The second worst commute in history.

Hello, Dc-ers.

It just took me seven hours to drive a 20 minute commute.

How 'bout you?

There was no snow at 3pm, then suddenly the DC area got slammed. Five inches in about an hour or so.

The snow equipment wasn't ready. Rush hour traffic hit before they could clear the roads. Then they couldn't plow because of all the cars. In the unplowed streets, people had accidents, got stuck, and abandoned their cars in the road. The plows couldn't plow all the blocked lanes.

A total mess.

I drove a car length, put it in park. Then sat for ten minutes. Drove another car length and put it in part again.

One young guy tried to hot rod his way through the median and got stuck. A nice fellow in a Ford Explorer helped him out (they used his floor mats to give him traction, which was clever). At one point I threw it in park, got out, and started to use my arms to knock the snow hat off the roof. A woman rolled down her window and offered her snow brush. I gave her an orange, figuring she probably was hungry. We'd been there for hours.

At another point, a young Indian guy was sitting in the middle of the road, his car dark. I rolled down the window and asked him, "What's wrong?" His battery was dead. So I pulled in front and give him a jump. The battery was very dead, but hell, I'd already been in traffic six hours at that point.

Finally, around midnight, traffic cleared. All that was was left was the last cars rolling at 15 mph ... and the carnage.

Snowplows trapped. Darkened cars spun out into the median, or angled at the edge of the road and left, blocking lanes. Traffic lights dead dark.

I have never driven such an agonizing commute. I'm rethinking the whole concept of cars.