Snow plow taken out in Wy

I'm going to push back against both sides here. There is usually more than one series of mistakes to result in such an incident. First, that trucker was pushing it, fast, blew by me back on the Utah/Wyoming border and I was doing 66. Second, that plow crew should have had a second vehicle behind blocking traffic from making a pass when the snow was blowing back across the road, intermittently, blinding anyone trying to pass or even follow and to give visibility. Two series of mistakes resulted in this accident. Guarantee that plow wasn't parked in the hammer lane, then it was only the drivers mistake. Variable speed limit was 65. As professional drivers we have to be prepared for the unexpected. Driving conditions were fairly good, I've seen much worse on 80.

 

It was snowing, badly, Hammer lane shouldn't be used in those conditions. As no one needs to be speeding. Just put it at 45 and stay in the right lane. So yeah, the trucker was an idiot. PERIOD. I get moving over to the hammer lane briefly, say for entering traffic, or a snow plow, or for the person only going 25. But other than that. Stay in the right lane and go slow. No load has to be there so badly that you are someone else needs to get hurt. A load is better delivered late than laying in the ditch.

 

It was not snowing (maybe very lightly at times). Variable speed limit was 65, right lane road condition, excellent. But the wind was enough to cause a little drifting at the edges of the interstate. Again, the snow plow was in the hammer lane intermittently plowing the shoulder. This was the dangerous part. Anyone could be approaching the snow plow to pass in the right lane (wide open) but then all of a sudden the plow would begin to plow snow and though they pushed it into the middle ditch, the snow was very light and the wind was strong enough to blow the snow back across the road and back into the right lane, blinding any approaching driver. This is what I think happened to the driver that struck the plow.

 

We had a semi vs snowplow crash here in MN last month I think. Of course the truck was deemed at fault.
If you can't see the other side of the plow, wind or not, it's probably a good idea to hang back for a moment or two. I know a state plow driver and they have limited visibility while plowing but still have to keep an eye on traffic.
And I'd guess the plow would have had the right of way, so that companies insurance company is probably screwed.
It's a sign of the times I guess, the risk some will take to save 60 seconds...

 

Oh, mjd, I don't know what part of that post to correct 1st. Volvos, to me, will always be the "Commie" trucks that killed our products. I'll never give them that "Cadillac" distinction. I'm sure Volvos are adequate, they haul most of our countries freight, but to say Pete/KW is the "Ford" of trucks, simply isn't true.

 

Well, seeing you're from Texas, I can see, in light of recent weather events, you may harbor a gripe against snowplows, but may I remind you, they are considered an "emergency vehicle" and have the right of way over ALL other traffic. YOU have to look out for THEM. In Wisconsin, we HONORED the plow driver, buy them coffee, if we could, they literally allowed us to make a buck in the worst weather. I'm sorry you feel this way, for me, it's a tip of the hat to the plow drivers!!!

 

Not gonna lie when i do see them out in weather that warrants them i feel a great sense of relief specially when the snow just started to fall and i begin to notice slick spots and sliders start to come out

 

The truck does not define the skill of driver. Just another steering wheel holder.

 

Given my employer’s experience with KWs ,I’m sorry to say it’s justified. Some of our KW’s are too maintenance happy(in particular the transmissions and EGR valves are problematic).As far as Volvos go,they’re considered Cadillacs because of the suspension setup which makes them ride smoothly. I should know, I used to drive one. Now as far as it being a “Commie” truck,that’s a misconception. The Volvo CAR COMPANY side is owned by the Geely Group. However the TRUCK MANUFACTURER side is still majority owned by the Swedes,basically keeping it under their control (and they don’t have plans to let that go,given their trucks popularity). And the last time I checked,the trucks here are built here(final assembly Dublin,Virginia-engine assembly Hagerstown, Maryland).
You want to blame someone who “killed our products”? Blame the companies here who skimped on “quality control”. Like the auto manufacturers if you build vehicles that are constantly breaking down spending more time (and money) in the shop than on the road (and in our line of work-time is money)then customers will switch to another manufacturer who builds a better product.

 

I live in Texas. I'm from Colorado.