You absolutely had to be here to actually appreciate the severity. It was literally a sheet of ice and gridlock. I know folks at Blue who didn't get home for 24 hours and many who actually slept in their cars.
Just think millions of fair weather folks dropped into the North Pole with their cars and SUV's.
Plows were of no use. If anything, they made it worse.
Glad to hear you came out OK David. I was wondering how you guys made out.
There is a little bit of condescension creeping in. I know, I know, I've driven in blizzards and snowstorms and seen some really nasty conditions too. I have the requisite (for a mountain boy like me) 4 wheel drive with real live snow tires and, yes, I have been in one my whole life and know just what they can and cannot do.
But in the end this comes down to one thing and one thing only: Money.
In spite of what some here believe you can get ahead of most real live ice storms and keep the roads drivable. Or at the least get them cleaned up fairly quickly. I've seen it done. And what happened there was not a real live ice storm anyway, it was a wet, heavy snow that got packed down into ice. And yes, a proper treatment of the roads before and during the storm would have prevented this mess.
But it costs a lot of money. And takes coordination. And practice. The Atlanta area chose not to invest in storm readiness. And they'll most likely continue to do so. A storm like this don't happen that often.
But these southern lads are completely right in one respect: Once that stuff gets packed into ice you are done. Unless you have chains or straps and a pretty nimble touch on the wheel you are done. And that ain't gonna help you a damned bit on an interstate that is packed concrete barrier to ditchline with a million cars that don't have the proper equipment.
A man can look down his nose at them if you want, but even if you had all the great equipment in the world you'd have likely been sitting in traffic cussing up a storm just like those poor boys down there were doing.
Will
