We had snow last weekend, the first real snow this season.
Yes, we had an inch or two mid-October that lasted for a week, but that doesn't really count.
This weekend we awoke to a foot of fresh snow …



This part of the world is called Switzerland. We get snow here every year without fail. Lots of it.
You can always expect the first snow around mid-October – just a smattering to remind you what you are in for – but the same thing happens every year: You always get a number of drivers on the road that have never, ever seen the stuff before in their lives.
And that's just how they drive.

Some still have summer tyres on their cars, because, well, who would have expected snow at this time of year? (They've only been telling us ten-times-a-day-for-a-week, just what we are in for.)
They creep along the roads at a snails' pace. And you can guarantee to find one crawling along in front of you exactly on that stretch of road that you won't be able to overtake on for the next three kilometers.

Luckily the Swiss are well equipped to deal with snow.
If the snow fall is less than a meter overnight, you will be awoken at five in the morning by the sound of a snow plough. More snow, and your 'wake-up-call' will be earlier.
This means two things:
a) You should rise a little earlier than usual, so you don't get into a rush clearing the snow off your vehicle.
b) The roads will be clear of snow (unless you are still in the middle of a snow storm) and you will be able to drive to work in safety.
If you happen to wake up to a total, eerie silence, panic!
This means there is a meter or more of snow and the snow-ploughs are still trying to cope with the snow down in the village – you are going to be late for work. Occasionally even a day or two!

Of course, you still get the odd patch of ice here and there, once the roads have been cleared, so you do have to drive carefully, but the worst of it will be gone.

Imagine my surprise then, when I climbed into the car to drive home from a party on Saturday night – the motorway was encased in three inches of solidly packed snow!
I had always envisaged snow ploughs racing up and down the motorway, 24 hours a day. They don't !
Enquiries have revealed that the drivers of said snow ploughs get tired at some point and finish work at around midnight. After that you're on your own.

Now I presume that the Swiss are aware of such facts. So why then, do so many of those still using summer tyres wait until after midnight to use the motorways?
They block the middle lane, stationary, with their wheels turning on the spot and looking utterly helpless behind their steering wheels. If you could hear them, I'm sure they bleat like sheep.

If you wish to get home, you have to weave in and out of them in an elegant slalom through the snow, secure in the knowledge that the rescue services will be along with blankets and hefty fines before too long …

Americanisms removed 30.11.2008