'People drive into snow banks just to get around you,' says snowplow operator
Snowplow operator says dangerous drivers cut them off or don't let them merge into lanes
Snowplow operators want drivers to know that they're not trying to frustrate them by driving slowly and are asking reckless drivers to exercise a bit more patience on the road — for the safety of the operators and themselves.
Patrick Miller has been in highway maintenance for 35 years and said sometimes drivers end up cutting heavy snowplow vehicles off or don't allow them to merge into lanes.
"Maybe they're in a hurry to get home or ignorant to the fact that we're trying to help them out by clearing the snow off the road," said Miller.
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Miller said, they aren't trying to frustrate drivers by driving slowly. It's about safety and they're under a speed restriction by their company, so they can't go faster than 60 km/h when the blade is down.
He said cutting in front of them while heaps of snow are flying off the plow can cause some serious damage or injury.
"They don't realize how heavy that snow can get. It has been known to actually turn vehicles sideways just from the blast," he said.
"Some of the stunts I've seen is people drive into snow banks just to get around you. Those are usually the ones that two miles up the road, you're going to see a set of headlights facing towards you," he said.
Miller said operators are clearing the roads to ensure people get home safely and they want to get home safely too.
