Proper snow plowing etiquette.........

[LD1]

Mini rant....so be fore-warned

I dont know if it bothers anyone else, but there are a few things that really bug the crap out of me this time of year.

First, plowing snow across the road. Number one, it is illegal in MOST areas. Rarely do I push across the road. Rather push to the end of the driveway, get out onto the road and turn around, and push back up as I widen the approach. It seems too many homeowners (or hack-job "pros") like to push on across the street. Which I wouldnt have a issue with if they would at least clean up the spoils.:banghead: I hate those 4 or 5 "speed-bumps" left behind. Not only does it look very unprofessional, but is a liability too. Whoever plowed, even if it was the homeowner, can be sued if an accident happens as a result. And even worse yet, those who push piles out onto the road to let the plow-rucks clear it. IDIOTS. I just saw one today. The road was perfectally clear and dry, and then there is a big 4" deep pile kinda spread out where a homeowner cleared his drive. Whenever I see this, I usually drop my blade and throw it all right back in their drive:laughing:

Second thing.....

Proper transporting of the plow from one job to the next. ANGLE ALL THE WAY RIGHT. I hate having to pass an idiot when he has a 8'+ plow with wings and thinks its "cool" to run down the road with the blade straight....sticking out a good foot on each side of the vehicle. When you angle the plow, it occupies LESS space in the lane.:thumbsup: I dont like the game of chicken. And I really dont want to find out the hard way who's plow is tougher.:mur:


Rant off

 

[MD83Z]

I completely agree with you.....I don't like to even pull onto the street and leave any trace of my tractor or blade....but my idea goes further, in that I hate when people mow grass out onto the road as if it was a dump area....I don't like when my neighbor blows his grass from his property over onto my gravel driveway.....just common courtesy.....

 

[Fossil Farm]

I have a grassy area where the snow goes instead of in the road or across the road. Of course I use a tractor and driving on the grass is not a problem. Some homeowners don't seem to want anything on their grass except a mower. One of our neighbors has about a quarter mile driveway. It is plowed to the end of the drive and piled next to the road. Of course this year with our average snowfall, I don't know how he or his family can see down the road when they pull out. Been a couple close calls. Would be nice if those that plow across the road would spend 2 more minutes cleaning up their mess.

 

[LD1]

Would be nice if those that plow across the road would spend 2 more minutes cleaning up their mess.

Exactally.

Even though it is against the law in most places I dont have a problem with it as long as you dont leave a mess on the road that everyone has to drive over, or worse, could cause an accident. I think the law is worded in my area such that the snow must remain on YOUR property. And you may very well own the property across the road, just make sure ALL of the snow ends up there.:thumbsup:

I plow commercially. Mostly large lots and very few drives. But it is the little things like that, that I notice.

 

[Scotty Dive]

Here is a true story....a neighbor of mine owned the first lot of a 12 lot cul de sac - so essentially he owned the first house and there were 11 empty lots beyond his house going into the turn around cul de sac. Over all, the street was about a half mile long. In my town, the developer is responsible for clearing the road until all 12 houses are built and the road is accepted by the town. My friend had about a 500 foot driveway and after the first snow of the year and a fairly decent snow, cleared his driveway with a snow blower and called it a day. Later on, he noticed that the end of his driveway was plowed in when the developed cleared the road. No problem - Friend shoveled it clear. Well, that winter, was a doozie in New England. It snowed again the following week and the same thing happens, except he sees the developer plow the end of the driveway in. And as a reminder, my friend just bought his house from the developer / snow plow driver. He waves the developer over and asks him politely if he could turn the plow blade so as not to plow him back in. Developer says no problem. Except it happens again for a third time and a fourth time. On the 4th time, words are said and there is an understanding again. 5th snow fall, the developer plows him in again. On the 6th snow fall, my friend clears his driveway, calls a friend with a plow truck and builds a berm across the street slighty passed the access to his driveway but blocking any access to the rest of the street – which are just empty lots – no houses. He builds the berm as high and as deep as he can. Guess what? The developer never shows to plow. But the day temps got pretty warm and the berm melted a fair amount and then froze rock solid like a glacier. The town notified the developer to remove it immediately, he had to cart in a back hoe to break it up and clear the street. From there on, he turned his plow blade when going by his driveway.

 

[JJZ 109]

but my idea goes further, in that I hate when people mow grass out onto the road as if it was a dump area.....

I hate this and complain about it all summer. Especially when I run through this junk on the motorcycle. Some people aren't even bright enough to stop mowing in that direction when they see you coming down the road. You have to swerve out and around or get blasted with grass if there's oncoming traffic.
Nothing more that I like to see than that grass in the road with the offending person still riding their mower near the road when I'm in my truck. I accelerate and blow the junk right back onto them.

 

[V1Rotate]

How about the guys who fail to push the snowbanks back from the end of the driveway or parking lot. This makes it almost impossible to see oncoming cars when you are trying to pull out into traffic.

 

[LD1]

Here is a true story..

Snip

From there on, he turned his plow blade when going by his driveway.

IMO, your friend was just being picky.

Having the end of a drive plowed in by the street is just the nature of the beast if you manage to do your drive before the street is clear.

Now I dont know if things are different in developments, but along any street where the city, state, township, etc are responsible for plowing, they certainly arent going to angle the blade to avoid a drive. If they did, they would be pushing snow onto the other side of the road. And if there is a drive there??? They would end up with a big mound of snow in the middle of the road:confused2: And most state/city trucks dont have angling plows anyway. At least not hydraulically.

 

[Johnp33]

You just can not fix stupid.
Do unto others as you would have them do to you, works every-time.

 

[woodyacres]

Man, I thought I was the only one who got upset about this. To get to my house, I have to drive about 8 miles of dirt road everyday. This happens EVERY time it snows. Almost every other house just plows it across the road and doesn't clean up anything. I was so mad one day, I almost lost control on purpose just so I could sue these inconsiderate b'tards! I can't tell if they are too stupid to realize what a hazard it is or if they just don't care. Stupid I understand, inconsiderate and lazy just ticks me off! Great! Now, I am mad again.... ullinghair:

 

[Scotty Dive]

IMO, your friend was just being picky.

Having the end of a drive plowed in by the street is just the nature of the beast if you manage to do your drive before the street is clear.

Now I dont know if things are different in developments, but along any street where the city, state, township, etc are responsible for plowing, they certainly arent going to angle the blade to avoid a drive. If they did, they would be pushing snow onto the other side of the road. And if there is a drive there??? They would end up with a big mound of snow in the middle of the road:confused2: And most state/city trucks dont have angling plows anyway. At least not hydraulically.

I agree with what you said...he would definetly be picky if this was a municipality driver. However, he knew this man well - since he paid $300K to have his home built over a years period. And only having one single driveway along a half mile road and asking him to turn the plow is just the nice thing and right thing to do for your customer. My buddy would never had made it an issue if it was a a Town employee.

AND....I shared it because it was a funny story

 

[LD1]

I agree with what you said...he would definetly be picky if this was a municipality driver. However, he knew this man well - since he paid $300K to have his home built over a years period. And only having one single driveway along a half mile road and asking him to turn the plow is just the nice thing and right thing to do for your customer. My buddy would never had made it an issue if it was a a Town employee.

AND....I shared it because it was a funny story

I understand now.

But all too often I hear people complain about the city/state doing that, and I cant help but think "what else are they supposed to do".

Your buddy's situation does seem a bit different. I'll give him that.

 

[rockinmywaypa]

There's a solution to having your drive filled if you can clean the roadside ahead of your lane. Whenever I blow my lane I make sure I blow at least 10 ft of the snow bank away in the direction the plow will be coming from. This way the plow empties before it gets to the actual laneway plus visibility is better when I'm driving out. Plus I put my mailbox on the away side so that the truck won't be pushing snow so he can veer out a little without feeling like he's missing any snow.

 

[aczlan]

How about the guys who fail to push the snowbanks back from the end of the driveway or parking lot. This makes it almost impossible to see oncoming cars when you are trying to pull out into traffic.

Yep. One of the good things about having a loader is that we can knock our banks back so that you can see out before you pull out.

There's a solution to having your drive filled if you can clean the roadside ahead of your lane. Whenever I blow my lane I make sure I blow at least 10 ft of the snow bank away in the direction the plow will be coming from. This way the plow empties before it gets to the actual laneway plus visibility is better when I'm driving out. Plus I put my mailbox on the away side so that the truck won't be pushing snow so he can veer out a little without feeling like he's missing any snow.

We do that as well. Makes it easier to keep the end of the driveway clear.

Aaron Z

 

[Deere Dude]

There's a solution to having your drive filled if you can clean the roadside ahead of your lane. Whenever I blow my lane I make sure I blow at least 10 ft of the snow bank away in the direction the plow will be coming from. This way the plow empties before it gets to the actual laneway plus visibility is better when I'm driving out. Plus I put my mailbox on the away side so that the truck won't be pushing snow so he can veer out a little without feeling like he's missing any snow.

X2 Whenever I get around to my driveways it is still usually well before the plows come through, but I get my driveways, the ditches before and after them and try to blow from the middle of the road in. It is a low traveled country road so traffic isn't real bad. That way the plow can't push anything into my drive because there was nothing to push.

About 25 years ago I was at work and my wife blew out the driveway, or at least tried. She got the JD 140 (small 14HP) garden tractor stuck near the end of the drive next to a 3-4 foot drift. I was coming home and as I neared the drive about 300 yards away I saw her shoveling away and had a chuckle, but then a big county plow came through toward me on the driveway side. He just buried her tractor. About that time he saw me and he knew he knew I was going to pull in so he stopped. He asked if I had a chain and that he would pull the tractor out and of course I obliged. I think if he wouldn't have seen me he would have probably kept on going and i would have been shoveling for half a day to get it out.

 

[FatTire]

I agree in a city or suburb, but we live on a rural road where the county plows a couple of days after the snow stops falling, so I do our driveway before the road is plowed. The road has a wide area across from each driveway, so plowing snow into a pile across from the driveway does not encroach on the road. I don't see anything wrong with that. The county plows with a road grader so they can move anything they want. What's the problem?

 

[grsthegreat]

Yup...cant agree more. Our association does not allow it...but people do it anyways. When im the one plowing the roads it really gets me mad. Especially after the berms have frozen to the surface.

 

[LD1]

The county plows with a road grader so they can move anything they want. What's the problem?

No problem at all IF you make sure ALL of the snow gets across the road. The complaint of this post is about those individuals who are careless enough or too ignorant and leave big trails of snow across the road from where it rolled off the sides of their bucket or blade. It makes speed-bumps for other drivers and is a hazard for sure.

Just take 2 extra minutes and clean up the mess you leave on the road. Thats all I ask.

 

[PhilY]

Yeah, no big deal if they actually get all the snow across the road. I was driving down a back country road after a 10 in snow fall and some joker plowed across the road. Left the banks from the snow just sitting out there, almost 2 foot tall. Unfortunately, with it snowing and everything being white, I drove right through unknowingly and ripped the air dam right off my old 89 Chevy. Stopped to talk with the owner, but it was obvious she wasn't all there and anything I said wouldn't make a difference. On the positive side, I didn't have to worry about ripping the air dam off in the future anymore.

 

[LD1]

Yeah, no big deal if they actually get all the snow across the road. I was driving down a back country road after a 10 in snow fall and some joker plowed across the road. Left the banks from the snow just sitting out there, almost 2 foot tall. Unfortunately, with it snowing and everything being white, I drove right through unknowingly and ripped the air dam right off my old 89 Chevy. Stopped to talk with the owner, but it was obvious she wasn't all there and anything I said wouldn't make a difference. On the positive side, I didn't have to worry about ripping the air dam off in the future anymore.

Yea, and if you totaled the car, you wouldnt have to worry about totaling THAT car anymore either:laughing: