The self-employed truck driver Niclas Nordström was trapped by snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for a total of 20 hours on Wednesday and Thursday, describing the extreme weather conditions as the worst he has experienced in his 30-year driving career.
Nordström, who has operated his own road freight business since the 1990s, admitted he mistakenly thought the traffic jam would have been resolved by the time he took the E22 on Wednesday. Around 1,000 other drivers shared his fate when they too found themselves stuck near Linderöd at around 1:45 PM.
“The incident causing the traffic jam had occurred well before, so I assumed the police would have diverted traffic to alternate routes,” the 58-year-old told The Local. “I should have thought it through more. With quicker decision-making, this situation wouldn’t have escalated into such a long wait.”
As conditions worsened with a blizzard hitting the area, around 1,000 vehicles were left stranded between Hörby and Kristianstad, prompting the Armed Forces to assist in evacuating individuals and delivering food and water to those stuck.
Nordström’s truck is fitted with a day cab, lacking a sleeping area, which forced him to sleep upright at the wheel. However, he noted that he had it better than those in passenger vehicles. Despite being on his way to Lund in Skåne and then to his home in Olofström, he had no food or medicine with him and needed help from others.
“I met various people while stuck, including a couple from Holland who offered me coffee and a sandwich when I mentioned I was starving,” he recounted. He spent the night checking the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on when the road would reopen.
“They kept pushing the reopening time further out. Initially, it was set for 8 PM, then midnight, then 2 AM, and eventually to 2 PM the next day.” Ultimately, around 10 AM, he and the Dutchman received assistance from a local farmer, who cleared a three-meter-wide path through the snow, allowing them both to leave the motorway. They drove against the traffic in the opposite lane, using their hazard lights until they reached a passable road.
Having primarily driven in the southern counties of Skåne and Blekinge, Nordström noted he had never faced snow conditions like those he encountered on Wednesday. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my career. The last time Skåne faced such severe weather was in 1979, when the entire region was snowed in,” he stated.
