Originally Posted by dynalow

Dude! Where's my car!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/27/AR2011012707441.html?sid=ST2011012603981

It's been a frustrating 24 hours for everyone," said a diplomatic J.J. Redman, whose father owns Redman Fleet Services' impound lot.

They had worked many snowstorms before, he said, as phones in the background rang nonstop, but this had been one of the worst. Overnight, their company had towed about 160 cars in Arlington and Fairfax.

And throughout the Washington region, other companies had done the same. Towing, officials said, clears the streets for plows and traffic. It reintroduces order to a city that has descended into a icy mess of snow and panicked drivers.

But towing also inevitably brings a wave of confusion.

On Thursday morning, Alvester Woolfolk, 22, returned to find his abandoned car gone from the exit ramp between the Beltway and Route 210. The night before, he'd spent hours on that small stretch of highway, where he'd helped to push other people's cars out of the snow. Finally, when he got back into his car, his own wheels had become stuck.

"I helped push seven cars out of trouble, but then when I looked back, I couldn't get no one to help me," he said. So he left his Oldsmobile Alero on the side of the ramp, and started the long walk to a Giant to get a ride from a friend.

The next day, it was as though the night before had never even happened. The snow was gone, as were the string of cars that had been abandoned alongside his. Police at the nearby precinct sent Woolfolk and his dad on a wild goose chase of impound lots, none of which had his car...............


For almost 15 minutes, she tried to wave down every passing car. A string of BMWs and Audis passed by, but the drivers wouldn't make eye contact, as though even a look would oblige them to help.

Finally, someone slowed down - a short man driving one of the oldest, most beaten-up cars she'd ever seen. He told her he had spent the night sleeping under the bridge, and all morning long while making his way home, he had been stopping to help people jump-start their cars.

"It made me think of that story about the Good Samaritan," said Ma. "It made me feel grateful for the world again, that there are people like him in it."

Originally Posted by wbain5280

Speak for yourself.

Traffic was very slow, some people had an 8 hour commute or longet.. Many ran out of gas. Some ended up in the ditch or blocking exit ramps.

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

We had a lot more snow than that, heck recently we have been getting a lot every few days and traffic doesn't back up like that.

Your municipalities just are not equipped to deal with it, and the drivers lack experience.

Originally Posted by JollyRoger

Incline on black ice is impossible to overcome due to cars having no snow tires. Reverse incline does same thing when driver attempts to climb hill in reverse. Stuck car on highway sitting duck to be hit by other clueless drivers, so driver splits.

Originally Posted by Craig

It's cheaper for them to shut down for a few days every winter than to equip themselves for the occasional storm. If you live there, the best thing to do is stay home until it melts.

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Yep, my friend lives in VA and that's pretty much what he said. Luckily it melts pretty fast.

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Or chains, they seem to get a lot more ice down their than we do up here. If I lived their I would carry a set of chains in the winter.

Chaining up on the side of the highway would be quite dangerous but you could do it before hand if it looked questionable.

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

We had a lot more snow than that, heck recently we have been getting a lot every few days and traffic doesn't back up like that.

Your municipalities just are not equipped to deal with it, and the drivers lack experience.