Actually, this lesson could and should apply anywhere, but it's definitely needed here

I personally learned this lesson this morning, and I thought I would pass this on to others who may have experienced this, OR soon will. Just like last April's blizzard, I was given the opportunity to leave my 2001 Chevy Impala at work in Mandan, and I was allowed to take home our station's vehicle ( which is equipped with a 4-wheel drive ) Wednesday night. So when yesterday's weather kicked in, I was pretty confident driving home. The snow started falling at a steady clip yesterday, and I still had no problem driving around dangerous road conditions. A NO TRAVEL ADVISED was issued and I made sure I got home as soon as possible, BUT STILL had no fear of just WHY those alerts are issued.

This morning rolled around, and after a half hour of shoveling snow, I was able to leave my parking lot

The side roads were a mess, I saw vehicles that were stuck and barely pushed to the side. I managed to get on the 94, and I was quite proud of myself - unlike last April when I got sunk in and stuck, I was cruising, on my way to work - the whole time saying to myself "Man you have no problems with the roads out here..."  - Mother Nature was about to teach me a lesson of humility. It happened so fast, and I was left completely out of control, I was about to make that right turn onto Memorial Highway when I spun into a snow bank.

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I still have no idea if I was driving too fast, I do know this, it woke me up big time. Just a blink of an eye and I'm left helpless - but not for long. BisMan has seen so many situations like this all over town, a driver that just glanced over and saw me lose control, came to my rescue. Jody Freeman backed his truck up and prepared to do the "North Dakota Nice" in a typical nonchalant way.

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You can see for yourself how this turned out

I'm grateful for people like Jody, who didn't even think twice about pulling me out as his first priority. Amazing things happen when we have blizzards come in and stir up trouble - there is no shortage of North Dakotans that put others first. Lastly, I will go to sleep tonight having learned ONE major lesson - NEVER EVER take road conditions for granted - If you think you are driving safely, go a speed or two slower.


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