Reminder: Snowplows have right-of-way on streets

MEEKER — After it snows, drivers have more to look out for than just slippery streets.
The town’s snowplows have the right-of-way.
“The key point during snowplow operations is every intersection is s four-way stop,” said Sharon Day, administrator for the town of Meeker. “It is a state law (snowplows) have the right of way.”
Day said there’s a reason why drivers need to yield to snowplows.
“I wish our snowplows could stop, but you have a slick street and big snowplows,” she said. “They don’t go much more than 15 mph, but that’s a huge piece of equipment to stop.”
The town’s snowplow operations begin after two inches of accumulation. Following a nighttime snow, plowing starts early in the morning, when traffic is the lightest. The main streets are cleared first.
“We usually begin snowplowing operations at 2:30 a.m., if we have an accumulation of two inches or more (during the night),” Day said. “They try to be finished about 7 a.m., before everybody gets out, other than removing the snow from the middle of the streets, and sometimes they are still working on cul de sacs.”
As a reminder, Day issued this caution to drivers:
“Under state law, while snow removal equipment is displaying a flashing yellow or blue light and is engaged in snow removal, all other vehicles should exercise due care and caution in approaching and passing such equipment. Any snow removal equipment displaying yellow or blue flashing light has the right-of-way at all intersections and may not be required to yield the right of way to other traffic, as required by the traffic control signs, or comply with other restrictions governing traffic flow. The town further requests that while crews are loading snow onto trucks in the downtown area, that drivers avoid driving in that block if possible. The best practice is to treat all intersections as four-way stops and look for snowplowing equipment or other vehicles that may have not been able to stop, before entering the intersection.”