# Snow results in abandoned cars on the road. How do you get your car back? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 9, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-results-in-abandoned-cars-on-the-road-how-do-you-get-your-car-back/680867 "2014-02-09T00:11:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-results-in-abandoned-cars-on-the-road-how-do-you-get-your-car-back/680867/21 "2014-02-11T01:26:05Z")
> [@j666](#): > > I. > > I have one tip, though. Keep a change of clothes and a toothbrush in your car. > And a bar of chocolate. And a cup, candle, wooden matches, a tea bag, and a nip. Brandy or whiskey. And a blanket, a WORKING flashlight, a pair of gloves and perhaps some cat litter in winter weather. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-results-in-abandoned-cars-on-the-road-how-do-you-get-your-car-back/680867/22 "2014-02-11T01:30:45Z")
> [@j666](#): > > I have one tip, though. Keep a change of clothes and a toothbrush in your car. > And a bar of chocolate. And a cup, candle, wooden matches, a tea bag, and a nip. Brandy or whiskey. You know, in most states you can get a DUI for merely being in your car with the keys while drunk since you could suddenly take off and start drunk driving at any minute. Maybe if you’re hopelessly stuck in the snow it’s be okay though! ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-results-in-abandoned-cars-on-the-road-how-do-you-get-your-car-back/680867/23 "2014-02-11T02:17:04Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > You know, in most states you can get a DUI for merely being in your car with the keys while drunk since you could suddenly take off and start drunk driving at any minute. Maybe if you’re hopelessly stuck in the snow it’s be okay though! Okay, I respect people who point out when some-else gives irresponsible advice, but for a _ **nip** _? If one can blow over 0.08 on one nip, one is either too short to reach the pedals, or too weak to turn the wheel. Now, being the only person in a line of stalled traffic to have chocolate, that is dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-results-in-abandoned-cars-on-the-road-how-do-you-get-your-car-back/680867/24 "2014-02-11T02:21:24Z")
During Atlanta’s recent events, there were a couple of different ways, depending on whether the car was abandoned on a highway or a surface road. The surface roads varied from county to county (and even among cities within counties). For the interstate ones, they announced staging locations from where they were going to take people out to the interstates. By that point, the cars had been moved from the lanes of travel to the side of the road, so they weren’t in the same spot they’d been left. (I’m not sure how people actually found their cars at this point). If you hadn’t picked your car up by a certain point in time, it was towed and that was going to cost you. See [here for some details](https://www.facebook.com/GeorgiaDOT/posts/10152255202721096) (this is the GDOT facebook page, the best I could get for a cite) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-results-in-abandoned-cars-on-the-road-how-do-you-get-your-car-back/680867/25 "2014-02-11T13:22:52Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Okay, I respect people who point out when some-else gives irresponsible advice, but for a _ **nip** _? If you’re stuck in cold weather in a car, trying to stay warm, alcohol is the last thing you want to consume. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-results-in-abandoned-cars-on-the-road-how-do-you-get-your-car-back/680867/26 "2014-02-11T13:46:28Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > If you’re stuck in cold weather in a car, trying to stay warm, alcohol is the last thing you want to consume. And the seal might break, then you’d be running afoul of open container laws, don’t forget that. Okay, I surrender. I should not have advised anyone keep a nip _**(a nip)**_ in the car. (You light the candle, melt snow, and make a nice cup of tea to warm up.) (After taking all necessary precautions, including a fire-proof holder for the candle, and ensuring the car is not hermetically sealed. Maybe you should test your metabolic rate, look up the volume of the car’s interior and calculate how much oxygen you can afford to burn first.) (Because, after all, there is no way someone would ever keep a blanket in the car in the wintertime.) ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-results-in-abandoned-cars-on-the-road-how-do-you-get-your-car-back/680867/27 "2014-02-11T13:54:04Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > You may say that Admiralty Law doesn’t apply on dry land, but then why do our courts’ flags have gold fringe? Huh? Answer me that! Because it’s a damned decoration and nothing more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-results-in-abandoned-cars-on-the-road-how-do-you-get-your-car-back/680867.md?page=1)