PEORIA, Ill. — With a few snowfalls already this year, snow plow drivers want to remind motorists to use caution and be safe, especially around the plows.
The City of Peoria, Peoria County, and the Illinois Department of Transportation gathered at the Shoppes of Grand Prairie Wednesday to highlight how the plows operate.
Some plow trucks are equip with more than the front blade to push snow, some also have a wing blade on the side.
Inside the plows, all the controls for the blades come from the movements and hand placement on a joystick.
While the plow drivers can maneuver around many obstacles on the job, the public also needs to make room for the plows.
Matthew Vitner, District 4 Operations Engineer for IDOT, said there is a lot of blowing snow coming off a plow.
“You want to stay a couple hundred feet back, because they are dropping salt and that’s bouncing off the road. There’s more blowing snow,” Vitner said. “I’ve seen people try to pass plow trucks and it’s really risky. You’re going from where the truck has already plowed behind it off to the side where there’s snow that hasn’t been plowed. That’s where people get out of shape.”
The plow drivers always keep the public’s safety in mind while out clearing the roadways.
“When we have the wings down it really takes some experience and skill. When you’re plowing, you can’t really see where the lines are on the road, you kind of feel your way through it,” Vitner said.
When the roads are clear before snow hit, the drivers go through the routes so they are aware of where obstacles are.
For Robert ‘Bob’ Williams, Highway Maintainer with IDOT, this year will mark his 28th year as a snow plow driver. He said the blade on the front of his truck is 12 feet long.
“A lane on the highway is 12 feet. So we are going from the yellow dotted line all the way over to the white line,” Williams said. “And beyond the white line with the [side] wing down. So, we need ample space to do what we do safely.”
