I'll stand by my statement that implied southern drivers on ice are more dangerous than northern drivers on snow. They're more dangerous than Northern drivers on ice too. It's not because Northerners are better drivers than "southerners". There are good and bad drivers everywhere. However, most northerner drivers have more experience driving in snowy or icy conditions than people from down here, and it helps some. All those slalom runs in the parking lot are a good teacher, and the studded hakkapeliitta's sure help too.
ANYONE is dangerous on ice, I don't know of any vehicle or driver that handles good on it. I was involved in a 10 car pile up on a bridge in Mattydale (just outside of Syracuse). In a gym in Syracuse, I had a guy telling me how great his new jeep 4x4 handled on ice (total idiot).
In snow? Driving from Mercer Pa on I 80 to the 81 exit on I-80, on Christmas eve going home to see my parents, a 5 hour drive (about 3.5 hours on I-80 if I remember correctly) took me 9 hours. Driving a Toyota 4x4, in 4 wheel drive, going about 45 miles a hour for a good 2 hours, I had about 10 cars/trucks pass me out that had to be doing over 55 on a hard pack of snow in the passing lane, and guess how many cars I came across in a ditch? NEVER stopped for the idiots.
West Virginia, always snow in winter, bottom of Coppers Rock on I68 there was ALWAYS a 4x4 stuck at the bottom of the hill as they ALWAYS went to fast going downhill, had a decent curve in the road to go up hill, and the 4x4 weight would always drag it into a ditch. It wasn't until I was about 30 that I learned that even in 4 wheel drive, going around a corner on hard pack snow, your trucks weight will make you slide right off.
You want to know how many people I've seen "up north" drive over a wet, cold (right around 32 degrees) bridge only to hit their breaks ON THE BRIDGE and then end up sliding? You think people would know something that simple.
ANYONE who has 4 wheel drive thinks their impervious to bad snow conditions. What they forget to realize is that 4 wheel drive does nothing for you when you hit the breaks. Probably more northern mommas driving SUV's who end up in ditches than southern mommas LOL
I've come to the conclusion that smart people drive VERY slow in bad weather, or don't drive at all.