Hmm. The answer is yes and no. Cuts both ways.

The trucking business runs on razor thin margins. Closure of the Trans-Canada highway on a milk run like this is extremely rare. My impression is that the truckers (who are now in the hole based on official decisions) are mostly angry that the highway was closed at all. In their minds, they reserve the right to punch through until they were sure they couldn't.

I have seen some semi's in the ditch; but I have seen a lot punch through blizzard conditions where I wasn't ready to risk it any further. They have they weight to stick to the road, and they have the visibility (being higher up) to see past the snow blowing across the highway. Closure may have been necessary for the general public in dodgy cars with all season tires; the truckers got caught in that same blanket decision.

The CBC went out of its way to find interviewees who fit the hard-done-by-and-ignored-by-The-Man script. (I'm deeply saddened that an organization I once respected deeply has gone so utterly tabloid.)

Should they have had more gear? Extra food, clothing, and fuel? Sure. I certainly would. Especially punching into a blizzard, which was hardly an surprise event. I prefer to have options.

But on the other hand, it was a milk run. Routine. Not a quest for the North Pole.