7:25 p.m.
Caller: You've got people ... been sitting out here since 11 o'clock this morning. They're out here taking craps in the middle of the highway because there's no place to go. I talked to two guys that's diabetics. No food. Where in the heck is the road commissioner or somebody? Ain't doing nothing for nobody out here.
February 9, 2008
The 2,000-car, 12-hour traffic jam on I-90.
In Madison. From the 911 call transcripts:
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17 comments:
Oh, you were so happy to use the tags bodily fluids and cars together on the same post. (Not that the suffering of others is a mere plaything for you.)
Bodily fluids goes well with all tags. It's basic black.
There are some great letters to the Editor in the Wisconsin State Journal today about this, and they all have the same theme: Why were these people on the highway? This storm was forecast more than 24 hours in advance, with warnings of more than 8" of snow, yet people are still driving? This is winter in the midwest -- I'm sorry, but sometimes you have to adjust your schedule, and you know what? People will understand. Predictably, one of the complainers invoked the What could happen if parents were out here with a child dreck. Well, the child would learn their parents are idiots, that's what.
Government is no cure for human stupidity.
On the highway rest stop entertainment .
Madisonman,
You should hear the 911 calls from people here in Florida expecting to be rescued in the middle of a hurricane.
911 dispatcher: "Didn't you hear the manditory evacuation notices for your area?"
Caller: "Yes, but..."
Link doesn't work.
Could ya call the internet commishnah or sumpin? We got about 2,000 people backed up here on the innernet....
Predictably, one of the complainers invoked the What could happen if parents were out here with a child dreck. Well, the child would learn their parents are idiots, that's what.
Government is no cure for human stupidity.
Now, that is not only funny, but intelligent.
Your link is broken. Perhaps you meant this.
Link fixed. Sorry.
I blame Bush.
MM said: Government is no cure for human stupidity.
Careful, MM. You're getting closer to the dark side.
Alternatively: You can't fix dumb.
New Orleans was no different.
MadisonMan: The company I work for will only give you time off from work if the government actually closes the roads. You're expected to use your own vacation time if you decide that driving conditions are too bad for you to make it in to work.
****
Lots of people saying "oh, these drivers are so dumb, why did they drive in these conditions", but here's the thing: A weather forecast is not a "the roads will be closed, do not drive" forecast. If the weatherman says the weather will be bad, so what? If the government actually closes the roads, that's a different story.
Note that the chief complaint is not "the roads were undriveable", but rather "the government kept letting people drive onto blocked highways because they refused to believe that the highways were blocked".
Love the unvarnished regional vernacular.
I hope someone makes a play or writes at least a short story set on the highway during the standstill.
"I hope someone makes a play or writes at least a short story set on the highway during the standstill."
Godard, "Weekend"
Fellini, "8 1/2"
must be many more
Anyway, as to the argument that people should stay home: It's Route 90! There is a constant stream of traffic of people going the whole width of the country. How are they supposed to "stay home" when it turns out there's a snowstorm in Madison?
Most of the people quoted in the paper were from around here, so that skewed my thinking into that the stranded were foolish locals (and unfortunate cross-country truckers).
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