Tuesday's snowstorm gave me the unlooked-for opportunity to pass several hours in the urban equivalent of a camper's caravan: parked with five other cars next to the center barrier on the Stadium Freeway, toward which we had all slid in the late afternoon. I'd not noticed it while driving, but the center barrier is lower than the travel lanes, something we all came to notice with apprehension as we watched the wheels of stopped cars slide toward us. During the three hours that we were stuck, we watched with great interest as northbound cars tried to climb the 4th Avenue off-ramp. Once free, three hours after sliding off, I was able to average a respectable four miles an hour on Interstate 5.
It was an interesting and pleasant experience, though not one that I'd want to have every winter. The high point, for me, was being able to talk on my cell phone while standing in the middle of a traffic lane on Interstate 405 during the peak of rush hour. I'm practicing for tomorrow, when the new law kicks in.