"Gary Drescher" wrote in
How long was it after the landing that he attempted to take off?
Traumatic experiences, like an emergency landing, tend to screw up
people's ability to think for a period afterward.

The emergency landing was on Wednesday, and the attempted takeoff was
Thursday afternoon.

One less excuse then. FWIW, in Canada:

The Ontario Highway Traffic Act says:

When an aircraft has landed on a highway because of an emergency related to
the
operation of the aircraft, the aircraft may take off from the highway
provided,

(a) a commercial licensed pilot, not being the owner of the aircraft, who is
qualified to fly that class and category of aircraft, and the pilot in
command
of the aircraft are both satisfied that the aircraft is airworthy and that
there are no physical obstructions on or over the highway which would make
such
take-off unsafe;

(b) the pilot in command of the aircraft is satisfied that weather
conditions
are satisfactory for the purpose and that the minimum requirements are met
under the visual flight rules established by the regulations made under the
Aeronautics Act (Canada) or, if the flight is to be continued under
instrument
flight rules, that adequate arrangements can be made for obtaining a
clearance
from an air traffic control unit prior to entering instrument flight weather
conditions;

(c) traffic control is provided by the appropriate police force;

(d) the police force consents to the take-off.

Similar rules there? Another pilot might have been helpful.

m