Sketchy snow driving situation - what’s the right etiquette/safe?

[Anonymous]

I regularly drive 48/55 and that stretch from Moorefield up Mt. Storm is dicey if there's snow on the road (steep inclines, despite it being a 4 lane wonderfully built highway). I'd have been annoyed with the other drivers, OP, but I would have tried to time my trip to avoid snow on the road. Up top of Mt. Storm near Davis is more common to get snow covered roads, but the inclines are much less. If it's snowing enough to cover the roads in the valley below Mt Storm toward Moorefield, I'd wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eh, I'm team OP. At some point it's time to let the cars that can still travel pass. I live in NC and people are absolute idiots in bad weather. Unless it's just one slick spot, there isn't much point in trying to help an ill prepared vehicle travel in a snow storm, especially in the mountains. They should have done their best to push the car to the side and called a tow truck. They should not have been driving it without chains. Blocking the road for everyone makes no sense.

Coloradan here and I agree. OP had a vehicle that was properly equipped for the conditions and had every right to go around the idiots. Every one of those vehicles would have gotten a massive ticket here for being on the highway without the right tires.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They did the right thing by blocking the road for the safety of folks helping. You could be decent and help.

Umm . . . no. You don't get to block 2 lanes of traffic because you get stuck in one lane.

[Anonymous]

You’re acting like part of “be prepared” isn’t BE PREPARED FOR OTHERS ON THE ROAD WHO ARE NOT PREPARED.

You are acting like expecting others to be fully prepared and confident driving in dangerous conditions is a realistic and logical frame of mind for a safe driver to have.

You are a moron, you are part of the problem, and you obviously aren’t as good and prepared a driver as you think.

[Anonymous]

Team OP (except for honking bit). The helping vehicles should have been pulled fully into the shoulder with flares set up behind and blinkers on. Then they should have waited for the road to clear to try to get the other car unstuck. And if that wasn’t possible, they should have pushed it off the road and left it until the road was cleared. Although there are enough people there with winches on their trucks who probably would have stopped to help at some point.

And I’ve been there in winter - it’s not easy to predict when the driving conditions will get bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I regularly drive 48/55 and that stretch from Moorefield up Mt. Storm is dicey if there's snow on the road (steep inclines, despite it being a 4 lane wonderfully built highway). I'd have been annoyed with the other drivers, OP, but I would have tried to time my trip to avoid snow on the road. Up top of Mt. Storm near Davis is more common to get snow covered roads, but the inclines are much less. If it's snowing enough to cover the roads in the valley below Mt Storm toward Moorefield, I'd wait.

OP: this incident was past Mount Storm on the way back to DC. It was closer to Greenland.

I went through Google Street View and this was the exact place where the backup occurred - we were driving uphill on that stretch of highway.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/wvxLEyBk4gcmrcN6A

Nice wide road. But you have to remember that it was snowing, road lines were not visible, decreasing visibility (fog, thick clouds, low daylight). The blue sedan had drifted into the grassy median area where snow was deeper. The managed to get out via pushing and floor mats for traction, but then once back on the pavement they could get enough traction to continue up the hill to the peak. Uhaul and RAV-4 were blocking the other lane and most of the rightside emergency lane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I regularly drive 48/55 and that stretch from Moorefield up Mt. Storm is dicey if there's snow on the road (steep inclines, despite it being a 4 lane wonderfully built highway). I'd have been annoyed with the other drivers, OP, but I would have tried to time my trip to avoid snow on the road. Up top of Mt. Storm near Davis is more common to get snow covered roads, but the inclines are much less. If it's snowing enough to cover the roads in the valley below Mt Storm toward Moorefield, I'd wait.

OP: this incident was past Mount Storm on the way back to DC. It was closer to Greenland.

I went through Google Street View and this was the exact place where the backup occurred - we were driving uphill on that stretch of highway.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/wvxLEyBk4gcmrcN6A

Nice wide road. But you have to remember that it was snowing, road lines were not visible, decreasing visibility (fog, thick clouds, low daylight). The blue sedan had drifted into the grassy median area where snow was deeper. They managed to get it out via pushing and floor mats for traction, but then once back on the pavement they could not get enough traction to continue up the hill to the peak. Uhaul and RAV-4 were blocking the other travel lane and most of the rightside emergency lane.

Edits

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went skiing in WV yesterday. On the drive back to the DC area, it was dumping snow on the mountain highways in WV. I have an AWD Subaru with snow tires.

I’m on Highway 48, which is this amazing modern four lane highway in the middle of the WV Appalachian mountains. It goes over numerous mountain passes and winds through the mountain range. It’s dumping snow, massive flakes and it’s accumulating on the roadway. It’s probably about 330pm and I’m on a 25 mile stretch of road that clearly hasn’t seen a snow plow in a couples hours. Easily 3-4 inches on the roadway and lots more on the side of the road. It’s impossible to see the roadlines and visibility comes and goes without warning. Pretty terrible conditions if you’re not prepared or have the right vehicle.

As I’m climbing another mountain pass, I see a line of probably a dozen cars ahead of me that have come to a stop in the middle of highway blocking both lanes. Fortunately, visibility is decent (400-600 yards) in spite of the falling snow

At the front of the are 3 cars that appear to be part of a caravan - blue sedan, a UHaul small box truck, an older RAV-4. The blue sedan has drifted into the median area of the highway where the snow is deepest and they are stuck. Young men are out trying to get the car loose. The UHaul and RAV-4 have blocked both lanes of traffic so no one can get around the blockage.

The young men get the car out, but then the vehicle gets stuck again in the left lane. We are driving up an incline and the sedan is having a hard time getting traction. The other 9-10 cars stuck behind them are just sitting in the middle of the highway, with our hazards on. Some folks are out of their vehicles and cleaning snow/ice off their windows.

The entire situation seems very dangerous. I’m at the end of the line of cars and nervously checking my rear view mirror, just waiting to see the headlights of an approaching vehicle. Fortunately, visibility is still decent (can see 300 yard behind me) but we really shouldn’t be stopped in the middle of highway during a snow storm. The vehicle in front of me tries to move his tires and it’s become clear that he might be frozen in place and he’s having a hard time with traction. I’m worried we might all freeze our wheels in place on the highway, if conditions worsen

After about 5 minutes, I start honking my horn. The RAV4 and U-Haul still have not moved their vehicles out of the way. They are not stuck because they moved their cars the first time the blue sedan got out of the deepest snow. It’s starting to get foggier and there’s no way I want to stick around in this

I pulled around to the right side of the line of cars, drive to the front through probably 8-9 inches of snow (yay Blizzaks!), and the RAV4 actually moves to try to block me! At this point, I get out of my car and walk to the driver side window, yelling at the older man to pull the car over and let us pass. He begrudgingly does so when the younger men motion for him to move. I got in my vehicle and GTFO of there. I didn’t see any other cars moving as I drove away.

What’s the right thing to do here? These cars clearly were not prepared for a snow storm. My fear is that we would have all been rear ended by a big truck and this would’ve caused a massive pile up. Further, daylight was receding and I wasn’t about to stay in those mountains at night in a snow storm.

Is this a scenario where etiquette and safety norms conflict?

You've got AWD and Blizzaks. I think you did exactly the right thing. Stop and lend assistance if needed, but it wasn't like you were going to tow them up the mountian.

[Anonymous]

The exact same thing happened to us last week, in a western snowy state. Most of us had snow capable vehicles but the cars blocked both lanes because someone in an old sedan was stuck. It was frustrating because we all could move and it was a windy road so the last car to pull up was always in danger of not being expected. It piled up so badly and people just got out and walk3d over to bring news to the rest until they stopped blocking both lanes and everyone was allowed to easily drive on. Even a fiat cruised right past. Whoever thinks it's safer to block both lanes is only looking out for the safety of the stuck car because it leaves the rest waiting on an incline to increase odds of wrecks. It's selfish, pointless and putting everyone in danger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m with OP. Those people were all idiots.


Anyone who pulls out to try and block me in the snow so I stay trapped there is gonna get rammed and pushed out of the way. I can drive in snow. I have a vehicle with good tires that is capable of driving in 12+ inches of snow. I’m not staying stuck behind some idiot who can’t drive in a vehicle with bad tires, on a multiple lane road. I’m going around them. Anyone trying to stop me by deliberately getting in front of me to force me to stop is going to get pushed aside.

This.