Be careful around snowplows
A note of caution: The roads are slick, and all the snow means the snowplows are out in force across eastern Idaho.
On Wednesday, Caleb James rode along with snowplow driver Ken Ray.
Ray operates a heavy-machinery plow. He said he sees a lot patrolling the snow-blighted countryside in Bonneville County.
He said for the most part, things go smoothly, but sometimes drivers do things that put themselves in a lot of danger, especially when folks pass the machines before they have a chance to get snow drifts plowed.
“I mean, when you’re plowing snow and they come around you and get in front of you, and you haven’t plowed the snow, you know most times they just drive off the road and get stuck,” said Ray. “Then they’re just in your way. Just remember we have the right of way when we’re trying to clear the road off. If they get in front of us before we’ve cleared the snow off, they become a hazard.”
And from the vantage point up there in the cab of that machine Wednesday afternoon, cars do look pretty small – it is definitely the driver of the snowplow who has more work to do to get stopped to avoid a collision.
Remember to be mindful of those machines as we continue to see this winter weather in our neck of the woods.
