Wouldn't think of it myself. I've encountered drivers backing up on
the highway, too, into oncoming traffic.
One problem with a true whiteout is a question of where do you stop if
you have to? I remember hearing of a woman who had stopped and gotten
out of her car during a whiteout in the Champaign-Urbana area. She
was subsequently hit and killed by a truck. If a driver of a vehicle
can't tell where he or she is driving during a whiteout, should a
driver stop the vehicle?
Well, I always tell my kids you only drive what you can see. If you
can't stop in the distance you can see, you are going too fast. This I
usually relate to a narrow corner with no visibility do to trees, fence,
etc.
So my answer is if you can't see the hood ornament you have to do what I
did and find a way to get to the side of the road and stop. Weather or
not to get out of the car is your call. I would try to stay in unless
there was good access to a safe area far from the road.
Several years ago I saw a wild accident on interstate 84. A State
Trooper was flying down the highway at the very beginning of a very
heavy snow, the plows had not been out yet, but the roads were not
covered. There was about a foot of plow pile on the side of the highway
and maybe a 2-3 inch covering of snow on the fields that surrounded the
area to the tree line (more on that later) which was probably 50 feet
from the road. This guy was doing probably 60 and all of a sudden his
back end skipped out and he was heading off the road. He slid through
the plow pile and probably 150+ feet across the field and slammed a tree
head on, looked like he may have scrubbed of 15-20 mph by the time he
hit the tree, but still a good 40-45 on impact. Straight on, deployed
the airbag. I was pulling over and dialing 911 when I saw a guy running
for his car with what seemed to be a "stereotypical" medical bag. I
assumed he was a health care provider so I made the call and continued
down the road home.
The reason I noted this is when I say get to a safe place far from the
car, I mean waaaaaayyy far away, and preferably behind something that
can stop a car. If you can't get there, I would stay in the car and hope
you don't get hit.
That all being said, last time I crashed it was a black ice condition
and I knew cars would be bouncing around like pinballs so when we had a
chance, we got out and were able to get behind guard rails and well off
of the road...
I propose the following...
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