Selfish People Think It's OK To Let People DIe To Avoid Hail Dings On Their Cars

In this image from The Weather Channel, parked cars beneath an
Oklahoma overpass block traffic during a weekend hail storm. 

UPDATE:

Kudos to the Twittersphere, namely Becks DePodwin and Nevin deMelliano for pointing out that some insurance companies actually encourage people to park beneath overpasses when it hails.

Yes, as the discussion below shows, doing that endangers other people. But apparently as long as insurance companies don't have to file claims for their own customers, who cares if other people get hurt or killed?

It's all right there. Nationwide's web site tells people to "help protect your car by seeking shelter under an overpass or in a structure with a strong roof."

Not all insurance companies suggest this. Progressive, for instance, tells people who don't have garages or are worried about hail to temporarily stow their car in a covered parking garage at the local mall, which is reasonable enough. No mention of overpasses on the Progressive web site, though I would suggest a disclaimer NOT to do that.

This is an improvement over a couple years ago, when I reported in 2017 that Progressive advised people to stop beneath overpasses. From what I can tell, Progressive has mercifully dropped that advice.

Geico tells people to "pull over to the side of the road and wait out the storm." Fine, but people should pull over well off travel lanes.

The advice from Esurance is actually pretty good: "If you can, pull over into a covered parking area. Pull over to the side of the road (provided its safe to do so."  My quibble: Esurance should say that the "covered parking area" does not include overpasses.

Clearly, despite the advice of weather and severe storm safety experts for the past few decades, the public, insurance companies and others still need a lot more education on the folly of trying to avoid hail and other hazards beneath overpasses.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION

Cars block an underpass on a busy highway during a hailstorm
in this undated photo from Reuters. 

Some serious hail storms hit parts of Texas, Oklahoma and other places in the past few days severe thunderstorm season continues to ramp up.

Big hail causes a lot of damage, of course. I also get it that people don't want to get their cars all dented up by giant hail stones.

However, as usual, as we see every year, there are a number of thoughtless, selfish people who decide that the safety and lives of their fellow motorists are expendable if it means they can avoid a couple little hail dings on their cars.

So they park beneath overpasses. Which jams up the highways behind them.

 There's lots of "for instances." Like on Saturday, when parts of Interstate 44 in Oklahoma got jammed up because morons parked beneath bridges and overpasses during a hail storm.

There are so many reasons why parking beneath overpasses in hailstorms is is dangerous. Here are just a few:

1. Visibility is naturally very poor in a thunderstorm with heavy rain and large hail. People trying to manage driving through the hail and rain won't see the traffic jam until it's too late. This is a recipe for a deadly pileup.

2. Even while the hail is pounding down and you're beneath the overpass blocking traffic, the storm has probably already caused damage and maybe injuries up ahead. Emergency vehicles are already racing to the scene. And here the ambulances and firetrucks are coming up behind you and you're blocking their way.

Seconds count in emergencies. And you're wasting time by trying to keep a couple dings off your ride.

3. Thunderstorms with big hail often produce tornadoes. More often than not, as the tornadic thunderstorm approaches, the places affected first get a barrage of hail. Unseen through all this hail is the tornado. People sheltering beneath the overpass, and those trapped behind them, are sitting ducks for the tornado when it follows closely on the heels of the hail.

People are blocked in, so they can't flee the approaching tornado. So that's another way to kill people by parking beneath an overpass.

By the way, the myth still somehow exists that an overpass is a good place to shelter when a tornado approaches. The opposite is true. The structure of the overpass funnels strong winds, so the tornadic gusts are stronger beneath the overpass than elsewhere. Which means if you're sheltering there, you and your car will get blown way. Or sandblasted and impaled by debris. This will kill you. Or worse.

Andrew Pritchard (@skydrama) recently tweeted this recounting from the National Weather Service of people in Oklahoma who "sheltered" beneath an overpass as a strong tornado came in.  There were 12 people there. Only one died. Not so bad, right?

Here's a quote Pritchard repeated from a report of that 1999 tornado, which about what happened the remaining: "Unfortunately, what has not been well publicized is the horrific injuries suffered by all but one of the survivors under the bridge.......These injuries included but were not limited to compound fractures, shattered bones, missing fingers, missing ears, missing noses and being impaled by shingles, 2X4's etc."

So don't shelter under overpasses during severe weather. It's something out of a horror movie.

Not to mention the risk of killing others by stopping beneath these bridges. The 1999 bridge incident, described above was in part created by people stopping beneath that span. Some of the gruesome injuries were because people were blocking the road, and a quarter mile long traffic jam formed there as the EF-5 tornado passed over.

Even with that terrible story,  I know many of those entitled idiots will just flip me the bird and continue to stop at underpasses, not giving a damn if they hurt or kill others.  However, these tips are also great for those of us who want to do the right thing and not hog an overpass.

1. Pay attention to forecasts. If there's alerts, and especially if there's severe thunderstorm or tornado warnings, postpone driving if possible until the threat is over.

2. Watch the skies. If you see what looks like a bad thunderstorm a few miles up ahead, see if you can take the next exit and wait out the storm in a substantial shelter.  One sign that the thunderstorm up ahead might contain a lot of hail is if the storm clouds have a green or blue tint.

3. If caught driving in a hailstorm, slow down and put your blinkers on. By all means do NOT stop under that overpass. It's unsafe to pull to the side of a busy highway, too. But if conditions are so serious you can't see what you're doing, or if the hail breaks your windshield, definitely pull over as far off the roadway as possible. Also, do everything you can to protect your eyes if the car glass is breaking.

4. Remember, it's just a car. Insurance almost always covers the hail damage. Better to ding up your car than kill someone by blocking the highway.

We here in Vermont don't have giant hail or tornadoes as frequently as other places in the nation. But it can still happen. Plus, you might be driving somewhere else when this kind of weather happens.

Please don't be a jerk, and kill or hurt someone by parking beneath an overpass. I do think there's sometimes such a a thing as karma. If you look at it that way, the life you save might be your own.

Here's a harrowing video taken several years ago after an Oklahoma tornado hit an overpass where cars had parked beneath. One person died and several were injured: