Driving during the winter season is definitely dangerous and it extremely important to stay indoors as much as you can. But of course, there are days where you work and need to drive in, or need to go to school. Here are some stories that show why caution is necessary, if driving is necessary.

There are always things to make sure you look out for such as snow, slush, ice, and black ice. Everyone gets stuck in their driveway and many people experience car accidents this time of year, being a new driver or not. Things to do to avoid this are simply driving slow, using very little gas anywhere especially on turns and coming up to a stop.

An experience from senior, Josh Hemmerdinger, who like many have some struggles due to this weather. “One time I got stuck in Lizzie’s (girlfriend) driveway. I was backing out, using my back wheel drive but it started to slow down and just dug my tires into the snow deeper each time I tried to get out,” said Hemmerdinger.

This is a problem many people have and sometimes it just takes an extra pair of hands. “Lizzie’s dad came out and helped me turn the car around and even drove a little on the lawn to get up and out of her driveway,” Hemmerdinger said about how he fixed the problem.

Another victim to the snowy roads is senior Amelia Flynn, who got stuck on the side of a road. “I went to work, in my brother’s car, and my work parking lot was so full, I had to roadside park on a hill,” said Flynn about a seemingly normal snow day at work.

The problem she faced is when she tried to leave the parking spot, “When I went to

leave, the hill was covered in ice and when I tried to pull out and up the hill, the wheels spun and I was sliding backwards,” Flynn said.

She had to figure out how to deal with the situation and put a plan into action, “I stopped the gas and went neutral down the hill backwards until it was safe enough to turn around on something that wasn’t completely ice,” she said.

Senior, Sean Hirtle, has also had a bad experience because of snowy roads. “I was driving on a dirt road covered in snow, and I went to turn and the car did not turn so my car went right into a ditch off the side of the road,” Hirtle stated about that awful day.

The problem was obviously pretty complex, because he couldn’t handle it alone. “I called AAA and they towed it out for me, and I drove it right home because I knew now how bad the roads were,” said Hirtle.

Everyone who has trouble in the snow will learn from their experience, many are not as lucky and could total a car or worse; you could hurt yourself. The danger of driving this time of year is real. The winter weather creates more than 1,300 deaths and 116,800 injuries just in the US, yearly. Stay safe, and stay in if you can.