Know Before The Snow!

So two years ago, I was driving in the Tri-Cities area. It was in the middle of January, I was leaving Kennewick. I had just passed the Columbia Center Shopping Mall and was on my way back home towards Yakima. Big snow fall the last couple days and sure enough, it was snowing as well that night. I was on my way home, I just took the on ramp on to highway 240 and so far so good. Everyone let me merge no problem. I though, good, a two hour drive and I'm home free. Nope, a plow needed into my lane, and he didn't see me!

It was actually quite scary. He was moving to the right, and I was trying to get to the center lane from the right. I did slow way down to let him get in front of me but I was unable to get into the lane I needed. The plow driver dropped his blade and sure enough, he did his job, plowing the snow. It made it quite hard to see, and like I said, very scary. In order to avoid a wreck, I was forced to take the wrong exit. It was an exit I was not familiar with, and there was no easy way back on to the freeway. Thanks to GPS and an alternate route that popped me out in Moxee, I made it back safely in 3 hours.

Whose fault was it? I honestly don't think it was the drivers, or mine. I did my best to stay out of his blind spot, but it was just crappy conditions and it just happened, thankfully for that night and my situation, no one got hurt. That's why when I saw the WSDOT's Facebook Page release this safety tip about Snow Plows, I wanted to help share the information. Those drivers are & will be doing a tough job, make sure to give them space, and just because you have a 4 wheel drive, don't try to pass them. The few minutes you might save isn't wroth the risk.