low traction

my wife and i went out to the art store last night and experienced another profundity of having a new(er) car. as i careened through the snow covered streets of the northside, my car flashes "low traction" on the dash. How does it know that? is there some little dudad sitting there looking for ice or is it solely based on temp.? i think cars these days are made so that stupid people can drive. it basically tells you everything. growing up, i traveled a lot of dirt roads where there was always "low traction". (i applied my simple mathmatical equation gravel road+high speed = low traction) my car would have had a hissy fit. soon we shouldn't even have to drive, i'm all about working on the teleportation thing b/c that would totally cut down on commute time. Anyway, my car is way too smart for it's own good, it perplexes me.