DEMOCRAT
Atlanta's mayor is defending his use of emergency lanes at the height of Tuesday's icy traffic jam so he could do an interview.
Mayor Kasim Reed's spokesman Carlos Campos said Saturday that he, Reed and police officers normally assigned to the mayor traveled in two cars equipped with blue lights.
The action has sparked anger from motorists who tried to stay warm in their cars or abandoned them to seek shelter in businesses along I-75 and other freeways around metro Atlanta.
Campos said they believed that communicating to the largest possible audience during the crisis was important.
Campos declined to say whether Skype, telephones or other means of communication were considered.
The mayor went on the air around 6 p.m., and he used the opportunity to urge drivers to stay off the roads.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/atlanta-mayor-defends-emergency-lanes-jam-22328900