The self-employed truck driver Niclas Nordström was stuck in the snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for 20 hours on Wednesday and Thursday, describing it as the worst weather he has experienced in his 30-year career.
Nordström, who has owned a road freight business since the 1990s, noted his assumption that the traffic would be cleared before he entered the E22 on Wednesday. He realized he was mistaken when he, along with about 1,000 other drivers, became stranded near Linderöd at around 1:45 PM.
“The traffic jam had originated much earlier, and I foolishly thought the police would have diverted vehicles onto different routes,” the 58-year-old explained. “I could have used better judgment. A bit of quick thinking could have prevented this long queue.”
As a blizzard hit the area, nearly 1,000 vehicles were immobilized on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad. The Armed Forces were deployed to assist with evacuations and deliver food and water to those trapped.
Nordström’s truck features only a day cab, lacking a sleeping area, which forced him to sit upright at the wheel to rest. However, he considered himself better off than those in passenger vehicles. On his journey to Lund in Skåne and then back home to Olofström in Blekinge, he had no food or medicine in the truck, relying on kind strangers for help.
“I met various people while stranded. A couple from Holland was particularly helpful; I mentioned I was very hungry, and they invited me in for coffee and a sandwich,” he recounted. He spent the night frequently checking the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on when the road would reopen.
“The expected reopening time kept getting delayed. It started as 8 PM, then midnight, then 2 AM, and finally 2 PM the next day,” he noted. Ultimately, at around 10 AM, he received assistance from a local farmer who cleared a three-meter-wide path in the snow, allowing both him and the Dutchman to exit the motorway.
“We drove out through the opening, going against the flow of traffic. Thankfully, there was no oncoming traffic, so it was safe. If it hadn’t been for our initiative, we’d still be stuck there,” he said. Having primarily driven in Skåne and Blekinge, Nordström had never encountered such severe weather conditions. “In my 30 years of driving, I’ve never experienced anything like this. The last time Skåne faced such extreme weather was back in 1979,” he concluded.
