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Plowing: Safety and courtesy

Omayra Acavedo
Posted 1/26/23

According to several polls referenced by Forbes, ABCNews, and Business Insider, an average of 19% of Americans always run late for work. When people are late, they’re more likely to drive

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Plowing: Safety and courtesy

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According to several polls referenced by Forbes, ABCNews, and Business Insider, an average of 19% of Americans always run late for work. When people are late, they’re more likely to drive faster, even in snowy and icy conditions, while plows are out clearing the roads.

It’s important to share the roads with snow plows and practice safety to offer courtesy to all drivers. Keeping in mind that plows travel slowly, make frequent stops, sometimes need to overlap lanes, make wide turns, and regularly exit the road. Drivers should provide snowplow drivers with a considerable and comfortable distance.

Driving closely behind a plow or in the lane beside isn’t safe. Passing a plow is dangerous because as the car passes, the potential that it could get caught in what the plow is pushing away is very likely. Should ice and snow get sprayed on your windshield, visibility could drop to zero. Last time I checked, visibility was a vital aspect of driving.

It’s also important to consider that the road in front of the plow is generally not clear or treated for snow. If a car passes a plow, you’re most likely going to have to deal with poor conditions, which could increase the risks.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states there were 374 fatal crashes, and an estimated 25,000 injury crashes that occurred during wintry conditions in 2020 alone. Other studies showed that drivers save only 26 seconds a day by speeding.

People think speeding saves time, and it does. But is saving two minutes a week worth the risk of losing control of your vehicle, injuring someone else, or receiving a citation? Besides, it hurts no one to show a little courtesy to those making it possible for us to get to work in the first place.

For more winter driving tips visit https://www.nhtsa.gov/winterdriving tips and https://www.codot. gov/travel/winter-driving.