On a personal note, the plow driver that was killed was a former coworker of mine 30 years ago.
Lately, the news has been reporting an unusually high number of collisions involving snow plows, including one that resulted in the death of the plow operator. On 2 lane highways, we need to be very careful around snow plows. They usually travel at about 60 km/h, and they are riding the centre line of the highway to clear all the snow, and they often have a wing blade in the right to clear the shoulder of the roadway as well. If there is even the slightest wind, it will blow the snow around, creating a total white out, reducing visibility to 0. If you come upon a near 0 visibility, for goodness sake, slow right down to the point that you can stop if something suddenly appears from the blowing snow. Like a vehicle going the other way. Never, under any circumstances drive into the white out created by a snow plow. By the time your realize there was a bend in the road, you could be in the ditch, or you could simply run into the back of the plow truck. If you meet a plow going in the opposite direction, slow down, and move as far to the right as safely possible. Remember, he’s riding the centre line to clear the road, so give him room to do his job. Passing a plow is not a good idea, again, due to his riding the centre line, and the blowing snow. Just be patient, as they usually stop every 10 or 15 miles to allow traffic to pass. Depending on the road and weather conditions, it might be a good idea, especially for inexperienced driver to simply stay behind the plow. The road behind him will almost certainly be in better shape than the road ahead of him.
As bad as these conditions are during the day, at night, it’s a lot worse. You probably won’t see the impending white out until you’re very close to the plow. You might see his flashing lights through the snow, but you might not. So if you come upon a sudden 0 visibility situation, just hang back, and stay safe.
