Daily Herald editorial: Stay in your lane

This is not Alaska.

Despite what you saw when you drew the drapes this morning, revealing what could be a couple inches or a foot of snow, this is still Illinois.

As people who live in the Chicago area, we think we know all there is to know about cold weather, snowy weather, fall and summer weather — sometimes all in one day — including how best to dress for, drive in and whisk it away. But do we?

In Alaska, where weather presents life-or-death situations for many months of the year, weather survival is actually taught in schools. A quarter century ago the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association developed a curriculum to train school teachers how to incorporate into the classroom lessons on a variety of cold weather survival skills.

Not so in Illinois. But here, we have snow in the forecast and a long stretch of high temperatures hovering around the zero mark. Are you prepared for it?

Here is some advice, from the Illinois State Police, doctors and us on things to do and things to avoid under circumstances like this:

• If you don’t have to drive in it, don’t. The emergence of Zoom and the home office has made working from home a real possibility for many.

• Check the weather before you leave, including for your destination. It could be fine where you start your trip but miserable by the time you get where you’re going.

• Create more distance between you and the person in front of you than you normally would. With snow and ice, your ability to stop any vehicle breaks down quickly.

• In cars with anti-lock brakes, let them do what engineers designed them to do and resist the urge to stomp on the pedal with both feet. Doing so damages the ABS system and increases the likelihood it won’t work when you need it.

• As counter-intuitive as this sounds, always turn into a slide to get out of it.

• Understand that bridges, ramps and shady sections of roadway freeze first. Take them slow; they could be iced over.

• Don’t follow closely plows and salt trucks. It’s dangerous, and it’s also a great way to crack your windshield.

• Keep a blanket, boots, a change of warm clothes, a phone charger, an ice scraper and snacks and water in your trunk. You might be hanging out for a while if you get stuck.

• Dress as if you were going to be walking instead of driving. The time you decide to run out for a Starbucks in your pajamas is invariably the time you get stuck in a snow drift.

• Keep your tank full or, if you’ve gone electric, your battery charged.

If you accept this advice, you’re more likely to escape a Chicago winter unscathed.

Hey, at least we don’t need to worry too much about moose and polar bears.