KaBoom! Iowa Drivers Learning the Danger of Crowding the Plow

Living here in the Midwest you've undoubtedly heard the saying "Don't crowd the plow." Well, it sounds like the drivers in Iowa really need to take that to heart, because there have been an unusual amount of car and snow plow accidents over the past few days in the Hawkeye state.

Dakota News Now reports that 15 cars crashed into snow plows on Wednesday, (February 12) according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. That's a single-day record by the way.

The vast majority of the accidents reported were due to people not paying attention, driving distracted, and overdriving the conditions, which in many cases resulted in people sliding right into the back of Iowa DOT snow removal vehicles according to Craig Bargfrede, the Iowa Department of Transportation winter operations administrator.

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It's an easy thing to do this time of year if you're not fully paying attention to what you're doing while behind the wheel. Many roads and highways are covered with snow-packed, icy spots, especially near intersections. That's why it's imperative to pay attention to the road conditions while driving.

Snow plows typically travel 10 to 30 miles an hour below highway speeds, if you come up on a plow while overdriving the road conditions and are forced to make an abrupt stop, it greatly increases your chances of rear-ending a snow removal vehicle.

To make matters worse, when we get that fluffy, powdery snow, mixed with a little wind, visibility issues become a problem in states like South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota.

That's why it's always a good idea to never drive too closely to a snow plow while it's operating. Give them plenty of space to do their job.

Plow drivers and car insurance companies thank you!

Source: Dakota News Now