http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-878984.mp3
Kansas City, MO – With snow cutting visibility since late yesterday, travel became difficult in car and truck. Heavier trucks often get around better.
The weight of the load can be a positive factor. Take a fully loaded truck with a cargo of water. A thousand gallons in the rig driven by Jim Rash who hauls water to houses where there's no public water supply.
It's a cold job unloading water that's constantly freezing the pump and hoses. Rash's teeth are chattering.
Jim Rash: "Everywhere you go you have to deal with the ice, and I'm going to finish wrapping up these hoses here. Got any water left in them at all they'll freeze on me."
Dan Verbeck: "Why do you do this?
Jim Rash: "Well, I hate to see people run out of water and be without. And, it's a living"
When the truck is empty, it doesn't have the weight that gives traction. Prone to getting stuck just like thousands of other vehicles having trouble on slick streets.