Snow traps hundreds of drivers on highway

[godisnum1]

Yet another reason why we should prep...

Bran <><

A truck accident near Buffalo, N.Y., leaves motorists stranded overnight in heavy snow.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101202/ap_on_re_us/us_winter_weather

[QUOTE]By CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press Carolyn Thompson, Associated Press

[dilli]

there is/was absolutely no good reason for that to have happened. Every union member and every management position that had anything to do with this happening should be FIRED! I was born , raised n lived in this area for over 30 years.. this was completely unacceptable and preventable.. they are lucky no one died or was severely injured in the mess that they created

[godisnum1]

I agree... they're all quite fortunate nothing bad happened to any of them!

Bran <><

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Every union member and every management position that had anything to do with this happening should be FIRED! I was born , raised n lived in this area for over 30 years.. this was completely unacceptable and preventable.. they are lucky no one died or was severely injured in the mess that they created

Huh? I dont live in that area what does a union member or management have to do with a snowstorm and a wreck? Can you two explain please?

[Klayton]

matt I am thinking dilli was refering to union/management forcing truck drivers to drive through a storm they knew was coming??? Just guessing here on my part...

[Matt In Oklahoma]

ahh ok, I was confused about that

[mosinfan]

i got stuck in clevland ohio a couple years ago when a freak snow storm dumped on us.i had to go by the hound dog to upstate new york and ended up spending some time in clevland.

by the lake they gets some serious freak snow.

[Mannlicher]

well, you just can't shut down all the highways just because it is Winter. Folks that live there know that. Has nothing to do with Unions or management being cruel and mean.

[godisnum1]

matt I am thinking dilli was refering to union/management forcing truck drivers to drive through a storm they knew was coming??? Just guessing here on my part...

I was assuming that's what he was talking about... but I bet that's a hard call with it being a supply/demand sort of thing. I mean, if that's what he was talking about...

Bran <><

[WiseOwl]

Back in 02 or 03, I used to deliver antiques cross country. This particular instance I had to drive from Atlanta to Little Rock and back to Atlanta.
After getting a late start, I stayed the 1st night in Huntsville, Al. The next morning they were talking about snow on the radio but he radio "dorks" said it was highly unlikely and that a "maybe" doesn't qualify for a definite. So I drove on to Little Rock and turned back on I-40E through Memphis and stopped in Jackson, TN to stay the night at a hotel. It was as cold as a polar bears toenail that night but I thought nothing of it mind you I was only 20 years old, bulletproof and a know it all. So I wake up around 8am and when I go outside to warm up my truck there is almost a foot of snow. Me being from the Southside of Atlanta, I love it anytime I see an inch of snow. So I plated as I let the truck warm up and went on to the truck stop to fill up on fuel and grab 2 22oz Mountain Dews, a Cinnamon Roll, and 3 black n mild cigars. So I get on I-40 and head east and decide I am going to get off at the next exit and see if they have an old country store to get me a biscuit. When I pull up at the gas station, people were saying not to get on the expressway because there was an accident with the icy roads. I thought, well, I am on the clock and I have no where else to go so why not. They also said any alternate routes were more dangerous so I went on ahead. So I pulled up to the traffic jam around 10:00am. As I was jammin to some old country station they went to commercial and said there was a bad wreck on I-40 E just outside of Jackson. So I sat, and sat and sat... 4 hours go by and I only moved 100ft. I started to see people get out their cars and walk around asking everyone if they had heard anything. So I decided to make me a 7 foot snowman to kill the time. I saw numerous people try and go across the median and get stuck, which gave me a little bit of entertainment. Then 4:00PM rolls around and I notice I havent moved 10 feet. I really started to worry. I didnt have any gear on me other than a hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. So I got some moving pads out of the back of the truck and bundled up, even giving some to the people around me, they stunk, but kept us warm. I had 1 MT Dew left and a half of a Cinnamon roll. I finally decided that atleast I had fuel so I would just leave a window cracked with the heat on and wait on someone to honk the horn for me to move once traffic got back to flowing. At 1AM a TN State Patrol knocked on my window and asked me if I wanted coffee or coke. I was shocked to see everyone in front of me gone. So as I got up the road a lil ways I saw a damn sight!!! 3 Tractor Trailers were jacknifed and broken apart on both side of the road and an F-150 pulling a travel trailer was upside down. I got to the next exit outside of Nashville and went to a Waffle House. It was packed and I finally found out that there was a 20 car pile up with some fatalities. It was a mess.
Moral of the story, always have some kind of survival pack in your vehicle no matter where you go. Since that day, I always keep something in the vehicle I am in for any reason, and this was long before I started prepping. And when the other crew at work wants to draw straws on which route Little Rock or Pensacola, even when Pensacola was my original route, I just took Little Rock for the hours....I never drew straws again or anything like it. What an experience and an eye opener that anything can happen anytime and catch you unprepared!

[godisnum1]

Moral of the story, always have some kind of survival pack in your vehicle no matter where you go. Since that day, I always keep something in the vehicle I am in for any reason, and this was long before I started prepping. And when the other crew at work wants to draw straws on which route Little Rock or Pensacola, even when Pensacola was my original route, I just took Little Rock for the hours....I never drew straws again or anything like it. What an experience and an eye opener that anything can happen anytime and catch you unprepared!

Thanks WiseOwl! Right there is precisely why I decided to post this one here and on my Facebook. I hope that some will read what I post and either realize they need to take proper measures to assure their safety to the best of their ability... or so others who have learned the hard way can share their words of wisdom so others can see the importance a little clearer. :)

Bran <><