Get Off the Roads, You Idiot

In case you were thinking that your car might be the best place to ride out a blizzard, Gov. Patrick announced he's banning all vehicles from the state's roads after 4 p.m. on Friday. The ban exempts those involved in public safety and public works as well as healthcare workers on emergency duty, tweets WBZ's Jon Keller. The ban doesn't exempt cabs though, and with public transit shutting down, that means you should probably get to a place where you're happy to stick around for awhile oh … now.

The punishment for violating the ban, rather shockingly, can be as much as a $500 fine and a year in prison. Patrick noted that such measures were pretty unlikely. “The point is not to figure out how to come down hard on people; it’s to emphasize that non-essential travel on the roads cease,” he told reporters. And in case a year in prison isn't enough to deter you, maybe do a Google Image search for cars trapped in the snow during the Blizzard of '78 and ask yourself, is this where you want to spend the weekend?