The Road Commission for Oakland County reminds residents that snow banks along roads can be dangerous places for children to play, especially when snowplows come by.
Recently, a child playing in a tunnel dug in a snow bank along a road narrowly escaped being run over by an RCOC snowplow. The child was concealed from view in the tunnel as the snowplow approached. At the last minute, the child popped out of the tunnel and jumped to safety, as the snowplow removed the snow bank. “Clearly the danger of this type of incident is much greater when we have a fairly large amount of snow on the ground, as we do now, and when we have large snow banks along many roads,” explained RCOC Managing Director Brent Bair. “Our trucks are very large and can not stop or turn as quickly as a passenger vehicle. So, if the driver does not see a child in the snow until the last minute, it is a very dangerous situation.”
Bair added that RCOC snowplow drivers are instructed to plow as close to the edge of the road as possible, especially in residential areas, so that there is room for disabled vehicles, postal trucks can deliver mail and so forth.
“The side of the road is a dangerous place for children to play during normal conditions,” Blair said. “It’s particularly dangerous during the winter.”