NE governors closing roads

[PHLBOS]

Well, a 11 year old boy died from carbon dioxide poisoning while his dad shoveled snow away from the vehicle.  So yes, death in a vehicle is a real possibility.

Minor point, but I believe you meant that the boy died of carbon monoxide poisoning not dioxide.  CO vs. CO2.

[vdeane]

What if you were on a day trip and didn't bring the supplies needed to stay overnight?  I don't take stuff like contact lens solution/cases, my pills, etc. with me on day trips.  If I were stranded without supplies, I would be in no position to get to the next day.  For example, without my contact lens stuff, I would have to choose between being blind now (from not being able to see without my lenses, which are soft and would have to be thrown out if not stored in solution) and being blind later (from eye damage from wearing the lenses more than 14 hours).  Additionally, I would be in no way presentable the next day.

Plus hotels are expensive.  At present, I can't afford them.  I don't have $100 just lying around that I can blow off due to unanticipated delays.

As for the carbon monoxide poisoning, looks like the dad forgot to clear the tail pipe.

[kphoger]

Good idea? Bad idea? Prudent use of executive orders or overreaction and an unnecessary infringement on freedom to travel?

I don't think  banning driving is an infringement on one's freedom to travel. That's what feet are for.

Are you going to walk 300 miles in the snow?

The question is not, Are you going to walk 300 miles in the snow?.  The question is, Is it possible and legal to walk 300 miles in the snow?  The answer to the latter question is Yes, which means your supposed freedom to travel is not being infringed upon.

[agentsteel53]

I don't take stuff like contact lens solution/cases, my pills, etc. with me on day trips.  If I were stranded without supplies, I would be in no position to get to the next day.  For example, without my contact lens stuff, I would have to choose between being blind now (from not being able to see without my lenses, which are soft and would have to be thrown out if not stored in solution) and being blind later (from eye damage from wearing the lenses more than 14 hours).  Additionally, I would be in no way presentable the next day.

for this exact reason, I always have extra contacts, solution, etc in my travel bag - which is always in my car, unless I've flown somewhere, in which case it is with me.

[kphoger]

I don't take stuff like contact lens solution/cases, my pills, etc. with me on day trips.  If I were stranded without supplies, I would be in no position to get to the next day.  For example, without my contact lens stuff, I would have to choose between being blind now (from not being able to see without my lenses, which are soft and would have to be thrown out if not stored in solution) and being blind later (from eye damage from wearing the lenses more than 14 hours).  Additionally, I would be in no way presentable the next day.

for this exact reason, I always have extra contacts, solution, etc in my travel bag - which is always in my car, unless I've flown somewhere, in which case it is with me.

It might also be mentioned that it's a good idea to check the weather forecast before deciding not to pack such necessary items.  If the the weatherman says you're going to get two feet of snow, you might reconsider your packing list.

[corco]

Plus hotels are expensive.  At present, I can't afford them.  I don't have $100 just lying around that I can blow off due to unanticipated delays.

At least out here that's just an assumed risk- I plan for the possibility of needing a hotel just like I would the possibility of my car breaking down. Always have a credit card. Check the weather beforehand and maybe time your trip around the weather, when at all possible. I've delayed things by a week countless times because of road closures or the possiblity of road closures. Maybe that doesn't happen back east, but out here people accept that as part of the deal of living out here.

Traveling without an extra $100 is just stupid even in the best of weather conditions- you never know when something bad might happen. If you're down to that little money, you shouldn't be traveling. Hell, even if the roads are barely passable and they're open and you decide to attempt to traverse them to save money on a hotel, there's a pretty decent chance you'll end up stranded even if you're the best of drivers, and then you're out towing money and hotel money, so not budgeting for that possibility prior to a trip into a snowstorm would be really, really dumb. I know we're both in our early to mid twenties so we're invincible (and I'm guilty of acting that way too), but at least plan for the possibility that you're not.

[agentsteel53]

If the the weatherman says you're going to get two feet of snow, you might reconsider your trip.

fixed that for ya!  even I'm not that much of a maniac that I'll willingly drive into two feet of snow.

[deathtopumpkins]

One thing no one has mentioned here that I feel is important to the discussion, at least regarding Massachusetts:

While travel was banned, there was a pretty lengthy list of exceptions to it, which can be read in the Executive Order here: http://www.mass.gov/governor/legislationeexecorder/executiveorder/executive-order-no-543.html

This travel ban shall not apply to the following:

-public safety vehicles and public safety workers, including contract personnel
-public works vehicles and public works workers, including contract personnel; government officials conducting official business
-utility company vehicles and utility workers
-healthcare workers who must travel to and from work in order to provide essential health services
-news media
-travel necessary to maintain and deliver critical private sector services such as energy, fuel supplies and delivery, financial systems and the delivery of critical commodities
-travel to support business operations that provide critical services to the public, including gasoline stations, food stores and hardware stores

Thus many of the people complaining about the travel ban preventing them from getting home were exempt from it anyway. I had a grocery store attempt to turn me away around 1 pm last Friday with the manager citing that her employees needed to be able to get home before the travel ban went into effect - even though it specifically exempts employees of grocery stores traveling to/from work.

And I think the travel ban itself was a good idea. It prevented us from having a repeat of the Blizzard of '78 with stranded traffic on the freeways, which Long Island saw on the LIE. It could have been lifted before it was, but I do definitely think it helped reduce the cleanup burden on the Commonwealth.

[jeffandnicole]

Well, a 11 year old boy died from carbon dioxide poisoning while his dad shoveled snow away from the vehicle.  So yes, death in a vehicle is a real possibility.

Minor point, but I believe you meant that the boy died of carbon monoxide poisoning not dioxide.  CO vs. CO2.

Can I blame spellcheck on that error?

What if you were on a day trip and didn't bring the supplies needed to stay overnight?  I don't take stuff like contact lens solution/cases, my pills, etc. with me on day trips.  If I were stranded without supplies, I would be in no position to get to the next day.  For example, without my contact lens stuff, I would have to choose between being blind now (from not being able to see without my lenses, which are soft and would have to be thrown out if not stored in solution) and being blind later (from eye damage from wearing the lenses more than 14 hours).  Additionally, I would be in no way presentable the next day.

Plus hotels are expensive.  At present, I can't afford them.  I don't have $100 just lying around that I can blow off due to unanticipated delays.

As for the carbon monoxide poisoning, looks like the dad forgot to clear the tail pipe.

If you were taking a daytrip on the eve of a well-forecasted, multi-foot snowfall, then I don't feel sorry for you if you were caught. 

Besides - it doesn't matter, even if you were on a 2 week excursion.  Empty highways can be cleared relatively quickly. Highways with stuck vehicles can take days to clear...oh, and then you can pay much more than $100 to retrive your vehicle from the impound lot.

[hbelkins]

even I'm not that much of a maniac that I'll willingly drive into two feet of snow.

During several of Kentucky's big snowstorms, I didn't have a choice. At a previous job, I was tasked with going to get other employees to bring them to work because I had a 4WD.

[agentsteel53]

During several of Kentucky's big snowstorms, I didn't have a choice. At a previous job, I was tasked with going to get other employees to bring them to work because I had a 4WD.

how much of the two feet was cleared by the time you were tasked to drive into it?  I doubt any regular-issue road vehicle - 4WD or otherwise - has the clearance to handle two feet of untouched snow. 

maybe a 6WD Ural. 

[vdeane]

Plus hotels are expensive.  At present, I can't afford them.  I don't have $100 just lying around that I can blow off due to unanticipated delays.

At least out here that's just an assumed risk- I plan for the possibility of needing a hotel just like I would the possibility of my car breaking down. Always have a credit card. Check the weather beforehand and maybe time your trip around the weather, when at all possible. I've delayed things by a week countless times because of road closures or the possiblity of road closures. Maybe that doesn't happen back east, but out here people accept that as part of the deal of living out here.

Traveling without an extra $100 is just stupid even in the best of weather conditions- you never know when something bad might happen. If you're down to that little money, you shouldn't be traveling. Hell, even if the roads are barely passable and they're open and you decide to attempt to traverse them to save money on a hotel, there's a pretty decent chance you'll end up stranded even if you're the best of drivers, and then you're out towing money and hotel money, so not budgeting for that possibility prior to a trip into a snowstorm would be really, really dumb. I know we're both in our early to mid twenties so we're invincible (and I'm guilty of acting that way too), but at least plan for the possibility that you're not.

Aside from a couple infamous corridors (I-81 along Lake Ontario and I-90 along Lake Erie), we don't really get storms like that very often around here, so it's not an assumed risk.

I always have my credit card one me (checkbook too, at least once I get my new checks this week); it's disposable income that I don't really have, since I'm a college student with no regular income (and some expenses that my parents refuse to pay for because Dad's embarrassed about a life choice I made last year).

I don't watch TV, so the weather I get is whatever Weather Underground is kind enough to share, which with regards to accumulation is only whatever the National Weather Service posts.  I'm usually good about checking in winter, though since Potsdam is shielded by the Adirondacks what the local forecast has is not usually the one I need to pay attention to.

[agentsteel53]

(and some expenses that my parents refuse to pay for because Dad's embarrassed about a life choice I made last year)

"damn it, son, pay your own expenses - it's getting embarrassing!"

[PHLBOS]

Can I blame spellcheck on that error?

No, because you spelled dioxide correctly in your earlier post. 
Spellcheck can't help one if they accidentally used the wrong word and spelled it correctly.

[jeffandnicole]

Can I blame spellcheck on that error?

No, because you spelled dioxide correctly in your earlier post. 
Spellcheck can't help one if they accidentally used the wrong word and spelled it correctly.

But spellcheck should've known what I wanted to say, dammit!

[djsinco]

I was driving a semi on my way to Brattleboro, VT from Auburndale, FL with a load of Tropicana OJ. I got to the Broad St Truck Stop in Springfield, MA., shortly after noon on Saturday, March 13th, 1993. I could not deliver the OJ until Sunday morning at C&S. As I got to the truck stop, the so-called "Storm of the Century" was bearing down on the New England area. I spent the remainder of the day watching TV in my truck, which consisted of non-stop weather coverage of the massive storm. Every 30 minutes or so I rolled forward about 100 feet, to try to leave a path for myself for departing through in the morning. The next morning, I headed up to Brattleboro, just me and a few plows on the road at 5AM. The snow was deeper still in VT, about 3 feet deep with drifts much deeper. I arrived at C&S,  and  was one of only 4 out of 150 trucks that arrived which were scheduled for that day. In Brattleboro, the drifts were deep enough that you could walk up to the top of the trailers that had been parked there through the storm.

Sorry to be so long-winded, but my point is that back then there was no one trying to protect me from the elements, and everything came out OK.  I had instructions to head next to Corinth, NY, to pick up paper at a paper mill. That trip over the Green Mountains with an empty trailer over 2 lane VT Route 9 was way more interesting, but again,  the roads were open, and I made it!

[cpzilliacus]

During several of Kentucky's big snowstorms, I didn't have a choice. At a previous job, I was tasked with going to get other employees to bring them to work because I had a 4WD.

how much of the two feet was cleared by the time you were tasked to drive into it?  I doubt any regular-issue road vehicle - 4WD or otherwise - has the clearance to handle two feet of untouched snow. 

maybe a 6WD Ural. 

I would much prefer a variation on one of these vehicles (Wikipedia).

[SidS1045]

I don't watch TV, so the weather I get is whatever Weather Underground is kind enough to share, which with regards to accumulation is only whatever the National Weather Service posts.

There's this new thing out, which you may have heard of:  Radio.  It's available in lots of places where the Internet isn't.  Some radio stations even have (wait for it) WEATHER REPORTS!

People who die in weather events like blizzards are the ones who fail to plan.  You're in college, so I'm presuming you have some brains in your head.  Use them.  Stop making excuses.  It doesn't take the mind of a brain surgeon to get through this.  If there's bad weather coming, take an extra set of contacts plus some solution...and fercryinoutloud stop worrying about what you look like.  Getting where you're going in one piece is far more important than looking "presentable."

[hbelkins]

I got caught traveling in bad weather once, but it wasn't winter weather, it was flooding. Two years ago when I was traveling to the Watertown meet, I planned to drive from Horseheads to Watertown on Friday by way of NY 17, I-88, I-87 and NY 3. Unbeknownst to me, there was serious flooding in the Southern Tier. NY 17 was closed at Waverly, and I had a heck of a time trying to get to Binghamton because so many roads were closed. Then there were two closures on I-88 and some huge backups on I-81, meaning it was getting close to sunset by the time I got to Albany. The drive across the Adirondacks was done in the dark and it was very late when I rolled into Watertown.

Driving from home to Horseheads on Thursday, I had no clue that there had been flooding. Only when I got up the next morning and heard people talking about it when I was eating breakfast did I know how bad the situation was.

[empirestate]

I got caught traveling in bad weather once, but it wasn't winter weather, it was flooding. Two years ago when I was traveling to the Watertown meet, I planned to drive from Horseheads to Watertown on Friday by way of NY 17, I-88, I-87 and NY 3. Unbeknownst to me, there was serious flooding in the Southern Tier. NY 17 was closed at Waverly, and I had a heck of a time trying to get to Binghamton because so many roads were closed. Then there were two closures on I-88 and some huge backups on I-81, meaning it was getting close to sunset by the time I got to Albany. The drive across the Adirondacks was done in the dark and it was very late when I rolled into Watertown.

Driving from home to Horseheads on Thursday, I had no clue that there had been flooding. Only when I got up the next morning and heard people talking about it when I was eating breakfast did I know how bad the situation was.

That was Hurricane Irene, wasn't it? Not that I expect the same from everyone, but I distinctly remember thinking to myself that it would likely be an inland flood monster, which it turned out to be.

Point being, we can always anticipate all kinds of scenarios, and when we correctly do so there is no conversation to be had. This conversation is about those events we don't anticipate, whether or not we should reasonably have been expected to do so.

[Kacie Jane]

This conversation is about those events we don't anticipate, whether or not we should reasonably have been expected to do so.

I'm extremely confused by this statement.  I thought this conversation was about closing roads in anticipation of a blizzard (and in the specific case of what started the thread, a blizzard that was correctly anticipated at least a week in advance).

[empirestate]

This conversation is about those events we don't anticipate, whether or not we should reasonably have been expected to do so.

I'm extremely confused by this statement.  I thought this conversation was about closing roads in anticipation of a blizzard (and in the specific case of what started the thread, a blizzard that was correctly anticipated at least a week in advance).

Oh right...

I should say, the side conversation about events we didn't anticipate and thus got stuck in, is not about those events we didn't get stuck in.

I'm not sure that clears it up any further. 

[vdeane]

I don't watch TV, so the weather I get is whatever Weather Underground is kind enough to share, which with regards to accumulation is only whatever the National Weather Service posts.

There's this new thing out, which you may have heard of:  Radio.  It's available in lots of places where the Internet isn't.  Some radio stations even have (wait for it) WEATHER REPORTS!

People who die in weather events like blizzards are the ones who fail to plan.  You're in college, so I'm presuming you have some brains in your head.  Use them.  Stop making excuses.  It doesn't take the mind of a brain surgeon to get through this.  If there's bad weather coming, take an extra set of contacts plus some solution...and fercryinoutloud stop worrying about what you look like.  Getting where you're going in one piece is far more important than looking "presentable."

I try to avoid driving in winter weather where possible, but it's not always avoidable.  Thankfully Nemo wasn't happening the weekend of my Grandmother's funeral.

I'd have a comment in response to the presentable matter, but that dives into personal stuff that I'd rather not get into on a public forum post.

[ctsignguy]

In my profession, a Level 3 snow emergency doesnt carry much weight.  If you work in a healthcare profession, especially residential services, you are expected to be there as best as you can.  I had an employer who each winter, would issue cards to all staff indicating that we worked in a group home and were "Mission Essential" and thus, we could be out, even in Level 3 emergencies if we were either going to work to relieve staff, or going straight home

[kphoger]

I work for a midwestern cable company.  There has only been one time that any of our offices have closed due to weather, and that was a few months ago in Tulsa.  For this winter's big storm in Kansas City, our office there remained open, and whoever could make it through the snow showed up at work; whoever couldn't physically make it was allowed to stay home.

On my second day of work (Feb 2008), we had a really bad ice storm here in Wichita, and I wasn't sure if we'd be open, due to the roads.  Little did I know yet, ice storms are the busiest times for us, since the ice also drops cables onto the ground and we're the ones to go fix them.  Times with the worst weather are generally the most important days for our employees to come to work.