Thousands of drivers were stranded in a traffic jam on the E22 highway in Sweden due to a severe snowstorm.

Shirin Ahlbäck Öberg, a political science professor at Uppsala University, criticized the authorities for their passive crisis management.

Many drivers, including a family with a sick child, spent nearly 18 hours stuck in their cars in freezing temperatures.

The head of the Transport Administration, who was on vacation during the incident, is back at work and facing criticism from various quarters including the West Swedish Chamber of Commerce and representatives from several political parties.