Stuck on shutdown I-75 in Georgia!

[Jenny-momof3]

I posted earlier about worrying about the drive down. We're now stuck on I-75 just going into Georgia. It's been shutdown for hours!

 

[Willow1213]

Good luck! Took my mom 5.5 hrs to get home from work tonight (Calhoun, GA to Marietta, GA). Just get a hotel and wait till morning. Supposed to heat up enough to melt the ice. Good luck and stay warm!

 

[latmck]

The new report stated that I75 has been bad all evening. So many accidents reported this evening. I would stop & get a hotel because metro Atl is under a winter advisory til 7am. Be carefull!!!

 

[Kphoto]

So sorry to hear this - I lived just North of Atlanta for about 25 years and everything shuts down when there is snow or ice. Watch out for crazy drivers. No one knows how to drive in that stuff and there are very few snowplows or sand trucks.

Karen

 

[Disney Debbie]

My daughter has been in the same spot on 75 NB .4 miles from Exit 288 for 6 hours! she just peed in a cup! I am worried sick about her.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

OP here..

There was no getting off and staying at a hotel. We were literally stuck on the interstate for over 5 hours....with 4 kids! Everyone around us turned their cars off but us...since we have an 11 month old! Fortunately we had a full tank of gas. We were definitely the entertainment for all the semis around us as we constantly got in and out of the car switching kids around so they didn't kill each other.

Once they started letting us through again we were going to get off at the nearest exit and stop for the night. The next 15 or so exits were all blocked due to accidents! So that wasn't even an option. We just slowly crept our way through ( 10-20mph) then the temperature got above freezing and we were okay.

It looked like a junk yard out there. Smashed cars and car parts absolutely everywhere! They're reporting over 1,000 accidents alone in the Atlanta area!

We're now almost into Florida and it's dry and sunny here...thank god!!

 

[Disney_Jill]

I am west of Atlanta and I had to pick up my son from school at 5:15 about 20 miles away and it took me 2 hours round trip! It only go t worse after that. There was so much ice on the road, I didn't go above 20 miles per hour the entire way. I saw about 25 wrecked cars.
Luckily its warming up now. School has been delayed 3 hours, so that is good. Its finals week, so that's probably why they didn't close it all day.
Sorry you were stuck for so long with 4 kids, that had to be rough. Glad you made it out safely. Have a good rest of the drive and a great time at WDW!!

 

[linnell]

Wow. What a nightmare. Glad you made it ok.

 

[robinb]

I'm glad you're OK! Have fun in Florida .

 

[jackemail]

OP here..

There was no getting off and staying at a hotel. We were literally stuck on the interstate for over 5 hours....with 4 kids! Everyone around us turned their cars off but us...since we have an 11 month old! Fortunately we had a full tank of gas. We were definitely the entertainment for all the semis around us as we constantly got in and out of the car switching kids around so they didn't kill each other.

We're now almost into Florida and it's dry and sunny here...thank god!!

Oh my....stuck in an unmoving car for 5 hours with 4 kids??? You certainly deserve a great time at Disney!

 

[Kay1]

What a terrible thing. And with a baby! That happened to us once and we were stuck in South Carolina. We managed to snag a hotel room, though. I hope you have a great trip that makes up for all this.

 

[TLinden16]

Since this isn't related to the theme parks, I'm going to move it to the community board.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

What a horrible thing to happen, with little ones it is especially trying. Now you can go and have a magical vacation and hopefully a safe trip home. Have some of this stuff to help you along the way:

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

Glad you made it out okay. That happened here two weeks ago and people were stuck in their cars for 24+ hours. Have a great time!!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Eeek!!

Glad to here you are safe.

 

[wdwiala]

My daughter has been in the same spot on 75 NB .4 miles from Exit 288 for 6 hours! she just peed in a cup! I am worried sick about her.

Aaah! That's one of my fears, being stuck with now where to "go"!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Oh my, I had no idea this was happening. I hope everyone stays safe.

I always wondered, where is the line for requiring snow/all weather tires on cars? I can't imagine all these people are just bad drivers, I just think Southern cars don't have the right sort of treads we are obligated to get up North. A few years ago the tires were worn on our car but I didn't realize it and I had a really hard time driving, the car wouldn't stop properly and I felt like I had zero control... it was really scary.

Another problem is that the severe cold shrinks the air in the tires so they go flat and don't work right. I just went out yesterday to add air to our tires. I didn't realize it as it was happening but the tires which were supposed to be at 30 PSI were down in the low 20's, no leaks... it's just that the amount of air that was ok in August is not ok now. I bet people in the South never consider changing the air pressure at all.

 

[simba20]

Oh my, I had no idea this was happening. I hope everyone stays safe.

I always wondered, where is the line for requiring snow/all weather tires on cars? I can't imagine all these people are just bad drivers, I just think Southern cars don't have the right sort of treads we are obligated to get up North. A few years ago the tires were worn on our car but I didn't realize it and I had a really hard time driving, the car wouldn't stop properly and I felt like I had zero control... it was really scary.

Another problem is that the severe cold shrinks the air in the tires so they go flat and don't work right. I just went out yesterday to add air to our tires. I didn't realize it as it was happening but the tires which were supposed to be at 30 PSI were down in the low 20's, no leaks... it's just that the amount of air that was ok in August is not ok now. I bet people in the South never consider changing the air pressure at all.

Have to say that this is true, and mostly Southerners don;t know about these things, because we don't experience things like this too often.

Snow tires, snow chains....I have to scratch my head. What do you do with your "regular" tires when you put your snow tires on. Snow chains, ummm do you drive around with those on permantly in the winter, wouldn;t they be damaging to the road?

In the Atlanta area, there are often warnings about "black ice", mostly icing of the roads at night with unexpected patches. Agiain, since the weather here is typically mild, one does drive cautiously, but the same cannot be said for other drivers.

Also, we just don;t have the equipment to keep the roads clear. Salt trucks, snowplows, de-icers.......maybe an investment owned by the state DOT, but pretty unlikely to be widespread and in vast numbers.

Hence why we run tot he grocery when we hear news of an impending winter storm and stay bunkered down until it warms back up/roads are clear.

I also one heard about engine heaters.....and how if you lived in ND and didn;t have a garage, chances are your car would not start. I would be totally lost. Hence why, I would never move any higher than NC.

 

[harleyquinn]

This is my biggest fear. We leave tomorrow evening and we're hoping to make it to NC before we stop for the night. I think we'll be okay, because it should be warm enough and everything is supposed to melt today. But I'm also worried about the drive home since it looks like snow. Ack.

So glad you survived OP! Hope you have an awesome trip!

 

[luvsJack]

Oh my, I had no idea this was happening. I hope everyone stays safe.

I always wondered, where is the line for requiring snow/all weather tires on cars? I can't imagine all these people are just bad drivers, I just think Southern cars don't have the right sort of treads we are obligated to get up North. A few years ago the tires were worn on our car but I didn't realize it and I had a really hard time driving, the car wouldn't stop properly and I felt like I had zero control... it was really scary.

Another problem is that the severe cold shrinks the air in the tires so they go flat and don't work right. I just went out yesterday to add air to our tires. I didn't realize it as it was happening but the tires which were supposed to be at 30 PSI were down in the low 20's, no leaks... it's just that the amount of air that was ok in August is not ok now. I bet people in the South never consider changing the air pressure at all.

Dh was in Georgia when all that was happening. He drives an 18-wheeler and to be honest he said from what he saw it was a lot of people thinking they could just buzz on through going their regular speed then they start spinning out. He had one car come past him going too fast and then hit the brakes. The car started spinning out and there was nothing dh could do but keep driving. If he would have hit his brakes, he would have killed that guy, himself and possibly several around him. Luckily the car got itself straight before dh had to make that decision.

I live deeper in the south than that and I wouldn't have a clue how to drive on ice or in snow. But I think I would have the good sense to slow down! I see an awful lot of people that don't though.