20. October 2005 HILFSEINSATZ IN SCHNEECHAOS Flying fists in traffic jam When nothing is going on in winter and thousands of motorists are stuck on the motorway, then the rescue services move out with hot drinks and blankets. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Leitner, what traffic jam was the worst in your career as a Red Cross helper? Leitner: That was a traffic jam on the A8 motorway here in Bavaria, to the border towards Salzburg, the night from 3 to 4 February 2005. Nothing more, on a length of 30 kilometers, the cars got stuck because of the heavy snowfall. It stormed like at the North Pole. … SPIEGEL ONLINE: As a motorist, you never see the start of the traffic jam in which you stand. Tell us: Is there a start? And who is there? Leitner: In winter, these are mostly trucks from southern countries that run through with summer tires and stay stuck on the first snowy slope and cross each other. The cars behind it can still be so well equipped with winter tires and snow chains, that doesn’t help at all. SPIEGEL ONLINE: They are certainly in a good mood when a truck from Italy is standing in front of them… Leitner: The nerves are quickly blank. The ones in the back, they are ignorant, they don’t know what’s going on at all. But the very front, they see the culprit. There are already hand-wrapped arguments. That’s why the highway police are fast. The THW then tries to drag the trucks up the slope. And that often takes a lot of hours. … Addendum from me: While the THW in the front of the truck is unloading the left-over trucks, the crazy truck drivers are driving towards all tracks in the back and are also hanging (even seen on the Bayern TV) (the responsible THW man was about to lynch the truck drivers … Request from me: The police should not let the truck drivers in front of the angry car driver they protect, but prevent them in advance – preventively – from blocking the motorways in the snow – then there is no trouble with car drivers who are on the road in winter with winter tires