<p>My D just mentioned that she is slated to be the van driver for a group of students going from her school in PA to McGill in late January. She’s a good driver, but we live in a rural area, and she’s only had occassional experience in cities (but on the plus side, that is in Germany, so she’s used to traffic circles, narrow streets, and different signs). She’s been licensed for a couple of years and has not had a car in college. I didn’t say much besides asking if she’s sure she’s comfortable doing that, and she said she is. She also said that there is one other person in the group who is licensed for the van, so she wouldn’t have to do all of the driving. I’m feeling unsettled about it and hoping for good advice to pass on to her (or maybe reassurance for me!). Anyone with experience driving in Montreal?</p>
<p>driving in montreal in the winter is BAD. I just got back from there, and it was pretty miserable getting to and from our hotel. I think the better bet is to not use the car while you are in the city. The roads aren’t plowed very well and are quite icy (we were there several days after a storm). For someone without much winter driving experience, much less without much driving experience at all, I would be quite worried. The actual driving, minus the snow+ice+slush, was fine. Once in the city there shouldn’t be any need for a car, the metro and bus system does pretty well. Also there isn’t much parking in the city, and parallel parking on an unplowed street in a van isn’t something I think many people would be interested in.</p>
<p>I haven’t been to Canada in a long time, but I would be concerned about everyone being able to get across the border easily, ie are they all US citizens, do they have passports (even if not required). It would be a shame to spend an extra 3 or 4 hours at the border or worse, have 1 student denied entry. Kids can be naive.</p>
<p>When I was in college, living in Detroit, I took my college roommate (who was from Iran) to see the Christmas lights in Windsor, Ontario. They turned us around at the Canadian side of the bridge and didn’t want to let us back in on the Detroit side! I am lucky to not still be on that bridge today!</p>
<p>I believe that she may be required to show proof of insurance at the border. We’ve never been stopped on that but I always carry a card from my insurer stating that I have it. They send it to me every year.</p>
<p>I grew up in Montreal, and driving there in the winter is extremely tricky! The roads are very icy and snow covered and fishtailing happens at almost every turn. Unless your daughter has a lot of practice driving in very snowy/icy conditions, I would be hesitant to send her. However, I would have no problem letting them go if there were no snow. It is a very safe city.</p>
<p>This probably do not apply to your D, snow tires are mandatory for Quebec drivers. </p>
<p>[Quebec’s</a> mandatory winter tire law starts Monday](<a href=“http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/12/12/mtl-snowtires1212.html]Quebec’s”>http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/12/12/mtl-snowtires1212.html)</p>
<p>Also seem to remember right turns on a red light are illegal.</p>
<p>Driving in downtown will be the easy part…the autoroute/highway driving to get to downtown is fast and would be intimidating to all but experienced drivers… but I have not been there in snow, maybe it is different then; I think she is happy to do it because she has no idea what she will face.</p>
<p>I would be very concerned about winter driving, little driving experience, and having a group of kids in the car. Driving in Montreal per se is not that much different from driving in a big US city. It’s very grid like and easy to go around the block if you need to, but winter driving is a problem (ice, snow, lack of experience, other drivers) added to not knowing your way around. The signage is different and that can throw people off. </p>
<p>I’ve driven many times in Montreal and actually prefer it to taking taxis and public transportation. You can walk easily in the center because of the underground city. However, adding together all the drawbacks, I think this is probably not a wise thing to do.</p>
<p>Also it compounds the problem if you D is not used to driving a van which can behave much differently on snow/ice than another type of vehicle.</p>
<p>I just have to reiterate-- driving in montreal in the summer, totally fine, no worse than driving in a suburban town. Driving in montreal in the winter, a completely different story. We (wrongly) assumed that as long as we weren’t driving while it was snowing the roads would be fine, as they are in the northeast where we were accustomed to driving. Several roads in the city were extremely poorly plowed even 2-3 days after the snow. The drivers there didn’t seem fazed, but we were sliding around pretty badly. It seems like a recipe for trouble to drive a car that you are not used to driving in the snow.</p>
<p>Yep, you all are really confirming my unsettled feeling. On the plus side, my D has had experience driving big vehicles and <em>some</em> experience with “foreign” city traffic. And she says she would only be driving straight to and from McGill and any other getting around in the city would be by public transportation. But I am definitely concerned about weather conditions, traffic, and the potential distraction of six passengers. I’ll talk to her some more. I’m glad you mentioned insurance, because that may be a factor that eliminates her from eligibility. In Germany, she is covered on our insurance (policies here are for each vehicle no matter who the driver is), but she is not an insured driver on a stateside policy since she has no car there. So I’ll have to get more information about how she came to be listed as a driver for the school van, and if there is no provision for insurance coverage, she will not be able to do it anyway.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input!</p>
<p>Another voice here to confirm that winter driving in Montreal is not wise for the inexperienced, particularly if they’re in an unfamiliar vehicle. This is just my personal opinion, but I would not be comfortable with one of my Ds driving a van full of friends that distance, and in the winter (and they have all had extensive winter driving experience). The drive TO Montreal may be a challenge at that time of year. The Northway, 87, is a beautiful drive but mountainous and almost always snowy during the winter. </p>
<p>Navigating a van (how large a van will it be?) around Montreal streets in winter will not be fun, particularly around McGill, much of which is on the side of the mountain. Finding parking will also likely be an issue. You cannot park on the streets in Canada for more than 3 hours at a time, and not overnight, without a permit. Maybe you could recommend that they go by train?</p>
<p>Re: passports. They are not mandatory yet but crossing the border is much easier with them, than without. Customs at the crossing they’ll be taking to go to Montreal is notoriously more difficult than at Ontario crossings. With a van full of college aged kids, they may have difficulty, and if someone does not have appropriate I.D., they may all be turned away.</p>
<p>alwaysamom,
I was hoping you would chime in with your “in Canada” perspective. </p>
<p>I’m a high school teacher and my experience with such trips is so much different - adults in charge, and no students ever driving, of course. I’m not a totally thoughtless mother, but when my D went on a couple of trips with this EC last year, I didn’t ask about the transportation arrangements and it didn’t occur to me that it would be just the students going off by themselves. After reading the comments here, I really don’t even like the idea of her going even if one of the other students drives. I believe it is a pretty big MUN conference they are going to…I wonder if all of the colleges send students off in their vans. I do think a train would be a lot safer.</p>
<p>if she does do it, make sure that she leaves really really early in the morning so that she can get to montreal before it gets dark. Also, if it has snowed/iced really badly in the previous week or so, make sure that she doesn’t wait too long to get gas. We had some problems getting gas in NH since most of the state was out of power!</p>
<p>Renee, I feel the same as you do about kids in large groups driving long distances to events. Never a good idea. I would really recommend to her that they look into taking the train. The main train station is right downtown in Montreal which would be convenient, as I believe the MUN event is taking place at the Sheraton Centre (not at McGill, although they sponsor it), which is close to the station.</p>
<p>Thanks, alwaysamom. I will pass that information on.</p>