I'm sitting at home in Cambridge, Massachusetts during big blizzard of 2013. At 6:30 we have had about two inches of accumulation. For the last 2 ½ hours it has been illegal to drive a car on any road in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, per order of "His Excellency" Governor Deval Patrick.

My friends invited for dinner with two young children are walking half an hour in the snow, even though the roads are empty and plowed.

Huh?

By His Excellency

DEVAL L. PATRICK

GOVERNOR

TIMOTHY P. MURRAY

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO 543

MOTOR VEHICLE TRAVEL BAN

I, Deval L. Patrick, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, pursuant to the power provided by Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950 do hereby issue the following order:

There shall be a ban on motor vehicle travel beginning at 4:00 PM today and continuing until further notice. This travel ban shall not apply to the following:

   public safety vehicles and public safety workers, including contract personnel 
   public works vehicles and public works workers, including contract personnel; government officials conducting official business 
   utility company vehicles and utility workers 
   healthcare workers who must travel to and from work in order to provide essential health services 
   news media 
   travel necessary to maintain and deliver critical private sector services such as energy, fuel supplies and delivery, financial systems and the delivery of critical commodities 
   travel to support business operations that provide critical services to the public, including gasoline stations, food stores and hardware stores

Given this 8th day of February in the year of our Lord two thousand and thirteen at 12:15PM.

DEVAL L. PATRICK, GOVERNOR 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts