Sask. snow plows get new features to increase visibility

Saskatchewan's Highways Ministry is outfitting its fleet of snow plows with additional safety features in the hopes of reducing the number of accidents they have with the motoring public.

Officials said drivers sometimes have difficulty noticing a snow plow operator because of swirling snow kicked up in the blading operation.

Since 1998, when the ministry began keeping close watch on the numbers, officials say there have been 48 accidents involving their crews and the public.    

Most of those incidents have been rear-end collisions resulting, in some cases, in serious injuries and fatalities.    

David Stearns, the ministry's manager of operations for road maintenance services in southern Saskatchewan, told CBC News on Thursday that when he receives a phone call about an accident his thoughts immediately go to the people involved.  

"You know, you take pause and think about the people that are out there, and the families that are involved and our operators," Stearns said. "It also reminds me that drivers should be cautious.

"When they're hearing that driving is not recommended they should not be driving out in those conditions."  

Stearns and other ministry officials displayed some of the extra safety features they are installing on maintenance vehicles to members of the media on Thursday.  

The devices include high-intensity lights mounted on the rear, called wig-wag lights.  As well, trucks have been outfitted with a large black and yellow checker-board on the back. 

Also, a specially-designed wind-scoop above the checker-board will keep snow from obscuring the sign.  

"We want to provide good service to the citizens of Saskatchewan," Wayne Elhard, the provincial Highways Minister told reporters Thursday. "But we want our operators and the driving public to be the benefactors of some of these improvements so that their safety isn't compromised."  

Elhard said drivers should also try to be more patient, when they encounter snow-clearing crews.  

 "People seem to be in such a desperate hurry to get from point A to point B, and sometimes don't consider adequately the implications for their safety and the safety of other people," Elhard said.  

The minister said motorists do not have to wait too long to get around a plow. Operators are under instructions to pull over every 10 kilometres.