Driving in the winter months is not for the faint of heart, but for Powell High School students it is a daily occurrence. Almost every morning, students drive to school in sub-zero temperatures on roads coated in ice and snow. Doing this on a daily basis forces students to learn how to deal with dangerous conditions. 

“This being my first year of driving, it has been a new experience,” sophomore Lauryn Bennett said. “It can be fun but nerve-racking at the same time.”

For some students, the type of vehicle that they drive every day can affect their amount of confidence on the road. With trucks, cars, vans, and everything in between out in the parking lot, traveling to school in these different kinds of vehicles means that the trip will vary in difficulty for each student. Heavier vehicles such as trucks may be preferable when driving in winter simply because they are heavier.

“I feel like driving a truck is better during the winter because of the sheer weight compared to a smaller car,” freshman Karder Hyland said. “Driving my truck gives me more confidence.”

PHS students who live in the country face tougher conditions than students in town due to the limited amount of traffic. Less traffic causes the snow to pile up on the road and become slick. Another factor that leads to bad road conditions is that the snow is more apt to drift where there aren’t as many buildings to stop the wind. However, this can provide something fun for students to do.

“Even though it probably isn’t the safest thing to do, it is fun to drive through drifts,” sophomore Aiden Greenwald said. “There was one time that I almost got stuck, but I just plowed through it.”

These conditions aren’t just confined to the roads; the student parking lot can become just as slick, making it difficult when entering and exiting the parking lot. From kids sliding around and cars drifting, this can make it a dangerous place.

“When I see kids drifting, it makes me nervous that my car might get hit,” Bennett said. “I just don’t want to walk out to a dent in my car.”

With the end of winter seeming like it will never be here, learning how to safely drive in difficult weather conditions is a vital skill to have.