Drivers In Virginia Stranded for 20 Hours In Freezing Cold On An Interstate

I once spent the night in a Pinto with two other unfortunates, stuck on I-75 in the howling snow.

I spent the night wavering between being convinced that we were going to freeze to death or die of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Have you ever tried to pee in a Dixie cup in the front seat of a Pinto? Yes, it is possible. No, it's not something I care to dwell on.......
 
I don't understand why so many people get stranded on the roads during a Winter Storm. Don't they pay attention to the weather reports?? I can understand some getting stuck for a bit during rush hour in the cities....if they are trying to get to/from work. However, traveling on a busy interstate highway during a storm seems rather hazardous to me. Most locales give a pretty accurate forecast, days in advance, and anyone doing 'non-essential" traveling should alter their plans accordingly....IMO.

I had enough Winter driving when I was working...often had to plan on leaving home early/work late, etc., to avoid the worst of it. Now, in retirement, if snow or ice is forecasted, we might make a quick trip to the grocery store, and then we Stay Home until the roads are clear again.
 
From my recent travels and seeing others along the road or at rest stops i can imagine many people really had a bad time.

Most of the travelers on Christmas in my area through a mountain pass ........ no coat.. just a hoodie..... no boots ...one had flip flops or high heels .... no gloves ... no winter driving skills.
Not a care in the world UNTIL.... pass was chains required except all wheel drive..... people with newly bought chains we watched as we drove by seemed no idea how to put on ... heard screaming about wrong size..... etc.

In this day and age weather apps and info is very accessible do they not believe in weather..... or accidents that may be in their way....
no one seems to bother with a basic emergency kit
my car has blankets water even a pair of sweatpants etc...

But i bet their phone was charged.
 
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The article says that an accident shut down the freeway. Had somebody not done something stupid to cause the accident, there might not have been the "massive logjam."

I've driven in some pretty intense snow storms in order to get to work or even to go skiing, and it wasn't that big of a deal unless there was an accident. Growing up in N.Y. State, bad weather in the winter was just a fact of life. Several SFs members live in N.Y. and know what I'm talking about. You just deal with it. It's just the weather, which you have to live with. Hell, even rich people can become victims of bad weather. Kobe Bryant comes to mind.

In heavy traffic, there's always somebody trying to weave their way through, moving back and forth from lane to lane, cutting people off. When I see someone like that, I think they're likely to cause an accident, and it's often the case where, when you pass an accident scene, they're one of the cars involved. It's people who drive radically different from other drivers who are often at fault for accidents. Sometimes, it's people who drive the speed limit when everyone else is speeding who might cause an accident when the rest of traffic is trying to get around them. It might not seem right to blame them, since they were the only ones obeying the law. Maybe if nobody is obeying a law, it should be changed. That's what happened in Colorado with our speed limits. They're now 75MPH on the interstate highways because nobody abided by them when they were 65.

So my point is, sometimes we just venture out into bad weather and hope everyone drives competently. And that's what happened in Virginia. Hell, even Tim Kaine got stuck in the logjam trying to get to D.C. They do have passenger trains from Richmond to D.C. I don't know why he wasn't riding it — perhaps out of fear of some nut going on a shooting spree or something.
 
Yeah, it was dubbed the I-95 Nightmare. I can't imagine it. One news report said they were stranded for 30 hours. What did they do when they had to go to the bathroom?! For men, it may not have been too much of a problem, but what about the women and children? Also, one lady who was interviewed did have snacks in the car for her and her children but what about those who didn't. This is why it's always good when heading out, especially in the winter to have snacks, water or other beverages and blankets inside the car (not the trunk). I had bought a few of those mylar blankets from a survival website and gave one to my son who is a truck driver. I have yet to use one. I wonder how many of those people were out there by necessity.
 
You need to realise that most young adult drivers, up to their mid 30s
were all brought up wrapped in cotton wool and never allowed outside
to play unless a parent was there to act as look-out for trouble, right up
to the time they left home in their teen years, so they have no idea, about
very much outside the family home and group, they got their freedom and
had no guiding arm, to keep them sensible, about driving, or about life after
Mum & Dad.

There is no reset function on a snow covered road, like on a video game.

Surprise weather catches even the experienced.

Mike.
 
I'm so thankful and content to be able to watch it all from the sidelines. :giggle:

cozy-winter-still-life-picture-id1047099136
 
Giantsfan1954 said:
I hear you Irwin, upstate NYer and as we well know, the weather can change from town to town!
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Gotta love the Mountain weather... or the funnel of the Mohawk River valley. Always carry an emergency kit in the truck, And upgraded if travelling ...Had I been in that mess... I could have had the hottest lady around... Hey Baby... I got hot coffee, sleeping bag, dinner and dry clothes...;):devilish:
 
StarSong said:
I grew up in the northeast and was trained to have emergency supplies in my car. To this day I carry water, snacks, a blanket, a sherpa lined sweatshirt, gloves and a change of clothes in my car - and I live in Los Angeles!
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What Star said

We do similar and have a "Get Home Bag", (GHB), in the vehicles. We can hole up in the vehicle or near to it as need be and make it overnight if need be.

Building a GHB is a interesting exercise to go thru - trying to figure out what all you want vs what you need vs what you will actually be able to carry in a pack. For ms gamboolgal and I - we would like so much stuff that we need a big trailer to carry it all - ha !

Then being able to walk afew miles a day - not as easy as it once was for us....
 
Today's paper had an article about "How could this happen?" So far, it sounds like no one is taking the blame, and you can bet that one highway official after another will be bouncing the responsibility to someone else. It was a very sudden, unexpectedly strong snowfall, but still. They should have been prepared.

What a nightmare. Imagine being stuck for hours and hours with screaming, frightened, hungry, cold infants or toddlers, with no help or information from anybody.
 
Don M. said:
I don't understand why so many people get stranded on the roads during a Winter Storm. Don't they pay attention to the weather reports?? I can understand some getting stuck for a bit during rush hour in the cities....if they are trying to get to/from work. However, traveling on a busy interstate highway during a storm seems rather hazardous to me. Most locales give a pretty accurate forecast, days in advance, and anyone doing 'non-essential" traveling should alter their plans accordingly....IMO.

I had enough Winter driving when I was working...often had to plan on leaving home early/work late, etc., to avoid the worst of it. Now, in retirement, if snow or ice is forecasted, we might make a quick trip to the grocery store, and then we Stay Home until the roads are clear again.
Click to expand...

Sunny said:
Today's paper had an article about "How could this happen?" So far, it sounds like no one is taking the blame, and you can bet that one highway official after another will be bouncing the responsibility to someone else. It was a very sudden, unexpectedly strong snowfall, but still. They should have been prepared.

What a nightmare. Imagine being stuck for hours and hours with screaming, frightened, hungry, cold infants or toddlers, with no help or information from anybody.
Click to expand...

We travel that stretch of highway all the time, and long backups are the norm even in good weather. I can't imagine what it was like in the snow and ice.

Our outgoing governor, Ralph "Coonman" Northam, assigned blame to the drivers of the vehicles.
 
That incident brought back the time the airline I was on couldn’t land at ft laud because of huge rain storm and airport was flooded. We were stuck for hours. But into an hour or so all the kids and babies started to act up and they were hungry. I had about 5 loves of Italian bread in my suitcase from n y cause we love n y bread. So I started to divide out the bread to all the starving kids and people. Just like what happened last week. When they called the owner of the bread truck to feed all the cars that were stuck for 30 hours. Bread never tasted better. We landed 3 hours later. But I was happy to save the day
 
Not only do people not pay any attention to their weather reports, when it hits, some just keep barreling along as though the sun is shining brightly. Next thing that happens is an accident due to this and then chaos ensues.
 


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