Rocky roads in the Cariboo

I was driving to work, 7:15 a.m. on a Monday, when I glanced down and saw the small crack in my windshield. It went from the corner, diagonally across toward the centre, about seven inches.
That’s a small crack in the Cariboo.
I’d forgotten about it.
The first chip on my glass was distressing; driving back from Vancouver in my brand-spanking new Mazda 3 only to reach the hill sloping into 100 Mile House and have a large rock fly at my face.
I remember the conflicting advice locals offered:
“If you put clear nail polish on a crack, it’ll stop it from spreading.”
“That’s only good if it’s a small chip.”
“Get them fixed as fast as possible.”
“Don’t bother fixing them; everyone has to replace their front window when you drive up here.”
My next one wasn’t as worrisome; I actually didn’t even notice it until it was two inches long, when it started to spread out of the left corner of my windshield.
As long as it doesn’t obscure my view of the road, I thought, it should be all right. And that’s the thought that again ran through my mind on Monday morning.
Then, like an invisible pen drawing a straight line across my window, the crack spread.
I tried putting my finger along its path of destruction to quell it’s speedy travel but it was no use — a streak was permanently etched across my windshield.
Looking at my car, one might think me a gangster; the front end is riddled with dents, making it look like I drove head on into machine gun fire.
For my Jan. 7 column, I spoke with representatives from the District of 100 Mile House, Interior Roads and the Ministry of Transportation.
All of them pretty much told me there was no way to get around the large “boulders” sneaking out of the “sanding” trucks, as the mixture is regulation size.
The ministry spokesperson even told me there were larger rocks in the mix to prevent it from blowing off the road.
This confused me, as the finer sand I’ve seen on snowy roads seems to stick it out quite well.
As a newcomer, I thought I was being a bit whiny about the road conditions, but, as it turns out, 99 per cent of South Cariboo residents, long-time, new or otherwise, also hate the roads. I gathered this as I receive complaint letters to the editor from drivers every week.
One woman sent me a photo of her vehicle after a rock flew up from a passing truck and shattered her rear side window — where her children usually sat.
For financial, safety and esthetic reasons, something must be done about these rocky Cariboo roads.

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