I think the reason we have more snow/ice problems than other countries who look to just get along with it is....
as zpyder said, a lot of people arent used to it...
its a lot wetter here.... I remember being in Philadelphia at -8C (it had been constantly sub-zero for weeks) a few years back, and you could walk across sheet ice without a problem, it wasnt slippy at all... apparently because its dry.... it was practically sticky
and the weather changes a lot.... peaks of -10C overnight then +5C during the day is normal.... so all the ice/snow melts during the day then freezers over at night making it slippy as hell !
not a lot of other places have that kind of combination