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Letter Re: Urban Freeway Traffic Gridlock in a Disaster
Jim-
Reading your excerpt from "Patriots" (I
do have my own copy of the prior edition) reminded me of an episode
in and around Seattle
a few winters ago. Just before the afternoon commute, a rainstorm passed
through and with the cold weather, created a black ice condition on
the Interstate-5 freeway. Several fender benders clogged up the freeway
in both directions and it took some time for tow trucks to make their
way through
the tie-up. Eventually they had to give up because people, sitting
in their cars with heaters, wipers and radios on and engines idling,
didn't realize the alternator output at idle wasn't
sufficient to keep up with the power drain.
The upshot was that in very short order, the freeway was clogged with
stalled, dead cars abandoned by their passengers. It took days to clear
out the mess.
Imagine if no one came to clear them out. So, among other episodes
in "Patriots", the one you presented on Monday resonates
with me! - Bob B.
