Parts of Alabama had several inches of snow fall on Thursday. But this post is not about the snowfall, this post is about the breakdown of communication that resulted in numerous people being stuck on Interstate 65 for up to 18 hours! I-65 along the Cullman / Morgan county line climbs up Lacon Mountain. From mile 319 to mile 317 Interstate 65 goes through several curves, tight and narrow bridges, and the highway climbs up a mountain. Lately this stretch of Interstate has had several big accidents that causes traffic nightmares.
The traffic jams started when heavy snow fell and covered the roads. Then some tractor-trailers jackknifed and blocked the road. The snow only fell for a few hours but I have to wonder why it took so long to get traffic moving again. Sure, it would take a few hours to clean up the accident and get salt and sand down on the road. But why did it take around 12-18 hours to get traffic moving again? Being stuck that long is no excuse people!
I have kept up with the comments on social media and on forums and I am not happy seeing people sitting on the Interstate for up to 18 hours. People were beginning to run out of gas to keep warm in their cars. And can you imagine the parents with small children and infants. Most cars probably had little or no food or water. And where could go to the bathroom if you had to go. Sure, some people could do #1 behind a car or a tree. But where could you do #2?
The Red Cross opened up a shelter at the Cullman Civic Center but how could people get there if they could not get off the Interstate? I have seen some comments saying the state troopers were going to ticket people on 4-wheelers that were trying to give people food and water. And speaking of the state troopers, several people commented online saying they are staying in their warm cars instead of checking on people. And the Cullman County and CulIman City Police were not requested to help the stranded motorists. I hope that is not true.
And now since they say the Interstate is open, truckers are causing a big problem. I have seen comments online saying truck drivers have gone to bed in the cab right in the middle of the Interstate blocking travel lanes. And car drivers are having to honk their car horns and knock on the truck doors to wake up the drivers. At times the police are having to sound their sirens to wake up the drivers. Yes, there are log book hours for the truckers. They have to stop the truck after ‘x’ amount of hours. If not it is a logbook violation and goes against the company safety score which is a big deal. This can also cause the driver to be fined or fired. But at the same time the truck drivers should not be sleeping in the middle of the Interstate! People want to get off the Interstate, not spend another six hours stuck.
Even after I-65 was cleared, some motorists were stranded on the highway because they could not get around trucks that were parked on the Interstate. The police should have forced the trucks to get off the highway so stuck motorists could get off the highway at the next exit to get food and gas. The police should also force drivers to get off the highway ahead of the traffic jam so they would not get stuck as well. Clearly there was a huge lack of communication here! The police and ALDOT should have forced all traffic to get off at the next exit like they do in states out west when road conditions are poor. Being stranded could kill someone!
So after everything is cleaned up and the finger-pointing is over. What should be done to stop the multiple wrecks happening at Lacon Mountain? I have a couple of ideas which I think ALDOT and the state troopers should enforce. One, no trucks should be allowed in the left lane through the Lacon Mountain I-65 stretch. Getting stuck behind a truck going 55 in the left lane to pass another truck going 50 in the right lane should be banned. Two, I would reduce the speed limit in that area to 55. Having a speed limit of 70 through the Lacon Mountain stretch is too fast because the fast speed is causing way too many wrecks. If ALDOT can reduce the speed limit along I-20 to 55 because someone got killed by a pothole. They can do the same thing along I-65.
Eventually ALDOT will need to redo the stretch of I-65 through Lacon Mountain. The bad curves, narrow bridges, steep hills, and high traffic counts are too much for I-65. I wonder how many more accidents, injuries, and deaths will happen before something is done to fix the problem? I also feel bad for all the drivers who had to suffer for up to 18 hours in the cold weather stuck on I-65. Someone should be held responsible for this; this would have not happened in other states.
Related articles
- I-65 northbound at standstill near Cullman, southbound moving but very slowly (al.com)
- UPDATE #2: State Troopers Shut Down Eight Miles Of I-65, Traffic At Standstill (whnt.com)
