LISTEN: "Honey, I'll be stuck in traffic all night" - 11 hour Ashburton traffic jam
When Neil was on his way back home after work, he did not anticipate spending his night in his car on the highway.
When the team heard about the overturned truck on the M13, R103, and M7 in Ashburton, which caused a traffic jam from 8pm to 8am, they felt they had to check in on one of the motorists who fell victim to the frustrating situation. Neil Sivalingum called Darren, Keri, and Sky and updated them on the experience.
"I would advise every driver to always keep bottles of water, invest in a car charger," Neil shared. He fortunately survived on one bottle of water during the 11-hour ordeal.
LISTEN: Motorists tell of massive 11-hour traffic jam in Ashburton
Neil works in Ladysmith as a field service technician. He is also a husband and father to two children. One can imagine the anxiety of having someone close to you spending the night in the middle of nowhere in the car.
"It was pitch black as motorists now turned their car lights off and succumbed to the fact that they would be spending the night on the road in their cars," Neil describes the atmosphere on the highway.
Sky asked Neil about his wife's first reaction when he told her he would be be stuck in traffic all night. Well, there's only one answer for that...
Thanks to technology and a car charger, that was sorted out quite smoothly.
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We also had a chat with Patricia, Neil's wife, about her thoughts when her husband was not making a return home.
"I won't lie, I was a bit scared for him. We talked on the phone whenever I would wake up for my little baby, so that made me calmer," she explains. "I also lit a candle for him."
Neil describes that it was hard to interact with the other people in their cars as it was raining heavily for most of the time.
"That made it hard to know whether or not you were safe and no one would try anything funny, like hurt you or try stealing from you," he shares.
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"Although I spend most of my time traveling, sometimes very late, I have never been more scared and more anxious. Cars were not moving even 1 cm, it was totally stagnant and late. My dear family waiting for me... I came home and thanked God for bringing me to my family safe," he adds.
We always love a happy ending to stories and are delighted to hear how the situation made Neil even more grateful for his life and his family.
Main Image: Supplied