Snowplows and you: safety on Alberta’s roadways

Submitted by Highway Maintenence Safety Committee 

When winter hits, nearly 700 snowplows and other pieces of snow removal equipment are mobilized to clear Alberta’s highways and maintain safe winter driving conditions. Alberta’s Highway Maintenance Contractors and snowplow operators are committed to their responsibilities for public safety and ask that all motorists understand that they too have a key role to play in winter maintenance operations.

The average motorist is not aware of the levels of planning and effort required to maintain Alberta’s highways throughout the year, even more so during winter months. The majority of motorists do not venture out in extreme winter weather and rightfully so. However, when they do head out after a storm, the roads are in good condition and safe for travel. What most motorists don’t know or realize is that the plowing and sanding operations are accomplished by teams of competent and dedicated highway maintenance workers who go into action at a moment’s notice, day or night. Both machine and operator put in long hours under grueling conditions. The key to success in these operations is the skill of the operators and the proper maintenance of equipment. Road closures can happen when visibility is reduced due to winds, blowing snow or ice fog but rarely is a closure the direct result of excess snow on the roadway. Emergency or temporary road closures can be implemented by Alberta Transportation, RCMP, and /or local Emergency Services.

Photo by Phillip Mendive

Currently, there are five Highway Maintenance Contractors (HMC) with specialized equipment and dedicated operators that work to maintain Alberta’s road network. Their focus is the protection of the public, family, friends and provincial commerce/Infrastructure. Highway maintenance operators enjoy their jobs and work hard to keep the traveling public safe year-round. However, winter maintenance operations are physically & mentally demanding for these operators.

Snowplow’s are large, complex pieces of equipment that require a great deal of training, skill and focus to be operated safely and effectively. Operators must be able to coordinate and combine a number of different tasks at the same time. Most motorists don’t realize that a snow plow is not simply “driven” down the road like an automobile. Snowplow operators must be aware of and control a number of things simultaneously. They must be aware of traffic, monitor truck mechanical systems, operate the plow blade, control the spinner speed rate and direction of discharge, set and monitor pre-wet application rates. All done while operating in poor weather and keeping a lookout for hazards that can seriously damage a plow and injure the operator. These hazards can include the following;

Bridge expansion joints

Manholes

Railway crossings

Guard rail/cable barrier

Curbs, sidewalks, bullnoses (types of curbs)

Damaged or uneven road surfaces

Inattentive or errant drivers

Heavy traffic volumes

Reduced visibility

Heavy snow falling

Photo by Michel Dion

In recent years, Alberta Transportation and the HMC’s have worked together to develop new lighting and markings to make snowplows more visible to the motoring public. These efforts have included the addition of high intensity LED warning lights, additional warning/dimensional lighting and high visibility “checker boards” on the rear of plow trucks and snow removal equipment. These efforts have resulted in the equipment being much more visible but unfortunately, there were still a number of automobile versus snowplow collisions during the 2019-2020 winter maintenance season. These collisions included some of the following scenarios:

Motorists striking the rear of snowplows

Head on Collisions while passing plows in reduced visibility (Snow Plume)

Side swipe collisions while passing

Motorists running into wing plows while passing

Equipment we use

There are five basic types of snowplows used for highway maintenance: the one-way plow, two-way plow, the wing plow, mid mount or belly plow and tow plows.

One Way Plow – The one way plow is mounted on the front of the plow vehicle and is designed to cast snow in only one direction – normally to the right. Maximum plowing speed is 70kms/hr.

Two Way Plow – The two-way plow is mounted on the front of the plow vehicle. It can be angled either left or right depending which way you want to cast snow. Maximum plowing speed is 70kms/hr.

The Wing Plow(s) – The assembly is front or mid mounted on the right, left or sometimes both sides of the plow truck. It is hydraulically controlled and increases the width of the snow removal area of the front mount plow. A common time to use the wing is when there is extreme shoulder plowing. This allows the operator to keep away from the edge of the road reducing the risk of the unit entering the ditch or when drifting is present. Wing plows decrease the number of passes it takes to make the roadway safer for the traveling public.

The Mid-Mount or Belly Plow – This is a spring-loaded blade system that mounts below the snowplow and is generally used in urban areas to give more plow maneuverability in tight spaces. It is not used at the same time as a front mount plow

Tow Plows – Tow plows are normally pulled behind a plow vehicle that is equipped with a front mounted two-way plow. Tow plows are designed to cast snow to either the right or left and in some cases both directions. Tow plows are controlled from the cab of the tow vehicle and are electronically steered into the lane to be cleared. When a tow plow is deployed the vehicle combination can clear nearly two full traffic lanes. Tow plows can also be equipped with sanders or anti-icing tanks. These units decrease the number of passes it takes to make the roadway safer for the traveling public.

Snowplow Operations

Generally, plow operations will only cease when visibility is reduced to the point where operators can no longer see the road due to heavy snow fall or blowing snow. These circumstances may result in brief stoppages only until visibility improves. Plow operators will avoid backing up when there is severe weather however that may not always be the case as they are required to backup while plowing intersections. Snowplows are also required to pull over every 5 to 8 kms, or when it is safe to do so allowing traffic to pass safely. On multi-lane roads, operators will move to the right and slow down, allowing traffic to pass. Unfortunately, the vast majority of collisions involving snowplows occur while motorists are attempting to pass plows. The most common complaint plow operators have is when large commercial trucks pass the plows. This causes the visibility to be reduced to near zero. If trucks would slow down when passing it would reduce the snow plume left in their wake.

Plow operators are required to sand Alberta’s highway when traction is lost or to prevent the formation of hard packed snow and ice. The following materials and processes are commonly used throughout Alberta:

Materials Used

Sand

Salt

Mixture of sand & salt

In some instances, salt brine

Calcium and Magnesium Chloride is used as well but generally in colder weather.

In some municipalities, Beet Juice

Anti-Icing/De-Icing/Pre-Wetting

What is anit-icing?

Anti-icing is a pro-active approach to ice control. Generally, before a storm you will see highway maintenance trucks out spraying a solution on the road prior to a storm. This helps to prevent snow and ice from bonding to the road surface. Salt brine, Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride and Beet Juice are the most common solutions used.

What is De-Icing?

De-icing is a reactive approach that normally occurs after the storm when hard packed snow and ice have built up on the roadway and normal plow blades are unable to remove it. Quite often crews will apply salt and /or salt brine, Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride to break down the ice and snow and reduce the bond to the roadway allowing plows to remove the hazard.

What is Pre-Wetting?

Pre-Wetting is a reactive approach. This is an application of a liquid solutions (Salt Brine, Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride and Beet Juice) on sand / salt abrasives as they are discharged from the plow truck. This chemical wetting allows the sand / salt particles to “burn” into the hard pack snow, ice, or frost. This promotes more material to stay on the road, provides for less clean up in the spring and provides the plow truck the ability to travel further before re-loading.

511 Alberta

511 Alberta is a free traveler information service, operated by the Government of Alberta that can be accessed via phone, mobile device, or computer. The information covers highway conditions, roadwork, major incidents, weather alerts, availability of ferry services, and waiting times at border crossings. Users within Alberta may access the information via phone toll-free by simply calling 5-1-1, similar to the way they would call 9-1-1 for emergencies or 4-1-1 for directory assistance. Computer and mobile device users may also visit the 511 Alberta web site at www.511.alberta.ca. Having both phone-in and web site components ensures 511 Alberta is available to the widest range of users.

The Government of Alberta does not necessarily provide hour by hour updates of all highway conditions. Because weather, road and traffic conditions change rapidly, drivers are in the best position to perceive such conditions and adjust their driving accordingly.

All provincially contracted snow removal equipment in Alberta is equipped with GPS tracking equipment. Users of the 511 site can see where the snow plows are and what company operates them. Some Maintenance contractors also have vehicles that are equipped with M.A.R.W.I.S (Mobile Advanced Road Weather Information Sensor) systems that provide up to date road and weather conditions.

As we move into winter please keep in mind the HMC’s and their operators. They are out there to protect you by keeping the highways safe for your travels. Give them room to work and a wave as you go by. They will appreciate the gesture.