Self-employed truck driver Niclas Nordström found himself stranded by snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for 20 hours on Wednesday and Thursday, describing the conditions as the worst he’s faced in his 30-year driving career, as reported by The Local.
Having operated his own road freight business since the 1990s, Nordström mistakenly assumed that the traffic backup would be cleared when he took the E22 on Wednesday. He realized his error around 1:45 PM, along with approximately 1,000 other drivers, when he became stuck near Linderöd.
“I thought the police would have redirected traffic since the cause of the jam happened earlier,” the 58-year-old shared. “But I didn’t put much thought into it. If there had been more quick action, such lengthy queues wouldn’t have formed.”
A blizzard left nearly 1,000 vehicles abandoned on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad, prompting the Armed Forces to assist with evacuations and deliver food and water to those trapped.
Nordström’s truck featured only a day cab, lacking a bed, which forced him to sleep upright at the wheel. Nevertheless, he considered himself better off than those in passenger vehicles. Despite being on his way to Lund in Skåne and then back to Olofström in Blekinge, he had no food or medicine, relying on the kindness of others.
“I met a couple from Holland who helped me when I told them how hungry I was. They graciously invited me in for coffee and a sandwich.” He spent the night monitoring the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on the road reopening.
The estimated reopening time kept getting pushed back: first 8 PM, then midnight, then 2 AM, and finally, 2 PM the next day. Eventually, around 10 AM, the Dutch couple received assistance from a local farmer, who cleared a three-meter-wide path through the snow, allowing them to escape the motorway. They drove down the opposite lane with flashing warning lights until they found a clear route.
“We both drove out through the opening, even if we were going against traffic. Luckily, there wasn’t any, so it was safe. It was only our initiative that got us out, or else we would still be stuck,” Nordström explained. Primarily driving in southern Sweden, he had never experienced conditions as severe as those he faced on Wednesday, stating, “I’ve never encountered anything like this in 30 years of driving. It hasn’t snowed like this in Skåne since 1979.”
