Interview with the guys hauling them out, it appears most of the truckers had NO CLUE they were about to be stranded, and that there was an incoming blizzard... ("unless they checked social media"). Apparently a lot of drivers don't speak English as a first language; seems to me there is a distinct need for multi-lingual warnings at Donner Summit.
@ai6yr it's been that way (ESL or limited/no English) for a big chunk of truckers for at least a decade and probably longer. It doesn't seem like a bunch of trucks end up in this predicament in places like I-80 through Wyoming or I-70 through Colorado. There they get legit weather pretty frequently. But they also do hard closures with gates and such when it's bad enough.
Maybe the issue is CalTrans needs to start doing hard closures instead of relying on a fractured warning system.
Possible language issues aside, a large fraction of drivers probably saw the warnings and said "no dam gubmint gonna tell me what to do! The hell do they know?"
@VE2UWY There's some truth to that, but only based on my travels through the Western US listening to CB channel 19, LOL. (the vocal crazies being attracted to broadcasting their opinions on CB there, ha ha). There are a lot of drivers not on those frequencies for that reason, LOL.
@ai6yr If only there was a wireless technology, that didn’t require cell towers, that could let you communicate with other truckers on the road who might give you a heads up about conditions. :breadthink:
@ai6yr Kind of wondering why highways were not closed. Or did the traffic occur from a closure ahead? And then they all just got stuck as the snow accumulated? Anyways, so sad. Hope everyone is OK.
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