Road maintenance services are warning drivers that passing snow plows is highly dangerous.
With the holiday weekend coming up and the weather worsening, Emcon road services is pleading with drivers to take the dangers of driving in severe weather seriously and allow snowplows to drive uninterrupted.
In a tweet Dec. 23, Emcon stated that snow-fighters have experienced several near misses of cars passing them as they clear the roads.
We have had too many near misses this morning. Our #Snowfighters are doing their best to improve driving conditions. If you need to travel - Please respect their safety, and your own. Do not pass plow trucks.@DriveBC #yyjtraffic @TranBCVanIsle#ShiftIntoWinter #VanIsle pic.twitter.com/YsPmLBOGSM
— Emcon Services Inc. - South Island Division (@EmconSouthVI) December 23, 2022
Officials are warning drivers to “Slow Down and Move Over” if they see snow plows coming.
BC Transportation tweeted that passing plows on both sides is a no-no but passing on the right is particularly dangerous as the plow throws snow that can cover the roadway and obstruct visibility.
Passing plows on the right is big NO.
— BC Transportation (@TranBC) December 21, 2022
Passing on the left isn't good either.
For one: the plow could be equipped with a wing blade on its left or right side, which can be obstructed by the snow it’s throwing.
How to drive near snow plows: https://t.co/ZbN2yDwYGN #ShiftIntoWinter pic.twitter.com/kTitUoOU20
In a subsequent tweet, BC Transportation said that there may be many plows on the road and passing one can interrupt this method of plowing.
“Another reason not to pass plows on right or left: It may be first of a series of 2-5 more plows, staggered diagonally across the road to clear all lanes simultaneously,” they tweeted. “This practice is called Echelon Plowing, and would require the unwise driver to make multiple unsafe passes.”
READ MORE: BC Hydro prepares for outages as freezing rain looms for Victoria
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