MILLS COUNTY, Iowa (KMTV) — Iowa State Patrol Public Resource Officer Ryan DeVault says that he sees more motorists crashing into snowplows than when he first became a trooper 27 years ago.
- “Kind of an alarming trend that, you know, most likely, if you’re driving any type of a car with four wheels on it, you’re not going to win that battle when you run into something that’s that big and has that much weight on it,” said DeVault.
- One problem, says DeVault, is that drivers tend to be overconfident because more have all-wheel drive vehicles. He wants drivers to slow down, even if it means traveling below the speed limit.
- DeVault said three snowplows were struck on southwest Iowa interstates on Monday morning. Mills County Sgt. Zac Buttercase said he knew of at least one tow truck that was hit on Monday.
WATCH BELOW
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Iowa State Patrol says three snowplows were hit on southwest Iowa interstates Monday morning.
I’m neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel in Mills County.
Law enforcement told me these types of incidents are more common than they were in the past.
Trooper Ryan Devault said the state patrol was busy Monday morning. He told me in southwest Iowa alone, three snowplows were hit by motorists on 1-29 and I-880.
“I think these are all preventable accidents if we just pay a little better attention to what we’re doing driving,” DeVault said.
During last week’s storm, 15 plows were struck in a 24-hour period. Unusual in the 27 years he’s been on the job.
“Kind of an alarming trend that, you know, most likely, if you’re driving any type of a car with four wheels on it, you’re not going to win that battle when you run into something that’s that big and has that much weight on it,” said DeVault.
One problem, says DeVault, drivers tend to be overconfident because more of us have all-wheel drive vehicles.
“I think some people get that false sense of ‘I drive an all-wheel drive. I drive a 4-wheel drive. I can go anywhere. I can stop on a dime’ and that’s just not true,” he said.
Mills County Sgt. Zac Buttercase told me knew of at least one tow truck that was hit Monday morning.
“So, we just urge motorists – look up ahead,” DeVault said. “If you see any flashing lights of any kind, it could be a DOT snowplow, it could be law enforcement alongside of the road, it could be a tow truck service. You know, for that matter, it could be anybody broke down with their four-ways on. Be courteous. Get over into that other lane if it’s safe to do so.”
I just spoke with one professional driver on his way to Kansas City and he said when the weather’s like this, he generally drives 10 to 15 miles an hour below the speed limit.
