. Also- are they as effective with ice as with snow?
0
u/K1rkl4nd Feb 02 '23
Most plows here are local, and are mostly tanker trucks for spraying de-icer (beet juice), as well as having large blades in front. Usually 3 will run in tandem down 2 lane roads and they get it cleared in one pass with great speed and efficiency.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTE4Lro0QeVNVA4kyotS5YqHhZQcScs7LLCmg&usqp=CAU
1
0
u/Willfrail Feb 02 '23
Texas: is on its own seperate electric grid that they claim its better and stringer
Also texas when any weather happens:
0
u/Burkey8819 Feb 02 '23
Snowplows are just leftist indoctrination machines designed to make us weak!!!!!
0
u/Burkey8819 Feb 02 '23
Also Texas for the love of god global warming means eventually it will cause an ice age it is possible to have snow during winter months but so long as the summers keep getting warmer more ice melts + seas rise slight + oceans can be warmed much easier and longer which = way worse storms in winter. Snow/ice isn't proof global warming doesn't exist
2
u/Elemental_Storm Feb 02 '23
I am still trying to understand how global warming equals Ice Age because that does not make any sense
-2
-1
0
0
u/Sportzpl Feb 02 '23
In 2000 I drove through Dallas during an ice storm. A dump truck passed me, with a dude holding a shovel sitting in the back. He had a pile of sand he was sprinkling on the road.
0
0
0
0
0
0
u/expiermental_boii Cringe Factory Feb 02 '23
This man's legs are about to get the workout they needed for years
0
0
0
0
u/LanceAlgoriddim Feb 02 '23
Good luck convincing our dumb fuck government to do this. We have a 27 billion dollar budget surplus, but they wanna give it back to us to help ease our already ridiculous property taxes. The catch is that the next year our property taxes go even higher. It's fucking sad af because people will only think about the short term and be happy they got a little money back.
I was in the "fuck that shit...invest this back into the state for things we need"...but as time goes onI'm making an exit plan outta this shithole state and I'll gladly take the money and run. FUCK GREG ABBOTT!
0
u/Local_Apartment_928 Birb Fan Feb 02 '23
Seeing people have so much trouble in so little snow makes me, a Canadian, suggest that you should also spend a couple bucks on winter tires.
1
u/SuperMIK2020 Feb 02 '23
For two days out of the year? Maybe just work from home on those days…
EDIT: i also think tire shops might have to special order them, plus don’t they ruin the road if there’s no snow?
2
u/Local_Apartment_928 Birb Fan Feb 02 '23
Not everyone can work from home
1
u/SuperMIK2020 Feb 02 '23
Agreed, but if those who can stay off the road, it makes the road safer for everyone
1
u/Local_Apartment_928 Birb Fan Feb 02 '23
To answer to your question regarding the ruining of roads, it depends of the kind of tire. Where I live it's mostly forbidden to drive with studded tires as those can do damage to the road if there is not enough snow. But snow tires without studs are totally fine.
-4
u/Brokenboycr Feb 02 '23
Bro I have 4ft of snow outside and it’s -20, Kys Texas, deal with the 1/1000000000000000 inch of ice
0
u/K1rkl4nd Feb 02 '23
My uncle moved from Nebraska to Texas. First skiff of snow, everyone was still driving 80mph on the interstate and tons of people ended up in the ditches. He couldn't move back fast enough.
-3
-6
-1
-1
-1
u/v420c Feb 02 '23
Global warming my ass
1
u/Sir_Honytawk Tech Tips Feb 02 '23
That is like pointing towards a dry patch of earth and claiming tsunamis aren't a thing.
1
-1
-1
-2
-2
-4
-4
u/AndrewWhite97 Breaking EU Laws Feb 02 '23
But last time they could've voted for change but kept the same guy in power. So they must love struggle
1
u/nathanfay Feb 02 '23
Hasn't it snowed 3 or 4 years in a row now? Everyone has the shocked Pikachu face when it does like it never happened the previous year.
1
1
1
1
u/Pro_Gamer_Queen21 Lives in a Van Down by the River Feb 02 '23
Me who lives in the northeast: pathetic
1
1
u/Dieselweasel25 Feb 02 '23
Ted Cruz and Govenor Asshole i mean Abbott are to busy in Cancun to help you. Besides they spent the money illegally sending asylum seekers all over the U.S. and lying to them.
1
1
1
u/TimX24968B Feb 02 '23
"who needs a snow plow when yall just got oversized lifted pickups with offroad tires?" /s
1
1
u/Elemental_Storm Feb 02 '23
I have gotten exactly one day of icy weather up here in Oregon I'm still waiting for snow but I'm starting to think that's not happening so why the heck is Texas getting snow but up north isn't
1
1
1
u/Meatsim001 Feb 02 '23
Me calling my boss from home: I'm stuck on the freeway, God it's fked boss. Ye ah Oll take care, see ya tomorrow.
1
u/Remarkable_Night2373 Feb 02 '23
Get your liberal bullshit out of Texas! We want to completely collapse and die when it snows! This is what freedom looks like!
1
u/ColoSpgsCrush Feb 03 '23
As others have pointed out, Texas "snow" is just ice. It'll rain for like 3 days straight with temps in the 40s, then like a day of straight sleet. And then the temperature drops below freezing and the entire state becomes an ice rink.
There was one stretch of highway merging in Houston where a fire truck and ambulance were just posted up, with the first responders just watching people slide on by them, waiting for an actual collision. It's kinda great.
1
278
u/WonderTwonk Feb 02 '23
It’s not snow. It’s F’ing ICE