24 Surprising Images Of Mother Nature Punishing Drivers
Mother Nature is a mysterious thing. On most occasions, it can be a pure beauty but on others, it can be pure carnage. Whether or not you decide to test Mother Nature or not is up to you but here is some evidence of people who tried testing Mother Nature and it not working out in their favor. This list mostly consists of inexperienced drivers thinking it is safe to drive on icy roads or flooded streets and it turning out that it wasn’t actually the best idea.
Some entries show the pure beauty that Mother Nature can produce. There will always be bad drivers during a snowstorm or just on a regular day. Most of these drivers will likely not try and face Mother Nature again and we hope they don’t try. If you ever think about going out and driving in bad conditions make sure you are experienced and know what you are doing or you could end up on a list about bad drivers. Most of these images could have been prevented if people didn’t try and drive during bad conditions and just stayed indoors. However, they wanted to test Mother Nature and this is what happened…
24 DITCH DIVING
The owner of this red car probably didn’t expect to get their car stuck in a large bank of snow when they headed out that morning. This is a prime example of why you need to be prepared if you are to leave during or after a blizzard hit. This is likely due to the lack of snow tires or knowledge of how to traverse icy roads. In the photo, it looks like the car was abandoned by the owner so we can only hope that they found some help somewhere down the road.
23 MOTHER NATURE BLOCKADE
Highways become a risky situation during blizzards and other storms caused by Mother Nature. Many people believe that they won’t have any problems with their commute to work on an icy highway. Usually, the aid tries to clear highways before anything else but sometimes the aid isn’t enough and things like what happened in this picture can occur. It also only takes one person to mess up and a large care blockade like this can occur. This can be very dangerous as the highway still sees high speeds even during a snowstorm so it can be hard for cars to slow down before adding to the blockade.
22 TEXTING AND DRIVING
This picture may not even have anything to do with mother nature but the road looks icy so it counts. In the image, the person in the driver seat is clearly on their phone and doesn’t seem to be concerned that their car is almost flipped upside down in a ditch. Let’s give that person the benefit of the doubt they may just be texting for help. It could also be the fact that black ice was hidden on the road and without proper knowledge, it may have been impossible to detect when the driver was on the road.
21 THE MIRACULOUS FROZEN FLOOD
This image shows something that most people may not even think is possible. This is an occurrence known as a frozen flood. It happens when an area experiences heavy rainfall causing flooding and then temperatures drop fast causing the flooded water to freeze over. This is an example of an unexpecting person leaving their car out in the flood and not expecting it to get any worse. If this car still runs after being hit by two natural disasters then it seems like this car brand may be immortal. Whatever the case we hope that the owner of the car is safe and sound.
20 WHY ROLL YOUR WINDOWS UP BEFORE A STORM?
That’s right your paranoid mom or grandma that always told you to roll up your windows because, “it might storm”, was right! At least, in this case, they were. This is an image of an unlucky person who sadly forgot to roll up their windows or prepare for the blizzard that was about to hit and has to deal with really cold seats for the next few days. This just shows what damage a storm can do to the outside and inside of a car. People should take proper precautions to protect their vehicles when oncoming storms hit.
19 SLIPPERY HIGHWAYS
Once again we get another prime example of how dangerous highways can be during winter storms. While some highways may look like they are safe to drive, there could always be the possibility of ice hidden underneath the surface. In this image we see the unfortunate event of a semi truck fishtailing out of control before it ends up toppling over. While many truck drivers don’t have a choice whether to drive through rough weather or not they should always take safety for themselves over their job. Sometimes that may require them to pull over and wait for the storm to clear up.
18 WHEN SNOW HITS THE SOUTH
Different geographical locations take snow differently. As for the South, the warning of snow doesn’t mix too well. While on the inside of stores you can’t find any bread or milk on the highways things starts looking like this picture. Large pileups can occur with little to no snow on the ground. With as little snow as there is in the image, there is likely no ice on the roads causing cars to pile up like this. A mix of paranoia and missing knowledge of how to drive in these conditions makes the winter in the South a hard time.
17 STAY INDOORS
This image is a great example of people being ignorant about the dangers of storms. If a storm causes as little visibility as this storm has then it is best for the people in the picture to stay home and hunker down. To give them the benefit of the doubt they could be trying to evacuate but at this point, it seems like it is too late. It is also apparent in this picture that these cars have people in them as the front headlights are on. It seems like the car on the right got stuck in a bank of snow and is trying to escape. Hopefully, everyone in this picture got out okay.
16 MASSIVE PILEUPS
Pileups like the one shown above happen when highways experience the worst of a snowstorm. The worst part is when the semi trucks that travel these highways and crash causing a bigger accident than if it was just normal small cars. These large pileups cause traffic to be stuck usually on both sides of the highway and can cause a huge headache for a lot of people trying to commute to their jobs. These pile-ups can be caused by cars and trucks that are unable to break from high speeds due to the icy roads. Usually, there is no one harmed in pileups just a lot of damages and costs.
15 JUST DOING THEIR JOB
The biggest issue as mentioned before for truckers is ice storms or any other dangers caused by Mother Nature. Often times these truckers are forced to drive through these conditions to get their job done. This is rarely a bad thing because they are specially trained to know how to drive through these conditions. However, when conditions become unbearable the truck drivers are usually left having to decide what to do on their own. Trucking companies have become better at increasing their concern for these types of storms and are working on better strategies to prevent accidents.
14 RAIN, SLEET, SNOW, OR HAIL, WE’LL DELIVER YOUR MAIL
This image shows a UPS truck driving through pretty rough conditions to deliver packages. Hopefully, the driver is out there delivering Christmas presents making this a white Christmas. Similar to truck drivers UPS drivers are specially trained to undergo weather conditions like the one above. This also looks like the beginning of a bigger storm so we can only hope that the driver is getting off their shift soon. Unlike truck drivers, the UPS drivers also only deliver around a local area so most times they don’t have to travel very far if they have to get on the highway.
13 SHOULD HAVE CALLED OFF SICK
This picture looks like what could have been the aftermath of the truck that was fishtailing earlier. It seems like this truck may have slid straight into a snow bank and is now unable to get out. Luckily it doesn’t look like anyone was hurt and the inventory on the truck is also safe. It also appears that rescue workers arrived soon enough from the lights seen on the right of the picture. However, just by seeing the visibility in the picture it looks like nobody should have been out on the roads that day.
12 THE BLIZZARD OF 1978
It is important to remember sometimes that we haven’t always had the technology we have now to prevent accidents during snow storms or storms in general. Take this image from a huge blizzard in 1978 that hit most of the north-eastern United States. This picture specifically comes from Boston which got a whopping 27.1 inches (69 cm) of snow. This was by far one of the most storms and this image shows just some of the carnage that was caused by the storm. It’s important to track these storms especially in places like the northeastern parts of the United States to prepare for them by either evacuating or staying put.
11 NO VISIBILITY
One of the first things to go with a storm besides electricity is visibility. Especially when it comes to snow storms. The amount of dense snow falling can really hinder people’s visibility when driving. This is one of the biggest causes for crashes besides ice. According to the Federal Highway Administration over 38,000 crashes occur due to fog. While fog isn’t the same thing as snow they can sometimes cause the same effects and cause the same automobile accidents. In this image, even with the truck’s high beams on you can see that it doesn’t affect the little visibility available.
10 SNOW STUCK TROLLEY
This is another rather old photo that shows a trolley that got caught in a snow bank and is unable to move. Passengers have gathered outside the trolley to investigate and it doesn’t look like the train car is going anywhere fast. This certainly isn’t the first time this happened but it is a rare occurrence. The driver of this trolley probably wasn’t prepared to operate the machine in snowy weather such as this and this is likely what ended the ride for these passengers. That and it isn’t likely that this trolley wasn’t prepared for weather conditions such as these.
9 A BLIZZARD “ALMOST” STOPS BOSTON’S SUBWAYS
Boston is one of those places that gets hit with snow almost every year. Therefore most of the time they are prepared for some bad blizzards. However, sometimes even the coldest places on Earth can’t prepare for what Mother Nature has in store for them. This picture shows a snow-covered railroad that almost stopped the Boston subway system from operating. Luckily the subways were designed to travel over pretty rough conditions. Surely if the blizzard was any worse the subway would have shut down that day. The conductor can also be seen out front as visibility probably isn’t great with the thick blizzard.
8 WAITING FOR HELP
Here is yet another picture of a semi-truck stuck in a ditch. However, this one doesn’t look that bad as the truck isn’t flipped over and seems to be pretty stationary. However, this picture makes it look like this trucker was on the side of the road for a while before help arrived. The truck driver can be seen with his window rolled down waiting for assistance to pull his truck from the frozen ground. Luckily it seems the storm cleared up behind him and it probably wasn’t long before he was back on his route.
7 BLENDING IN
Here is a beautiful feat of Mother Nature and her ability to cover the land with blankets of white snow. That includes this truck which had to pull over on the side of the road either due to icy conditions or the fact that it veered off the road into the median. Either way, we can see that the truck nearly blends in with the scenery and if it weren’t for the people in neon jackets it would be hard to spot the truck in the first place. Hopefully, they were able to quickly move the truck along before anyone else blindly veered into the median.
6 TOO LATE TO EVACUATE
This photo shows someone who is stuck trying to evacuate after a hurricane hit. The car is obviously on since it’s headlights are on. Whether or not someone stuck around to attempt to escape isn’t known. Hopefully, whoever’s car this is was able to escape back into safety. This is why you should evacuate as soon as possible and not wait until the storm gets worse and worse when it is too late. This person is considered lucky not to have any more damage brought upon them or their property and probably should have stayed home instead of trying to drive through several inches of rain.
5 MASSIVE TREE UPROOTED
This is an unfortunate parking job by whoever parked their car here. However, we can’t feel that bad for them as they probably knew a huge storm with strong winds would hit and probably knock some trees over. This is just one example of how strong some winds from storms can be and the amount of damage they can cause. Luckily nobody was in the car when it happened but we suspect they won’t be parking on the side of the road anymore. Next time park your car just a few more inches away from a humungous tree.
4 A LITTLE WATER NEVER HURT ANYONE
Some cars are just built to deal with bad weather conditions and this car looks like one of them. However, there is still a risk of hydroplaning in any car and with heavy rainfall like seen in this image it is dangerous to drive through large puddles. You can quickly lose control of your car and hope that it doesn’t hit anything. The risk is too high to attempt running through puddles even if you have a car built for it. This person obviously went out into the storm looking to have some fun and probably ended up paying for it later on.
3 A BEAUTIFUL SCENE
This image is another great example of the power Mother Nature has to leave an area looking like a winter wonderland. This semi truck likely had a nice peaceful drive through what could be one of the most beautiful scenes on a highway. The trees are lightly coated in sprinkles of snow while the ground has a hefty few inches of snow on the ground. This looks like a scene straight out of a Christmas movie. If only all blizzards could end up like the one above.
2 FORCED TO TAKE A DETOUR
Sometimes when a storm hits there is no other choice but to close off major roadways so more disaster is prevented. This is why during storms there will be detours set up to redirect traffic to the next fastest route. This can be a headache to anyone but especially for truck drivers who are only trying to work. This image shows a large backup of semi trucks cutting through a small town just off the highway. It is likely backed up due to a large number of trucks and cars trying to get back on the safer part of the highway.
1 BEING PULLED TO SAFETY
This is one of the scarier entry’s on the list as you can see a truck being pulled from nearly falling off an icy mountain. We’re not sure what caused this or where the truck originally was but it was somewhere that it couldn’t get out on its own. Luckily help arrived and assisted the truck driver to safety. Who knows how steep the cliff is on the right side of the image but something tells us that this truck driver got very lucky by not falling down the cliffside.
