When this happens, I take the backroads and avoid the freeway. This keeps the "Whohooo, I have an SUV and can go really fast in the snow because SUV!!" people away from me. It also lets me take my time and take photos if something catches my eye.
I did just this on a recent snowy day. It was a Friday so I was unconcerned with getting anywhere in a timely manner and I stopped for a coffee because of course I did. Once I left the coffee stand, I turned into the left hand turn lane and waited for the light to change. I was the first in line at a busy intersection with a long light.
Suddenly, a white truck came skidding toward me and smashed into the corner of my truck. I saw it just in time to take my hands off the wheel and brace myself. It didn't feel like that hard of a hit, really, but the truck wedged against mine proved otherwise.
I couldn't quite see the other driver but I could see some flailing about. I got out of my truck and walked all the way around the one that hit me to check on the driver. Finally, he opened the door and told me he was okay.
Of course, it was a college kid. He was clearly frustrated and embarrassed. So much so that his flailing kind of continued. In a fit of pique, he slammed his door. I was just about to turn to walk back to my vehicle because tantrums are unnecessary when I heard this quiet "Oh...no, no, no, no."
Dude locked himself out of his own truck. In the middle of the intersection. I BUSTED OUT laughing. "Dude, you are not having a good day." I said aloud while thinking "And sometimes karma is instant."
He phoned his dad, because toddler, and asked him to come bring his spare keys. He was vague as to when he would arrive so I called 911. This was fun because they were busy and frustrated with these type of calls. But I think I made the dispatcher's day when I explained I was calling because dude locked himself out of his truck during a tantrum.
They sent a traffic cop to monitor traffic and she was laughing at him too. Finally, she stopped traffic so i could back up and park in a parking lot. Before I backed away, she told dude that they had to call a tow truck to unlock and move his truck. When he fussed about it and explained that his dad was coming to help, she told him that they would have to see who got there first.
I had to wait about thirty minutes before the tow truck won the race and got him moved out of the way. I'd called Kevin and took photos already so all I could do was listen to the radio and drink my coffee.
Not a bad way to spend the morning but not on my top ten list, for sure.
Finally, the police arrived to take all of our information. He wrote dude a ticket for driving too fast for conditions and while he was doing that, dude's dad finally arrived. His dad was very attractive, calm while boiling under the surface and was kind to me. I went to work and dude when to university to most likely fail his exams he had that day.
Photo courtesy of my work's IT guy because even though it's a city, it's a small town:
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