Air Transat (which operates through Canadian Affair - same prices) do not feature Ottawa in Winter.

Taking the 20 from Dorval means being able to stop for a Coffe and maybe some food before heading onto the 520/417 towards Ottawa. Going into Montreal I always take the 40, but coming out i almost always use the 20.

The worst part of driving in snow for me is when snow comes off the roof of transport trucks. It's law to clear off your vehicle, but how would a transport driver do it?

Transport drivers are often the worst as they are stored overnight outside.

However, I also see many people who just brush their windscreen off with their hands, turn on the rear defogger and hope for the best. They don't give a monkeys about people behind them who get a wall of snow from the cars roof, bonnet etc.

<waves>

Getting snow on your car is just a feature of having a car in Canada, not a cause for fuss.

My issue with cars and snow on the roof etc flying off is that it just takes a few minutes (while the car is warming up) to brush off the roof, boot, bonnet etc so that the snow doesn't blind the cars behind. Some people can't be bothered to do it.

I'm among them. Prancing around in the cold with a brush seems pretty pointless to me, I just bash a square about a foot across in the ice in front of me and drive on.

Remind me not to drive behind you in your travels across upper Appalachia

And some of us try to but have probs getting it all - being 5ft tall and clearing the snow off the roof of a Jeep Liberty ain't easy!

Heels.

Holy crap! That would need to be a huge set of heels!

Its not the snow on top that bothers me. Sure, clear it if you can, but thats not always practical. You have to live with the fact that large slabs can fall off the transports, thats just one of the joys of winter driving, and a reason not to tailgate.


The ones that get me are the igloo drivers who dont bother to clear all the windows. The lack of visibility the driver must have when the side and back windows are still snow covered gives me the hebe jeebies.

Still, I expect that sort of muppet has only all season tyres on 9 times out of ten and would struggle to avoid anything alarming they saw coming at them from the back or sides anyway...

<waves again>

This morning there was heavy falling snow. I knew I wouldn't be able to see forward so I just cleared a six inch square in front of me and a slot on the two side windows which I used to guage my position relative to the roadside hydro poles. After twenty minutes or so the wipers grind the windshield clear, not that I can see anything even then. The rear and side rear windows don't clear all winter.

The worst of it is stop signs. Winding the door windows down to see if there's anything coming lets the cold into the car.

your round Ottawa yes? where was the heavy snow?

Not near Ottawa, northwest of Toronto. Heavy snow on CR 17 and then on Highway 89 west of Shelburne, east of Mount Forest. I went south on H25 to Grand Valley where visibility was poor yet and I got yet another speeding ticket. Quite how the radar determined my speed in such snow I don't know.

Thats Great news! I was for some reason thinking you were from around these parts, the roads are safe once again from snow and ice being blown from speeding cars!