Despite the name, cabin fever is not a disease and there is no official diagnosis. But that doesn’t mean that its related symptoms — claustrophobic irritability or extreme restlessness stemming from being in confined quarters for a period of time — aren’t real. Indeed, it’s those symptoms that can lead those affected to make irrational decisions potentially threatening their life or the lives of others those decisions impact.
Like getting into your car and driving on icy roads for no better reason than you’ve been cooped up in the house for a couple of days because of severe weather.
We’ve seen more than a bit of this this week. With ice blanketing our streets since Monday, sub-zero wind chills and rural roads left virtually untreated as of late Wednesday, driving for less-than-essential purposes is not something that should be attempted. But it’s happening as more and more people decide enough is enough: “I need to get out of the house.”
The result, sadly, is predictable. Dozens of accidents on North Alabama’s officially deemed impassable roads have led to an extreme use of emergency services, and at least one death as of this reporting.
In the past, we’ve posted tips from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency for those driving in hazardous weather conditions. But those tips aren’t meant to be permission to drive in hazardous weather, and especially not if the trip isn’t essential. After all, and for the record, no matter how good a driver you are or how well-equipped is your vehicle … no one can safely drive on sheer ice.
Yes, cabin fever is a real thing and we understand that. But let’s give our emergency services a bit of breathing room by keeping the roads clear for just a while longer. Next week, when daytime temperatures are predicted to hit as high as the mid-60s, today’s weather will be a memory. And for those who fight the urge to take a pleasure trip on frozen roads, a good one.