Norman Bates, or the snowplow...a BF.net sociology experiment

[splitterpfj]

OK, here's the setting...

 

I was in Missouri on business the last three days...I drove home last night. The roads in Missouri and southern IL were fine, but I-39 was horrible, I could hardly see, and there were lots of people in the ditch along the way.

 

I gave serious consideration to stopping at a hotel...the first one I passed was this tiny, old place with two cars in the lot...for 19.95 a night.

 

OK...make your pick...would you continue the drive in awful conditions...or roll the dice on the hotel from hell?

[homer]

Hotel without a doubt. Be a fun story......unless you were hacked up and fed to the pigs out back.

[And That]

I'd pay the $20 to see what a $20 motel room looks like. If I felt safe, I would stay. If not, I don't mind driving in inclement weather that much.

[1992casey]

I'd stay at Motel Hell and risk being turned into sausage vs. driving in the mess.

[JoeHova]

I'd just stop in the lot and sleep in my car unless the clerk rousted me, then I might risk the $20 room.

 

I once was driving in a snowstorm on I-43 when the snow got so bad that most people had to pull over and wait on the side of the road. While we were stopped, there was a minor 10 or so car pileup going the opposite direction directly across from us. 20 seconds later, a semi truck came around the bend and drove right through the pile-up. He appeared to speed up rather than slow down, I assume so as to not jackknife. The cars went flying like bowling pins. If he had come through a minute later, people probably would have been out of their cars inspecting the damage and they would have been killed. Ever since then, I don't like to take chances in inclement weather.

[homer]

Ever since then, I don't like to take chances in inclement weather.

Agreed. It's not me and my driving I'm worried about, it's all the other crazies out there.

[Invader3K]

I agree with the hotel votes here. I like my chances versus probably only one pscyho, instead of versus all the idiots that don't slow down during a bad storm.

[Patrick425]

I think some of it depends on if you know you will eventually drive out of the storm.

 

My first job our of college was as a regional franchise auditor for a national real estate company. I remember one time I was driving home from Iowa (towards Milwaukee). As I was driving through Illinois there was a snow storm and the conditions were horrible, much like what was described here with cars all over in the ditch. I white knuckled it because I knew that once I got toward the IL/WI border things would clear up. Looking back, not sure if it was the smartest thing to do, but sometimes you just want to get home.

[Schlitz001]

For the past three years I've worked in northern New Mexico and lived in Montana. Throughout that time I've driven driven through the mountains of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado dozens of times in god awful conditions. Even though the company I work for will pay for a hotel, I am usually so anxious to get to my destination that I barrel right through feet of snow and whiteout conditions, unless the highway has been closed.

 

One time specifically I was driving back to Montana on a stretch of highway 191 in Wyoming south of Jackson and north of Pinedale in about 1 1/2' of unplowed snow at 2am. The snow was coming down so fast that it became increasingly difficult to find the road. After a while I took notice that I hadn't seen a vehicle in about an hour, so I turned on the local radio station and found out that due to extreme weather conditions, the stretch of highway I was driving on had been shut down for the night! After about 3 hours of driving 25 mph I arrived in Jackson to spend the night. I had white knuckles to say the least.

 

My least favorite winter driving destinations are Teton Pass in Wyoming, Red Mountain Pass south of Ouray Colorado (2 lanes of 15 mph winding highway along a 1,000' drop) and anywhere around West Yellowstone where the roads are solid ice all winter.

 

I have a lot of driving stories having worked in the oilfield the last 3 years. It's a wonder my vehicle is still in one piece.

[dadofandrew]

Often, cheap hotels are old, family owned places that are every bit as nice as a $30-50 room. I would drive or sleep, but I would not let the room price affect my call.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I stop at the cheap scary motel. No question. After seeing my life flash before my eyes while spinning into a ditch yesterday morning, (through no fault of my own) I don't even have to think twice about this.

 

I once did a straight-through from South Florida to Wisconsin with no co-pilot and no radio in my car. That was a LONG 25 hours. When I hit southern Illinois around 1 am, I was tempted badly to get a room, or at least crash at a rest area for a few hours, but I just wanted to get home. Of course, this was with good driving conditions, so that makes a big difference.