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The self-employed truck driver, Niclas Nordström, was stranded by snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for 20 hours on Wednesday and Thursday, which he described to The Local as the worst weather he has faced in his 30-year career.
Nordström, who has operated his own freight business since the 1990s, admitted he mistakenly thought the traffic on the E22 would have been cleared by the time he set out. He realized his error, along with around 1,000 other drivers, when he hit a standstill near Linderöd around 1:45 PM.
“I assumed the police would have redirected traffic elsewhere because the cause of the jam had occurred much earlier,” the 58-year-old explained. “But truthfully, I didn’t think it through. If there had been a bit more quick action, we wouldn’t have faced such long delays.”
As a blizzard hit the region, about 1,000 vehicles were stuck on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad. The Armed Forces were called in to assist with evacuations and to provide food and water to those trapped.
Nordström’s truck has a day cab, meaning it lacks a bed, forcing him to sleep upright in the driver’s seat. Yet, he recognized that his situation was better than those in standard passenger vehicles. Despite being on his way to Lund in Skåne before heading to Olofström in Blekinge county, he lacked food and medicine and had to depend on others for assistance.
“I met various people during the ordeal. A couple from Holland kindly invited me for coffee and a sandwich after hearing I was starving,” he shared.
Throughout the night, he monitored the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on the road’s reopening, but the estimates kept being pushed back—from 8 PM to midnight, then to 2 AM, and finally to 2 PM the following day.
Ultimately, around 10 AM, the Dutchman he befriended received help from a local farmer, who cleared a three-meter-wide path in the snow, allowing them to exit the motorway. They drove against traffic in the opposite lane with hazard lights on until they reached a clear road.
“We managed to drive out through that opening; there was no real danger since there was no oncoming traffic. If we hadn’t taken the initiative, we’d still be stuck there,” Nordström noted. He mentioned that having primarily driven in southern Skåne and Blekinge, he’d never encountered such extreme snowy conditions. “In my 30 years of driving, I’ve never seen anything like this. Skåne hasn’t experienced weather this severe since 1979.”
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