is the prius safe to drive in snow?

I always avoid driving when it snows (I take the bus to school everyday, and if it snows I don't socialize, hence don't need to drive). Plus, it's a pain scraping ice off the windows. I don't mind driving in cleared-out roads after a snowfall.

Anyway, two days ago I had to give a ride to a friend who came to a little gathering at my place. There was no snow when I picked her up. Three hours later, there was about an inch of snow on the ground, which I didn't expect. So, I gave her a ride back home.

Everything was find until I braked slowly at a stop sign. The brakes didn't respond well, and the skid icon came on the dashboard. It wasn't that bad, but I wasn't too happy. It's not that I didn't expect that to happen on uncleared snow roads, but I was slightly (VERY slightly) shaken that the car didn't do what I wanted it to do. The skidding thing happened once more during that trip, but I braked way ahead of the following red/stop signs, everything was ok.

 

Yes, Michgal, but you live in Ann Arbor, where snow removal relies on divine action: "God put it there, let God make it go away." Seriously, Ann Arbor is bad to drive in when it's dry and warm, let alone with snow on the streets. The roads are small, narrow, and full of parked cars. I wouldn't drive there in the snow either if I didn't have to. It's much easier up here in the frozen north. The roads are well maintained and there aren't many other cars.

Tom