Question for the wonderful people of Alabama

So driving through your great state all day today and I am so confused about something.. Now I am from Michigan so I am use to snow and ice its nothing to me I drive in it three months out of the year but here is what I am totally lost about.. I was stuck in Birmingham traffic for almost 3hrs today because people parked their cars on the highway and left them there..Now where I am from cars park on the side of the highway and they get towed but there people seriously left their cars in the lane of the highway..Do they just walk home? Where do they go? Wouldn't it be easier to exit the highway in the car? I was just so amazed by it...I have never seen that before.

Plus the guy who got stuck in the ditch and pulled a shovel out of his small two seater car and decided to dig dirt from the ground and throw it on the highway...I laughed bc all I could think is how did you fit that shovel in that car...and why are you driving with a shovel to begin with... Things are so much more fun down here.

This was somewhat of an anomaly - things unexpectedly went from perfectly fine to treacherous in under an hour Tuesday, and once things got really slick traffic stopped due to wrecks, people driving slowly, etc. From what I understand those that abandoned their vehicles in the middle of the interstate were literally hemmed in on all sides by other cars or 18-wheelers, hadn't moved in hours, and often ran out of gas. They eventually took to walking rather than sit in their car and freeze. I agree - I thought it was bizarre too until the stories started coming in from the people who had to do it, and it began to be clear that many of them had little choice.

I'll never claim that Alabamians know how to drive in the snow, because we don't generally. But ice is ice is ice, and unless you've got chains on your tires or some other way of getting some traction, nobody's particularly great at driving on ice. I lived in Ohio for a while and saw more than enough wrecks when snow melted and froze again overnight and overconfident drivers got out there thinking they knew what they were doing...Tuesday was just what happens when southerners get caught by snow and ice unexpectedly - because all the forecasts insisted that most areas of central and north Alabama would only get a dusting at best.

Oh ok well that makes sense.. Yea I had to drive pretty slow in some spots because of the chunks of ice...and I did almost run out of gas sitting in the traffic jam lucky me though there was an exit near by...well I hope everyone is ok now and things are getting back to normal.

Here's a great article with perspective on this snow thing for people who "ain't from 'round here."

http://gizmodo.com/why-the-south-fel...now-1511566912

Oh wow you learn something new everyday..I wasn't bashing Alabama I was just amazed by it I have never seen anything like that in my life.

No one thought you were bashing. It is funny, we will shut down for a couple of inches of snow. You may not have heard the old saying " in Alabama we may not know how to drive in the snow but we damn sure know how to win national championships". Lol. Safe travels Girlie. Hope to meet you while your around.

John

Lol I know that's right...I am a HUGE Michigan fan and we had to open against you guys last year and all I could do was shake my head because I knew there was no way in the world we were gonna win..but like I tell the guys in LA at least we made it past the 50 yard line Two touchdowns I was happy with that.. You guys are beast at football.

Nick Saban use to coach at Michigan state

yea I know..and Les Miles is a Michigan man..I am really happy about our new offensive coordinator..we needed him badly.

Our old offensive coordinator was a lazy butt who would sit up in the box every game and call the same plays that never worked and then wonder why we aren't doing good..Good ole Al Borgess.