With dropping temperatures and slick, snowy roads, driving in this weather is a challenge for many, even if the driver has been driving for decades or just a few months. 

According to FoxWeather.com, temperatures are dropping dangerously low across Minnesota with windchills as low as -40 degrees some days. The Minnesota State Patrol has disclosed that more than 500 car crashes and spin-outs started in the first week of December. With records like these, young drivers like the ones at RAHS need to be extremely cautious when driving this time around.

A newly licensed driver, Julian Lund, who is a sophomore here at RAHS, explains how the weather has affected her driving experience. “The winter weather is affecting my driving by taking me longer to get from point A to point B.”

Lund continues to explain how the winter driving has affected her attendance. “The weather has affected my attendance by making me tardy to the 1st hour because of the increased driving time.”

Senior Anna Engman, a more experienced driver, said she’s a bit more cautious about driving in times like this. “The winter weather makes driving more stressful, so I have to drive more cautiously and leave my house earlier.”

Engman also expounded that her attendance hasn’t been affected by the weather, although before she expressed that she needed to leave her house earlier to combat the icy roads. Both Lund and Engman illustrated that this weather has increased the time it takes them to drive to school.

Yet another student, Riley Wold, a sophomore at RAHS, has said “the weather hasn’t affected my school attendance because I already get to school early,” but claims “ the winter weather affects my driving because of the icy roads, making it harder to stop.” 

So it seems easy to say that the winter weather has had its effects on travel and attendance here at RAHS. It is a wise decision for students to leave their homes a few minutes early to make up for any delays caused by the weather. Remember to drive safely out there, raiders!