If its snow & icy do you drive into work or work from home?

[xHufflePuffx]

Just that, why would you risk it? Our company has recently changed wfh policy to 4 days in the office, however as I don't want to take the risk of driving iv been wfh past couple of days and wondered if/why people are going in? Do they feel the need to look good and be present in the office?

I walk to work so no, I wouldn’t work from home if it snowed (it hasn’t where I am) even though I could because I work for myself.

chaos in shropshire this morning.

it dumped a good 3 inches on us yesterday, didn't all melt, froze over night, then dumped another 2 inches in the early hours of this morning.

People do not know how to drive and there are crashes and skids, and people stuck all over!

I wfh full time so I just sit here at my desk in my slippers and watch the snow!!

If it was snowing I'd wfh even if it was my office day (the motorways aren't worth the hassle), if it's just icy then I'd go in.

Trains and busses are still running no excuse those that dont drive still have to go into work why should those that drive get to stay home

I'm not looking forward to trying to get to work, and then home, in this. I don't start until later this afternoon and it's still snowing here, and worse than it was when I got up earlier. The main road out of my village was clear and it's covered again.

I'm an inexperienced driver, I drove in it last year without incident, but I don't have years of experience of driving in snow to fall back on, but it was the snarling up of the roads that were hardest to navigate last year. Doesn't matter how good you are at driving in snow if you can't actually get anywhere because of other vehicles.

If I could work from home, today I'd be asking to, the police have told people only to travel if it's essential as the weather worsens, so I'd say being able to work from home, but going in isn't an essential journey.

Arguably my journey isn't essential, no one is going to suffer greatly if I don't get to work, they might have to wait a few minutes to be served if only very local staff can get in, but footfall can increase in some places as other people don't go in to work in this weather and use local cafes/restaurants etc on their unscheduled day off.

Of course having to wait a bit longer for a coffee or a sandwich isn't going to be the end of the world, although the way some people react, you'd think it was.

I will try and hope for the best really, I've got all weather tyres on, a little bit of experience and I know the principles if I get into a tricky situation. But if I didn't have to, I wouldn't be.

If the weather is poor, then you leave earlier to allow for taking extra precautions when driving. Rarely, in my almost 40 years on this planet have I witnessed weather bad enough that people had to abstain from making a journey into work.

Depends how much it has snowed. I live at the top of a hill so can get bad but generally once a few people have driven on it, it's fine so would go as long as was safe to do so.

These snow threads are crazy. You'd think this was the first time we'd ever had snow.

There's always someone who says stuff like this.

Sometimes it doesn't matter if you leave extra time. I've driven in snow many times. I've also been stuck on a motorway in heavy snow and it is lethal. I've also almost skidded into another vehicle at 5mph due to snow.

A complete guide to safe driving in the snow | RAC Drive

There might be some useful tips in here :)

Don't go if you don't feel it's safe.

I still have to drop DC at nursery before work so have been coming into the office afterwards. It hasn’t been too bad where I am though. If the roads were more dangerous/ if I didn't have to to the nursery run I would probably wfh.

it isn't about the conditions though, its about peoples ability to drive in it, which is severely lacking.

My rural town up in shropshire hills is currently gridlocked this morning because the roads are covered in 5 inches of a mix of yesterdays snow, frozen melt, with fresh snow, and black ice, there are buses colliding, people wheelspinning having stopped for traffic, cars skidding. The schools are closed. some of the motorway slip roads are closed. the police are telling people not to drive if it isn't necessary.

Most countries who have snow and ice are better prepared than us.

Me too. I hate driving in snow and ice. I'm not fond of wfh but will do that if there is snow or ice.

I also very much dislike the snarky tones of this thread. Calling people pathetic. You know we're all different.

I work in childcare. I don’t have a choice to work from home. I have always just given more time to get to work and taken it slowly.

Exactly @WinterBones pretty much every time it snows, the roads round here are gridlocked and a 30 minute commute can become 2-3 hours. If you don't need to go out in that, why would you add to the problem and waste your time like that?

Plus we've had people stuck on motorways overnight and need to be rescued and provided with food/hot drinks/medication etc.

If the police are saying don't travel unless necessary and you work in an office, you work from home if you can because it reduces traffic on the roads for those who have to travel.

It's not a difficult decision and it's not a case of 'well if the person who works at the hospital, shop or bowling alley needs to go to work then so does the person who works at a desk doing work that can be done anywhere'.

I work from home so no worries for me.

Thank you @WinterBones that's kind of you, I read anything like that I could get hold of last year in preparation, and I posted on here and got some good advice too, and I've had a recap when this was forecast, it's stopped and the roads are clearing, even the side roads as people drive on them so here's hoping.

What you describe in your next post is what was being reported here earlier this morning - surely it's sensible not to add to that if you can avoid it? Had I been in earlier today I'd have delayed my journey.

I live quite near the moors and those roads have been closed by the police, because it gets real bad, real quick up there! And there's people stuck as well. I wouldn't be using those roads but thankfully I don't have to.

No trains or buses (or even gritters), here. If the lanes are blocked then nobody can get anywhere.
If the snow's not too bad then I'll drive to work, otherwise the narrow lanes, blind bends and steep hill to get there isn't worth the risk.

I agree. I remember when wfh wasn't an option, the internet wasn't invented. You just went to work even if you had to wait an hour for the bus.

But the Internet is invented and WFH is an option for many people. So it makes no sense for those who can use them to not use them, unless they just really want to drive into their office for whatever reason.

I got stuck on the motorway for 7hrs a couple of years ago and just refuse to chance it happening again unless I absolutely have to be on the roads.

As a teacher I park my car way down the hill, get up extra early and expect to drive slowly, hope not to be late allowing an extra hour or so for my journey.

Yes it's a bit more dangerous but those of us who live within a 10 mile radius do it to help to compensate for those over 2 miles away in rural areas. The town and duall carriageways have been gritted, so no reason for us not to go in. Also, trying to get supply staff, who are equally as willing from much further away.

Then again turning up and so many pupils not in, even though most live in walkable distance, so school has to be closed. Parents who ring up because they won't walk their kids to school, others who won't drive them, it just collapses!

Oh and I do remember the days as children we walked through all weathers so it really to me I do match the snowflake weather to snowflake human behaviour.

Feel free to berate me, I stand by my view and experience...

I think the snowflakes of today might have realised this thread is almost 6 months old.