The self-employed truck driver Niclas Nordström was stuck in snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for an exhausting 20 hours on Wednesday and Thursday, describing the experience as the worst weather he has faced in his 30-year career, according to The Local.
Since the 1990s, Nordström has operated his own road freight business. He mistakenly assumed the traffic would be cleared when he entered the E22 on Wednesday. Along with approximately 1,000 other drivers, he realized he was wrong when he became trapped near Linderöd at around 1:45 PM.
“The cause of the traffic jam had occurred some time earlier, so I thought the police would have already diverted vehicles to other routes,” the 58-year-old shared with The Local. “I should have thought it through more carefully; if there had been quicker decision-making, the long queues could have been avoided.”
As a blizzard ravaged the area, up to 1,000 vehicles were left stranded on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad. The Armed Forces were deployed to assist stranded individuals, providing food and water to those still trapped in their vehicles.
Nordström’s truck is equipped with a day cab, meaning there is no bed, so he had to sleep upright in the driver’s seat. However, he stated that he was in a better position than those stuck in passenger cars. Despite this, as he was en route to Lund in Skåne and then back home to Olofström in Blekinge county, he had no food or medicine and had to depend on the kindness of others.
“There were various people around. I made friends with a couple from Holland who assisted me the following day. I mentioned how hungry I was, and they invited me in for coffee and a sandwich,” he recounted.
Throughout the night, he monitored the Swedish Transport Administration’s website to check when the road would reopen, only to find the time continually pushed back—first to 8 PM, then midnight, later to 2 AM, and ultimately to 2 PM the next day.
Finally, around 10 AM, the Dutch couple received help from a local farmer, who cleared a three-meter-wide pathway through the snow, allowing them to exit the motorway. The duo then drove down the opposite lane, flashing their hazard lights, until they reached a passable road.
“We both made it out together, driving against the traffic, but since there was no other traffic, it wasn’t dangerous. It was only because we took the initiative that we were able to leave; otherwise, we likely would still be stuck there,” Nordström explained. He remarked that he had never faced conditions like those he encountered on Wednesday during his extensive driving experience. “I’ve never experienced anything like this in my 30 years. Such severe weather hasn’t hit Skåne since 1979, when the entire region was buried in snow.”
