Get Answers: Stuck on the freeway

stuck on the freeway with nowhere to go. winter's approaching and our viewers are asking what can...  More »

stuck on the freeway with nowhere to go. winter's approaching and our viewers are asking what can be done to keep drivers from getting trapped when i-40 closes down. tonight state minute thumbnail 06:00 pm police say they're trying out a new strategy for times when they have to shut down interstate 40 stuart dyson is live along nine mile hill with the latest answer clearing the snowy gridlock.// we've all seen it too many times - i- 40 turned into parking lot with interstate 40 semi-trucks and cars stuck bumper-to-bumper on the shoulders and the off-ramps - now state police and local cops are working with the transportation department on a better idea. interstate 40 is one of the nation's biggest highways for trucks - and when winter storms shut it down the trucks tend to just stay right there on the highway until it opens again hours later. " it's been terrible man - we been down about 12 hours. q: where you trying to get to? a: amarillo texas. q: how have the roads been? q: it's been bad - really bad - you know?" minute thumbnail 06:01 pm when bad weather struck on sunday police used gates to close off the interstate - and then ordered truckers to keep moving to the off-ramps - do not use the highway for a parking spot. " we're divertg traffic such as commercial motor vehicles to large parking lots such as the new mexico state fairgrounds - expo new mexico area." the new plan moves cars off the interstate too - the idea - find yourself a parking lot close to some of the basic comforts western civilization can offer. " where they can sit down - they can rest - they can have a bathroom break - they n have food accessible - and not just shut 'em down on the interstate and just leave 'em there." the plan is still in the let's-try-this-out phase - and police expect changes and refinements - but after yesterday's experience - it's looking like the way to go. ' how bad was sunday on the road - state polic had 13 accidents between gallup and tijeras canyon - four of them with injuries - one of them a double fatal. on nine mile minute thumbnail 06:02 pm hill stuart dyson eyewitness news four.  « Less