One of three New Brunswick companies that are responsible for clearing the province’s four-lane highways says it’s all about safety.
SNC-Lavalin uses a simulator to replicate what snowplow operators might experience on the road while they’re doing their job. This machine can take almost anything into account when training its drivers.
“We can reduce his view to night driving or poor visibility because of weather conditions,” said SNC-Lavalin District 3 Area Manager Rob McCormack. “We can put them in freezing rain. We can black out their mirrors just as though they iced over or they lost a mirror.”
READ MORE: New Brunswick man creates snow maze to keep dog busy after winter storms
The simulator shows the number of situations the driver is responsible for and that it is not a job for everyone.
“Most operators say how hard can it be, it’s a truck but once they get in this and try it then they realize how much is going on and how much more difficult it is,” said operations technician and trainer Davis Black.
One of the best pieces of advice they can give is don’t try to pass snowplows, especially those travelling in a staggered formation.
WATCH: Snowplows escort child to hospital for heart transplant
They say that a 40-kilometre snowplow run will only cost you about 20 extra minutes.
“It might feel like it’s an hour or two but it’s a twenty-minute difference in your day,” McCormack said. “I will tell you anybody that has been in a bad car accident would give up twenty minutes to prevent that accident”.
- Life in the forest: How Stanley Park’s longest resident survived a changing landscape
- ‘They knew’: Victims of sexual abuse by Ontario youth leader sue Anglican Church
- Roll Up To Win? Tim Hortons says $55K boat win email was ‘human error’
- Carbon rebate labelling in bank deposits fuelling confusion, minister says
Comments