Blog: It's nice to be mobile after the snows

Blog: Joy! I finally got my car back from a relative's house where it has been languishing in a thick blanket of snow since the white stuff first arrived a couple of weeks ago, writes Emma Suddaby.

I made the mistake of driving it there the night before I was due to have a small hand operation just before Christmas. So by the time I was able, post-surgery, to drive it home again the chances of extricating it from its remote, snowbound location, bandaged hand or no, were about the same as the temperature - below zero.

And though I wouldn't have been able to drive it even if I'd had it, due to the impassable, icy country roads, knowing it wasn't there, tucked up in the garage, ready to transport me should I need transporting - has been enough to give me serious cabin-fever.

The world belongs to those with four-wheel drive when we're hit with severe winters like these but I'm tired of all the 4-WD snobbery that has blown in with the snow flurries.

I've listened to lorry drivers venting their frustration at finding journeys hampered by poor folk in 2-WD vehicles, helplessly slithering across icy roads. And I've heard many lucky 4-wheel drivers condemning those with less capable cars for even venturing out onto the roads in such conditions, causing slippery tailbacks as they inch up icy hills, blocking roads with abandoned, suddenly useless, vehicles.

Because, it's all very well for those who have been able to stock up on supplies and snuggle up at home, waiting the white stuff out. But for many, staying home is a luxury they just can't afford.

Like the disabled folk out there, who rely on their cars just like most rely on their legs. Life must go on and whereas the able-bodied can get their wellies on and walk short distances, those with disabilities haven't got that choice.

They either stay home, helpless in the treacherous conditions, or get in the car and give it a go. Or they take the AA's advice and stay safely at home, but they then become another visit on the list for a carer to attend.

And not many of the carers, district nurses and the like who simply must find a path through the snow to reach those elderly and disabled folk, stranded in their homes, have 4-WD vehicles to carry them there. Should they stay off the roads too then?

So if you're one of the lucky ones, who ploughed through the drifts with confidence in your cushy 4x4, spare a thought for those who spent the cold-snap valiantly sliding sideways down hills, useless wheels churning slush in an attempt to gain enough purchase to move forward rather than diagonally, across junctions, before finally blocking lanes with abandoned cars to wait out the white-out, roadside.

I'm voting for a rural 4x4 rota if next winter lives up to this one, with willing four-wheel drivers contributing to a community snow transport scheme.

So next time, don't give us earache, put your money where your mouth is and give us a lift instead!