Atlanta Drivers: You're all a bunch of effing idiots!

[Homercidal]

The mayor was quoted as saying if they had to do anything differently next time it would be to stagger the school closings.

 

[DrunkleJon]

The mayor was quoted as saying if they had to do anything differently next time it would be to stagger the school closings.

Of course the poor public officials are in damage control mode now. And the blamestorming is ridiculous.

 

[Homercidal]

And the Mayor says the news focused on the freeways, which he has no authority over. The city roads were 80%+ moving along.

 

[TheZymurgist]

I'm confused. Were Atlanta drivers all safe and courteous 10 years ago? Did those aggressive, fast drivers not exist 10 years ago? How could that have been a factor in why this time it was so bad, and the two bigger storms in the past decade were non-events? When did all these fast, aggressive drivers move into Atlanta and why?

Re-read my post with the part that you excluded, and you have your answer. Although, I have seen a major increase in the selfishness and blatant lack of consideration or respect for others. People used to either let you in or just not adjust their driving if you put your blinker on. Now, they do everything they can to keep from letting you in. There are so many people that will slam on their gas to try to keep you from changing lanes, and then honk at you if you come over.

But, again, my point was that there were a number of factors at play, most of which were the drivers, not the conditions. Yes, the conditions were dangerous, but it was the panic, lack of preparation (both on the government and the individual side), and people not adjusting their driving habits to match the conditions that caused the gridlock to the extent that we saw.

 

[BamaProud]

 

[BamaProud]

 

[GrogNerd]

I was living in Atlanta in '82 when the city got shut down for 3 days because of 2" of snow. the problem was the temperature would get high enough during the day to melt the snow a little, then low enough to freeze overnight.

big hill on Buford Highway just around the corner from my place had a couple dozen cars and a MARTA bus stuck at the bottom.

meanwhile, my roommates (from Hollywood, MD) and I showed the locals how to bumper ski