Not moving forward

Cars wait on the road into Kawaihae Hawaii as a traffic accident is cleared

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Groups of Any Kind.’ See more responses here.

One day last week, late in the afternoon, the driver of a dump truck carrying asphalt, lost control of his vehicle on the road into Kawaihae. He careened across the road, into a guard rail, and overturned, spilling the asphalt onto the highway.

No one was hurt, but the highway was closed in both directions. This is the highway I take to go to and from work. I’d heard about the accident before I set off for home, but there were conflicting versions about whether one lane was closed or both.

Cars wait on the road into Kawaihae Hawaii as a traffic accident is cleared

It wasn’t long before I was in a line of backed up traffic, but even then it wasn’t clear whether the highway was closed or not, since a fair number of vehicles kept coming from the opposite direction. However, the longer I was in the line, the more clear it became that these vehicles were driven by people turning around and getting out of the jam. Some of these were likely people who were headed to Kawaihae for some reason that wasn’t urgent. Others were surely those who lived up where I do who figured it would be quicker to take the long way home. I’ve done that before (here) for a brush fire, and once stuck it out for an overturned semi (here).

This time, I decided to wait it out with my group of fellow delayed travelers. It was interesting to watch what people did. Some got out of their cars and chatted. Others took the exit to Spencer Beach Park for a more relaxing wait. Still others waited, gave up, and turned around to seek alternatives. A few cars did just that only a few minutes before a retrieval vehicle with the damaged dump truck aboard, passed by. Shortly thereafter, traffic started moving through from the other side of the holdup. Then it was our turn.

Cars wait on the road into Kawaihae Hawaii as a traffic accident is cleared

The backups were quickly cleared and I got home two hours after I left work. Had I turned around as soon as I saw the backup, I might have been home in 90 minutes. My normal commute is about 30 minutes. But I wasn’t too put out. Back home, I was still able to relax with a nice glass of wine. The dump truck driver, who caused the delay, probably wishes he’d done that too. He was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant!

Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Move Forward, Reconstruct, Renew, and/or are Burgeoning. See more responses here.

23 thoughts on “Not moving forward”

  1. Kirstin Troyer's avatarKirstin Troyer

    I actually was just thinking of a time when my daughters and I were in town shopping at a mall and we got a call from a friend saying there was a landslide (we had seen her a little bit before at the mall), and we might want to head home. Well, good thing she told us and good thing we did, because it was just past our exit and they closed the freeway (it covered the freeway), we took the back road, and while it took us longer, it was better than having to abandon our car on the side of the freeway or be stuck.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      It’s lucky you got a bit of warning, I did too, but there was confusion as to whether the road was closed or just down to one lane.

      Like

    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      Not sure about that. The most annoying thing about the whole incident is that, when people pulled out of line to leave, sometimes the drivers behind would close the gap and other times not. It meant I couldn’t really leave the car to take photos as I’d like to have done!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      I don’t know how adventurous it was, but I found it very interesting watching people turn around and head back all the way through the process. We all have a different point at which we decide to cut our losses!

      Liked by 1 person

  8. restlessjo's avatarrestlessjo

    Devil and the deep blue sea, isn’t it? We’ve often been held up due to roadworks and inched forward slowly, but I’d rather that than an accident. You never know what you’re going to find.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Terri Webster Schrandt's avatarTerri Webster Schrandt

    What a scene, Graham. And such a perfect post for Sunday Stills groups and Becky’s squares! Glad you stuck it out and just went along with it. I would have probably turned around in a huff, then regretted it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      The alternative was a long drive so I was motivated to wait it out. If I’d been closer to the scene of the accident I’d have had a much better idea about what was going on, plus I’d have got better photos!

      Liked by 1 person

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