Interesting debate about a bunch of truckers currently stuck
on the side of the highway, for more than 25 hours after, it closed due to treacherous winter conditions. Rescuers can't get to them, and it sounds like many were completely unprepared for becoming stuck in a bad winter storm.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/truck-drivers-stuck-1.3885668

If I were driving in Canada during winter conditions, I would have the means to get along comfortably for at least 24 hours, if not longer, including food water, and some means of cooking. In fact, right now, with the stuff in my vehicle here in sunny southern California, I could easily get along for at least two days- food (some of which is non cook) water, alcohol stove, sleeping bag, and first aid gear. They are always in the vehicle.

Don't depend on anyone else to be there when you are inconvenienced. You are bound to be disappointed.

Need to start spreading the word at truck stops about ETS.

I'm at the 38th parallel (WDC) and my car is packed for a mid-winter overnighter on the road. Surprised that truckers at the 49th parallel, in British Columbia, would not have provisions for a couple days and plenty of winter-appropriate clothes/gear.

Love these stranded-on-the-road discussions because they never fail to inspire me to equip my car even more thoroughly. Going grocery shopping Friday and will add car-food to the list.


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My car kit is designed around a worst-survivable-case of three days stuck in a snowbank. I might get bored, and not be all that comfortable, but I'd be warm, dry, hydrated and have something to eat.

My truck kit has minimal cold weather gear because it's just not necessary here. That said, for road trips, I take an extra duffel bag which has blankets and other gear just for winter in the mountains.

It does not require high latitudes and an arctic blast to shut down roads. Even in SOCAL winter travel can get dicey. On a trip back from LV, I-15 at El Cajon Pass (el 4000') was closed due to wind, snow ice, wind ... played real havoc with the big rigs. We just pulled off and waited it out in a strip mall parking lot. It is so much better for your vehicle and your nerves. Pull over, get out a fleece blanket and catch a little needed rest. Way better than sitting in traffic that's not moving.

Thanks Bacpac.

Seen that news story on CBC earlier today. Hard to invoke any sympathy for those truckers. These guys are putting in time on Canada's winter highways a lot more then us average citizens and they should know better and be prepared for winter driving conditions and stock at least the minimum basics for highway closures such as this.

On the other-hand, even Greyhound passengers caught in that same storm were complaining that they were stuck at a terminal while the highway was closed and frustrated that Greyhound did not offer them alternate train or airline tickets.

Both these news stories reflect a misguided sense of self-righteous entitlement in some people that seems to rear its ugly head, no matter if it is a minor highway closure such as this or other natural accidents and disasters.

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.

The designated examiner who gave me my CDL road test stated that about 10% of truck drivers have the IQ of a moth.

Which makes the others look bad.

Same as just about anything you look at - the dumb ones get all the headlines.

LOL The idea of traveling in the winter without emergency rations in my pick-up is a non-starter. Bad things can happen even on a short "milk run".

Hopefully this is a wake-up call to truckers that it is not the responsibility of LE (be they RCMP, CHP or any of the other highway patrol/public safety organizations) to ensure that peeps traveling the highways and by-ways are well fed. If that was the case, DOT would establish emergency ration requirements which would be inspected at every weigh station -- just what truckers need, additional regulations. Take a little responsibility for your own well being, check the weather and make contingency plans.

But I'm not DOT and some folks will only ever do the minimum requirements.

Agree 100%.

The cold we're experiencing here on the Prairies is no joke. The forecast for tomorrow is -24 C with a wind, giving wind chill temperatures equivalent to -38 C. It's enough to take a life (link below); but even so, everyday life carries on. We don't shut down for a cold snap.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada...ep-the-prairies

"Professional drivers", running those northerly latitudes should know better, even if it is just a milk run. I have to admit that I don't have sympathy for the complainers in this article. They're making the rest of them look bad.

In an interesting personal twist, my car broken down yesterday. (It was just a strut mount, which is now repaired.) My daughter and I made it home safe and sound, but the combination of that experience and this news story, made me double check all the emergency supplies in my purse/GHB and car. I topped up all the fluids too. My snow tires went on a few weeks ago. Winter has started and it's starting to get cold. We haven't had much snow yet but the wind is brutal.

We were only going to the opposite side of the city yesterday, so no need to prepare for a 24 hour ordeal. I made sure to throw our snow suits in the car before we left anyway - just in case of a breakdown. We might have to wait for help. Even if it's only an hour or two on the side of the road, it could get cold in the car while we wait. Even colder if we decided to walk home. Would we have died? Not likely. We were in the heart of the city. It's happened to me before, though, and I don't want to that cold again, especially when I'm out with my kids.

blankets are cheap. water is cheap. Little chemical heat packs are cheap. make a basic kit. stay warm and bored.

Good one! Belongs on a T-shirt.

Below is an article about "Commutageddon" -- January 28, 2011 -- a day that shall live in infamy among DC-area drivers. The day a no-big-deal snow -- a few inches -- became a nightmare and thousands of commuters who normally get home in an hour took 9-14 hours to get home. Hundreds of cars were abandoned on highways. People ran out of gas and got very, very cold sitting in their cars. The George Washington Parkway was particularly awful as it goes for several miles with no exits and just the Potomac River below a cliff on one side and forest on the other.

It's a cautionary tale and one which inspires me, especially during winter, to have the car equipped so I can comfortably camp out in it, any time and anywhere.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/27/AR2011012707435.html

For D.C. area commuters stuck in snow, 'it just felt hopeless'

Friday, January 28, 2011

On the day after what officials called the Washington region's worst traffic fiasco since Sept. 11, 2001...

...commuters by the hundreds ran out of gas or just walked away from their cars, making it even more difficult for plows and tow trucks to get to major arteries such as the Beltway, Interstate 66 and the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

..."It just felt hopeless," said Shaun Gholston, 33, who said it took him 11 hours and 19 minutes to drive from Rockville to his Capitol Hill home, a commute that typically takes 55 minutes. "Like I was never going to get home."


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I remember that one too, Dagny. That would have been pretty awful to be stuck in, especially if you were unprepared.

I was once stuck on the highway for several hours due to a traffic accident in the summer. It was hot and humid, but I had lots of water, so I was just bored. I'm not nearly as relaxed about it when I think of the same situation happening in the winter, especially if my kids were with me.

My thinking is that I have space in my car to keep some supplies to make a break-down/road closure more comfortable & more survivable, so why wouldn't I?

I honestly have to say that when i have to take a company fleet car, I really don't have much with me. Bringing extensive surival kits with me, eacht time i get in to car gets old really quicky. I don't drive to work, so moving it from on trunk to the other doesnt work for me. And I got plenty of other things to carry and think of...

+1. That's the quote of the week. Great on a t-shirt or bumper sticker. Better still, as a suitable punishment for misdemeanors -- stand in the median of a busy street for a week, wearing a sandwich board emblazoned with that message.

Sometimes when you are stuck in the snow, some good old fashioned horsepower is really needed.

https://i.imgur.com/2SX0Fat.gifv

I have to agree. I worked my way through university as a car jockey, and moving stuff from one vehicle to another was a PITA. I carried a small backpack with some very basic necessities it. I was young and carefree back then. Pretty sure I'd go with a pack again now, but it would be much bigger.

Flash forward 25 years.... it's only the middle of December and I'm already tired of bringing just in case snow suits from the house to the car and back every time we go somewhere. Yesterday I dug out a bunch of old stuff, made sure it fits with room to grow for the kids. There is now an extra set of insulated outerwear for everyone permanently in the car.

Exactly why I packed that winter kit for my truck with extra "just-in-case" gear for road-trips. It goes in the truck and stays in the truck. Normally I'd be wearing clothing suitable for the ambient conditions so the gear in that duffel bag are extra, but with it temperature extremes are doable.

There's an REI Elements parka I bought years ago that is simply too warm for SOCAL. Coldest day here I wear a fleece jacket over a fleece hoodie and call it good. So the parka ended up in my truck's winter kit, along with an axe, stove, gloves, merino wool u/w, sweater, gloves, hat, socks, gloves ... et al. Extras and stuff I have no use for in SOCAL.

Yeah, it took 2 days to reopen the TransCanada at the Saskatchewan border. The huge convoy train of trucks coming west after it opened went on for miles and miles. I stopped counting after 3 dozen trucks.

Very surprised the truckers weren't outfitted with additional gear. I would have thought that trucks with sleepers would have a ton of stuff back there, just in case...

Stuff costs money. Companies barely pay their drivers. Why would they invest in gear for drivers?
They probably also figure it would get stolen or 'lost.' (and some would)

And the drivers barely make any money so they don't have spare cash to invest in helping keep the company's commitments.

There might be exceptions to this adversarial relationship but my wide reading and 100% turnover figures in the industry suggests it's normal.

ok. I try hard not to judge, but...But...BUT!!.. It's your employee/you and your (personally or the company) truck facing being stuck on the road. How doesn't someone think of a highway closure, and bring some basic necessities?! I understand that the companies seem to be claiming personal responsibility, and the drivers think that's wrong, but are the drivers not allowed? Surely they (the drivers and the companies) have heard of other such regular/frequent incidents, EVERY WINTER. At the end of the day, the drivers are the ones paying the cost. I just don't understand martyring themselves.

I tend to buy more expensive items, because I will be using it on foot, or maybe a bicycle, so weight is important. Hence, a lot of down, etc. But if we are talking about something you can throw in a vehicle, you can cut the cost back a lot,to the point where it shouldn't be difficult to obtain workable items.

The martyr gig has never been particularly appealing....