The self-employed truck driver Niclas Nordström was stranded by snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for a grueling 20 hours during Wednesday and Thursday, describing the conditions as the worst he has faced in his 30-year career, according to The Local.
Nordström, who has owned his road freight business since the 1990s, admitted he mistakenly thought that the blocked traffic would be resolved by the time he set out on the E22 on Wednesday. He, along with about 1,000 other drivers, found out he was wrong when his vehicle came to a standstill near Linderöd around 1:45 PM.
“I assumed the police would have already stopped traffic and redirected vehicles onto other roads, as the cause of the jam had occurred earlier,” the 58-year-old explained to The Local. “In hindsight, I should have thought more critically. A quicker response could have prevented the long queues.”
As a blizzard lashed the region, around 1,000 vehicles were immobilized on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad. The Armed Forces were deployed to assist in evacuating stranded motorists and providing food and water to those still trapped.
Although Nordström’s truck features only a day cab, which lacks a sleeping area, he had to make do by sitting upright at the wheel. He still found himself in a somewhat better position compared to passengers in regular cars. However, en route to Lund in Skåne and then back home to Olofström in Blekinge county, he had neither food nor medicine and relied on the kindness of others for assistance.
“I met a couple from Holland who offered me coffee and a sandwich after I mentioned how hungry I was,” he recounted. He spent the night checking the Swedish Transport Administration’s website to find out when the road might reopen.
“The estimated opening time kept getting postponed: first 8 PM, then midnight, then 2 AM, and finally 2 PM the next day,” he said.
Eventually, around 10 AM, the Dutch man received help from a local farmer who cleared a three-meter-wide path in the snow. The two then traveled down the opposite lane, flashing their warning lights, until they reached a passable road.
“We made it through the opening and drove against traffic, but it was safe since there was no other traffic,” Nordström said. “Thanks to our initiative, we were able to escape; otherwise, we could still be stuck there.” Having primarily driven in the southern counties of Skåne and Blekinge, he indicated he had never encountered such severe snow conditions. “In all my years of driving, I’ve never faced anything like this. The last time Skåne experienced such heavy snowfall was back in 1979,” he noted.
