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UDOT: Do not pass snow plows in a snowstorm; you will lose

Posted at 11:09 AM, Mar 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-02 16:01:01-05

SALT LAKE CITY - You can pass the buck. You can pass the salt. But whatever you do, don’t pass a UDOT plow during a snowstorm.

Why? In doing so, you endanger yourself and everyone else on the roads.

Last winter UDOT plows were hit 60 times, almost always by impatient drivers trying to pass them.

Already this winter, nearly a dozen drivers have crashed into snow plows.

That includes a crash last week near the Wyoming border where a semi truck passed a plow on a two-lane road, forcing it into the ditch.

Authorities said the semi truck never stopped.

With more winter weather on the way, authorities are reminding all drivers not to pass the plows.

If you do, there’s a very good chance you will lose.

One thing UDOT is doing to make these giant vehicles even more visible is installing fluorescent green whip lights at the rear of the trucks.

They are affectionately referred to as "light sabers."

In this case, green does not mean go; it means to hold back and let the plows do their jobs.

Their goal is to clear the roads as quickly and efficiently as possible which will help all of us get to where we’re going.