One thing I’ve noticed and been playing with since we’ve had so much snow recently is the whole VSA system (vehicle stability assist). I expected that it would try to stop me from having fun. And it does. That makes sense and I’m okay with it. I just turn it off when I want to play with the snowy roads.

 

But what I’ve been experimenting with is just how it affects that “below the surface” driving, the honed instincts of driving that kick in automatically without my paying attention. These change over time, since lessons learned for rear wheel drive are different from front and all wheel drive. But they exist.

 

What I’ve found is that VSA totally interrupts that instinctual reaction. It gets in the way. I find myself yanked back into the moment and having to correct what it forced to happen based on my automatic correction for what was originally happening. 

 

In one case I pushed it to see what would happen, there were no other cars around, and I ended up in a 180 rather than a 90 degree turn. The car would not LET me pull out of the spin the way I knew how. 

 

So, after playing with it for a few days in the snow I now have a mental note to turn it off when driving in any snowy weather. With VSA off the car reacts more like I expect it to.

 

The more I try to talk about this experience with people the more I find they just glaze over and say they have no idea how to handle their car in the snow. Astonishing. I can’t imagine having a car, driving it  10,000-15,000+ miles/year and never once wondering where it’s limits are, where my limits are, pushing it to find out and really getting to know what it and I can and can’t do together. To me this seems the only logical and sensible way to drive. Not to mention FUN.

 

You never know what you’ll encounter out there isn’t it best to be prepared?

 

Apparently the overwhelming response is “NOPE”.

 

/boggle.