Quotes for life's highways

My wife and I are driving all day today.

I pulled out some concepts to meditate on during those long highway stretches.

(There's no connection to the themes of our conversations, by the way.)

"We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them."
- Livy

"You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you."
- Eric Hoffer

"Where fear is present, wisdom cannot be."
- Lactantius

Lactantius sounds a lot like Yoda, doesn't he? Well, chronologically I guess it would be the other way around...but you can see the similarity :)

The quotes were from my friends at 602 Communications.

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Digging out

We are still digging out from the snowstorm that hit the Great Lakes region yesterday, dropping more than 25 centimetres of snow and reducing visibility to near zero at times. The storm has now moved off into the Atlantic states and provinces, but in its wake it left a lot of people scrambling. The snow is beautiful when it lays such a thick blanket of white on everything. Unfortunately, it's horrible for drivers. Yesterday was a bad day to be on the roads without snow tires. We were among those who had to travel, and it was quite stressful. We saw many accidents and spin-outs. Overnight, I had ice build-up inside the wheel wells of the car and was surprised this morning when, in the acceleration lane of the highway, everything started vibrating as if I had four flat tires. I stopped and drove slowly to a repair shop. Fortunately, a mechanic was able to power-wash the ice away and it didn't cost me a penny.

The storm caused at least one death in the area. A woman was killed near London, Ontario, when her vehicle was clipped by a snowplow in an underpass. She had exited her vehicle to clear ice from her windshield wipers when the snowplow hit the corner of the car. She was thrown and pinned. Her two daughters were in the car and saw it happen. Unfortunately, there was nothing rescuers could do to save her. The snowplow driver had to be treated for shock.

Even though police reported many accidents, traffic was lighter than usual, as many people chose to stay home and wait out the bad weather.

Winter has arrived early this year. Looking on the bright side, children are happy and Christmas decorations look wonderful with the snow. For those who will are gathering with friends and family, the weather is perfect for traditional Christmas celebrations.

Do women do more with the family car?

If you enjoy the ongoing debate between the sexes, here's more fuel for conversation: a new study about driving patterns says women make "complex trips" in the family car more often than men.

Statistics Canada found that women tend to make multiple stops on their way from Point A to Point B, while men tend to make simpler trips. Researchers call the practice of making intermediate stops "trip chaining."

The study says women drop children off to school, stop for coffee and go shopping with the family car more often than men. Meanwhile, men drive to single destinations more frequently: about 45 per cent of their trips are of this type, while only 39 per cent of women's trips are in this category.

This data seems to echo other studies about multi-tasking activities by the sexes. Does this mean men don't handle complex tasks as readily? Could be a bit of a leap.

But here's where the Statistics Canada research really hurts us guys: it shows that when men do stop along the way, they are more likely to do so at a restaurant, entertainment venue or recreational facility. This accounts for 62 per cent of these intermediate trips.

A higher percentage of women drive to banks and shopping centres after leaving work.

Some men wonder whether all that running around is really necessary, but that's another story. Lots to talk about on the home front.

The study was published in a quarterly bulletin on environmental and sustainable development statistics.

To read more, see Statistics Canada's "Daily" page

If you'd like to express your opinion, post a comment.
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Photo of the wooden puppets is by Cecile Graat, who made it available on stock.xchng