Iowa DOT Cautions Drivers To Steer Clear Of Snowplows

DES MOINES, IA — With little snowfall last winter, the Iowa Department of Transportation had a light plowing season. Yet statewide there still were eight accidents involving vehicles that rear-ended or sideswiped snowplows. During a normal snowfall season the year before, 24 accidents were reported.

The most common accident, said Craig Bargfrede, Iowa DOT winter operations administrator, is a rear-end collision. Drivers often underestimate the speed a snowplow travels — often 25 to 35 mph.

“Snowplows typically need to move slower than the flow of traffic to be able to do their job effectively," he said in a DOT blog. "Sometimes it’s difficult to judge distance and it is easy to come up on them fast.”

He also reminds drivers that maintenance vehicles plow a wide swath, and when clearing a heavy snowfall they often work in tandem. On a snowplow, he said, "the front plow extends several feet in front of the truck and may be very near the center line and shoulders during plowing operations.”

Even though the trucks are heavy, they also can be jolted by ice ridges when clearing compacted snow, and that can send the plow into an adjacent lane.

Bargfrede said drivers should remain several feet behind plows, rather than crowding the plow, to avoid being in a driver's blind spot, then only pass when visibility is clear — both from falling snow and the snow cloud a working snowplow creates — and the opportunity is safe. Be aware that plows may stop and turn around frequently, he added, and in heavy snows and ongoing snowstorms they may have to take evasive action to get out of the path of stranded vehicles.

“If you are following too closely, you may not be able to avoid the plow if this happens,” he said.

Finally, when temperatures are very cold, snowplows may disperse rock salt or sand from the back of the truck rather than clear snow.

“That’s just another reason to keep your distance from the back of a plow,” Bargfrede said.

Tow Plows Used In Metro Area

The Iowa DOT has 22 tow plows to use, mainly in metro areas and garages that cover Iowa's interstates. A tow plow, attached via a hitch to the back of a snowplow, makes plowing multiple lanes with one vehicle easier, while freeing up a second vehicle that would have been used in tandem so that it can work a separate location.

The tow plow costs roughly $70,000, compared to $150,000 for a standard snowplow. While attaching a tow plow to a snowplow uses about 15 percent more fuel, that's an 85 percent savings over clearing snow using two vehicles in tandem.

Modifications to a snowplow using a tow plow cost about $3,000 and include a rear hitch module, lights, hydraulic upgrade and in-cab controls. Read more about tow plows on the DOT's website.

Photo via Iowa DOT "Transportation Matters" blog