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Ever been stranded on the road due to weather?

Started by golden eagle, May 07, 2010, 12:35:46 AM

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golden eagle

Fortunately, I haven't had the pleasure, but I have to wonder what it's like to be, for example, stuck on an interstate due to a snowstorm.


corco

#1
If you're in Wyoming you do one of two things:

A) get off freeway, camp at nearest Wal-Mart or Pamida
b) get off freeway, stay at hotel
c) if you're in a truck- park on shoulder, sleep

Most states out west close the freeway before the roads become impassable, or in the case of Wyoming it's
1) see snow
2) watch snow make giant snow drifts
3) wait for massive pileup
4) close interstate
5) clear pile up
6) re-open interstate
7) wait for massive pileup
8)close interstate
9) clear pile up
and so forth

On Snoqualmie Pass the weather is usually good on both ends, with it just being bad on the pass, so it's highly unlikely you'll get stranded.

Emigrant Hill in Oregon you'll see trucks lining the shoulder just parked waiting for things to open up, but that's more because Pendleton isn't horribly friendly with boondocking trucks, so ODOT just has to let them park at the base of the hill on the freeway.

But the highway patrol and DOT do everything possible to make sure people get stranded in towns, not out on the open freeway. It does happen, but it's a rarity and usually when the freeway is closed the highway patrol and plows will sweep the closed highway to search for people stuck iin their cars, and if for some reason that happens they'll give them a ride into town. If the freeway closes after you pass the gate, you are legally allowed to keep driving until you get to the next closure gate, so odds are very strong that the only way you get stranded along the freeway is if you drive yourself into the ditch or get into an accident.

I-84 over Sweetzer in Idaho can also be a pain, but like in Wyoming they'll do their best to strand you in Snowville Utah or Burley/Heyburn and frequently sweep for stranded vehicles.

I've never personally been stranded, but on the off chance that it happens I always keep a few blankets in the car and enough food and water to last me a day when traveling in the winter, as well as a lighter, knife, rope, tow strap and other survival essentials.

-Slightly off topic but in Wyoming it's remarkably easy to get a barrier-jump permit if you have a truck or SUV that can comfortably traverse the snow. What they'll do is send you right behind the plow whenever it makes its next pass, and all you have to do is call the highway patrol, say "Hey, I'm local and drive a Jeep Liberty with 4WD and  live in Laramie but my Mom lives in Cheyenne and it's her birthday [or some other slightly valid excuse], can I please have a gate permit" and more often than not they'll issue you one.

I will say that living in a town where we're sort of "stranded" several times a year when all roads in and out are closed- it's interesting. The Wal-Mart parking lot becomes almost impassable because there's A) massive quantities of fresh snow that have to be piled and B) lots and lots of trucks. The store shelves quickly start to clear out- after two days of interstate closure there's not much benefit to going to the grocery store, and then traffic is a lot worse through town, but the hotels make a killing.

agentsteel53

I once had to get a tow out of a snowbank during a snowstorm on I-80 at Donner Summit.  I apparently was the last car down the hill, officially after they had closed the highway.  Wasn't quite stranded, but close!
live from sunny San Diego.

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jake@aaroads.com

hm insulators

I was never stranded on the road due to weather, but in 1994, I wanted to drive from Fredericksburg, Virginia to Kulpsville, Pennsylvania (not far from Philadelphia) on the back roads rather than the Interstate. That afternoon, a rain-and-windstorm was so heavy that I stopped in Annapolis for the night. The rain was so hard the wipers couldn't keep up and the wind was probably blowing 40 to 50 mph.
Remember: If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

I'd rather be a child of the road than a son of a ditch.


At what age do you tell a highway that it's been adopted?

oscar

I got stuck overnight in St. Paul AR, on AR 16/23, during an ice storm.  Unfortunately, I didn't have chains for my truck, and there were no lodgings anywhere in town.  Fortunately, I had a camper shell for my truck bed, and a sleeping bag and blanket in back, so I could just park (had a little trouble finding a space not under a power line) and comfortably wait until the roads turned less icy after dawn. 
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agentsteel53

Quote from: oscar on May 11, 2010, 06:23:55 PM
I got stuck overnight in St. Paul AR, on AR 16/23, during an ice storm.  Unfortunately, I didn't have chains for my truck, and there were no lodgings anywhere in town.  Fortunately, I had a camper shell for my truck bed, and a sleeping bag and blanket in back, so I could just park (had a little trouble finding a space not under a power line) and comfortably wait until the roads turned less icy after dawn. 

first rule of having a power line fall on top of you ... don't get out of the car!
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

agentsteel53

Quote from: hm insulators on May 11, 2010, 05:49:27 PM
That afternoon, a rain-and-windstorm was so heavy that I stopped in Annapolis for the night.


I've had that happen to me.  After witnessing three accidents in front of me in the span of 6 hours, I stopped in Richmond, VA.  Non-mountain Virginians just do not know how to drive in snow!
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

Ian

I don't think I have ever been stranded due to weather. However, we have been stranded due to car failure, but thats a different topic.
UMaine graduate, former PennDOT employee, new SoCal resident.
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froggie

Never been stranded due to weather.  But had to leave early on one occasion earlier this year due to it...

Brandon

In recent memory, I can't recall being stranded due to weather.  On some occassions it has taken me longer to get somewhere, but never stranded, even in the dead of winter in Michigan's UP.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

Truvelo

I've only been stranded on one occasion due to weather. It was in Dec 2008 when I set off for Scotland at around 7pm and intended to return home 10 hours later. Unfortunately as I approached Edinburgh I was rounding a bend and pulled into the fast lane to pass a pair of trucks when suddenly I hit a patch of snow and the car was slipping and sliding. The road quickly turned into an ice rink so I turned off at an exit where I knew there was a hotel and stayed the night. The following morning I had to use the kettle from the hotel room to pour warm water to melt the ice on the windshield.

Speed limits limit life



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