Snow Plow Motor Vehicle Accidents.

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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on October 21, 2009 at 10:38am

As you can see in this picture it is just a small fender bender, but even the smallest mva's can be life threating.

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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on October 21, 2009 at 10:41am

Some of the things to express to your emergency personal and to your public is plow drivers allot of the time cant see directly behind these big rigs, thats Y allot of the time there are signs on the back and advise to keep back a certain amount of feet, those signs are there for a reason as you can see in the above picture...

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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on October 21, 2009 at 10:48am

Night time poses a huge risk to the everyone, not just to the public but to ourselves to. Up Norh there can be total white out conditions and with that being said traffic will come to almost a hault and these big trucks will still be doing there job just at a slow pace, so we as emergency personal and our drivers need thank safety and be aware.

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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on October 21, 2009 at 10:52am

Some of the places you will need to watch for are major interstates, ramps on and off roads and authorized vehicle only turnarounds.

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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on October 21, 2009 at 10:56am

Like the old saying go's if you cant see thru it dont drive in it. And what this is referring to is never drive thru a snow cloud or white out conditions. you cant be sure if such conditions are caused by crosswinds or by a snowplow, Just be patient and not end up as a patient...

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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on October 21, 2009 at 11:06am

Something to remember snowplow operators are very safety - conscious, but they need everyones help. Stay back and let them do there job safely. Dont take a chance..Dont crowd the plow.

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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on October 21, 2009 at 11:39am

Your very right Dave, here is a picture to go along with what you have said...Job well done brother..

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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on October 21, 2009 at 11:44am

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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on October 21, 2009 at 11:19am

A few tips to train your department with are:

1. Yield to snowplows, They travel slower than posted speeds.
2. Give snowplow drivers plenty of room to do their jobs.
3. Never drive into a snow cloud, even as fireman we are not bullet proof.
4. Slow Down, and never use cruise control on wet or icy roads.
5. Stay Alert! A snowplow weighs 17 times more then an ordinary car.
6. Be patient. Follow at a safe distance. Allow at least five car lengths between your vehicle or apparatus and the snow plow.

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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on October 21, 2009 at 11:32am

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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on October 21, 2009 at 11:37am

Lets stop and thank about this picture, what we have here is a snow plow in a sink hole or found a lake or pond...From the folks up north how about some insight on what will need to be done if you have a patient (The Driver) to rescue. Keep in mind we have freezeing temp's, very cold water and road side hazards...Lots of things to keep in mind.

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Dalgarno on October 21, 2009 at 9:16pm

If the guy isn't already out, this will be tough. Don't just start to crawl out on the ice. Use ladders to spread your weight. Everybody that goes onto the ice must have a safety line. Hopefully, you can get the door open. Top of the cab is visible and the door goes right to the top - most have doors on both left and right sides.

It's a fairly safe bet that this plow is already on the bottom. The only air space for buoyancy is the cab and it is already pretty low. The fact that the front is higher tells me the front wheels are on "solid" ground. (Unlike cars which can float for a bit, these things have almost no buoyancy compared to their weight.) It's pretty much useless to try and use your winch for stabilization, since the plow will weigh more than you do. (And I'm pretty sure none of us wants to explain to the chief why our brand new quarter-million dollar pumper is under water!)

Once you get a group to the cab, you can try to see if the guy still has an air pocket and communicate with him, but regardless, you are either going to have to open a door or bust out a window. Hopefully, he can then get out, or else someone is going to have to try and go in after him. (You remembered the wet-suit right??)

If the water is colder, he has a better chance of survival. Paramedics better be ready the second you get him out and to the shore.

Andrew

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