There鈥檚 one thing you can do that is guaranteed to aggravate a snow plough driver to no end: tailgate them.
Not only is your car almost certainly going to get a rock shower when the plough operator fires up its sander, your headlights will make the driver鈥檚 already difficult job a whole lot harder.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got convex mirrors; we鈥檝e got mirrors for our wing; we鈥檝e got big West Coast mirrors on the side鈥攕o we鈥檙e getting a lot of reflection in our face鈥攁nd when [we鈥檝e] gotta鈥� stay focused on finding that centre line and being on the right part of that road, that makes it tough,鈥� explained Mike Horvath, a veteran plough driver with Parks Canada.
Feb. 7, he sat in the bullpen鈥攖he giant room in the Parks compound where the snow removal team operates from鈥攃hatting about staying safe around plough trucks.
He said that keeping back is also important, because if his plough catches something, or he comes upon an obstacle in the road, he will decelerate very quickly, which could end up disastrously for any tailgaters.
Horvath remembers ploughing a particularly bad road one day, when he caught a glimpse of the taillight of a car buried in the road. He just managed to swerve to avoid it, but 鈥渋f there had been somebody right behind me that would have been it,鈥� he said.
Despite the fury he feels when someone rides his tail, he explained that when the weather is rotten and road conditions are unknown, the safest place to be is behind a plough.
鈥淛ust give us some space,鈥� he said, grinning.
When the road ahead is clear, however, plough drivers are much more comfortable if you just pass them.
Horvath has a seemingly endless supply of stories about drivers who refuse to pass his truck, even when he repeatedly waves them by, or slows down to nearly a crawl.
On the flip side, he said he often gets passed by people driving way too fast, in dangerous conditions, only to have them lose control when they hit the rougher road.
He recalled 鈥渁 couple of yahoos鈥� in a truck who passed him on a bend in the road, making rude gestures out their window, only to go off the road a few metres ahead of him.
鈥淎nd I鈥檓 doing the posted speed limit at that point,鈥� he said, shaking his head.
Marion Lee is Parks鈥� highway areas manager. She鈥檚 been in the business for years, and has been preaching winter driving safety for most of that time.
She explained that drivers鈥� bad judgement makes her operators鈥� jobs more difficult. And as the ones responsible for keeping the road safe, accidents hit them the hardest.
Plough operators see a lot of irresponsible drivers crash right in front of them, and that takes a toll, she explained.
鈥淣obody needs to see that; my guys don鈥檛 need to see that because that鈥檚 crappy for them,鈥� Lee said.
She pleaded with drivers to use common sense when driving in the winter, noting that the posted speed limit is for when the road is 鈥渃lear and dry.鈥� Trying to go the maximum speed during sketchy conditions is a recipe for disaster.
She asks drivers to visit www.511.alberta.ca, or call 780-852-3311 for information on road conditions before heading out on a big trip.
Trevor Nichols
[email protected]
