News article here.

-Blast, biting his tongue

i also saw that on the news..trapped alone in a car i could handle but in a subway for 7 hours would pose some real "personal problems"

Okay, Sweetie, let's head home into the teeth of a well-predicted blizzard, wearing shorts, sandals and Hawaiian shirts, in the middle of the night!

Sue

Im wondering how many stories like this it will take for people to smarten up and prepare and think befor they leave during winter. I do not think many people take winter seriously and the major problems that can arise from snow and ice storms. Its pretty pathetic how cocky people have become till the point they do not expect a single flawed day even with 4 feet of snow outside.

The cumulative effect on me of all these holiday horror stories is to exclaim: Home Sweet Home.

Or, at least: Car Sweet Car.

I have shunned Christmas and Thanksgiving airplane travel for years. It's been bad enough when a storm hasn't shut down major hubs -- the reverb of which affects the entire country.

DC had just a dusting from that storm, yet many residents' flights back here were cancelled. Neighbors rented a car to drive back from St. Louis rather than wait days for another flight with available seats.

No thanks.

Have a heart - 400 trapped on that one train alone, only one couple that we know of not dressed for the cold. No one does great in a situation like that, or likes it. I recall being unavoidably dropped in Minneapolis-St Paul on a trip back from DC - I was dressed and prepared for DC and Seattle weather, not the Twin Cities in February. If I had to leave the airport, I would have been pretty unprepared.

Another lesson how a minute of commuter prep would have made them so much more comfortable:

- Warm layers
- food
- water bottle
- tiny light
- book

A lot of people (vast majority) have been lulled into a trap by presuming that the trains and planes will always run on time; what's a little snow? Always dress for an extended stay in ambient conditions, even if you expect to only be outside your car or heated building interior for a few seconds. As the folks on the east coast have been brutally reminded, s*** happens.

I always drive these days and I take a lot of stuff. I might not be fully dressed for winter all the time while driving, but what I'm not wearing will be within reach inside the truck. I've been stuck in a subway and delayed at an airport in good weather; why would I (why should anyone) presume everything will run on schedule during a blizzard?

This hits the nail on the head.

And when traveling from a warm climate to a winter climate, (as these folks were), dress for the COLD climate, or at least have cold weather gear in your baggage.

"...at least have cold weather gear in your baggage."

I can almost see coming back from the Bahamas or somewhere in light clothing, but these people got to their CAR! Although it was December, they apparently had nothing useful in it -- no blankets or warm clothing or boots, etc.

I guess our Nanny Government has its drawbacks, eh?

Accidents happen, but MORE accidents happen with poor/no planning.

Sue