BOSTON (WHDH) - Winter is right around the corner but some snow plow drivers say they’re the ones being left out in the cold. They say new safety rules for larger trucks could be too costly for their businesses.
When it snows, Robert Sullivan gets to work. For more than 15 years, he’s been hired by the state to plow roads and highways but now he may be iced out of a job.
MassDOT has rolled out new safety rules for all truck drivers hired by the state, requiring larger vehicles to install side guards, backup cameras, and special mirrors.
Sullivan says the new rules means he’ll need to spend $50,000 to upgrade his fleet of five plows, which is more than he makes in a typical winter.
“We can understand if these trucks worked four seasons of the year, I’d be the first advocate for it,” he said. “But because they’re because single use in the winter, when we don’t encounter bicyclists or pedestrians on the highway, we find it to be a little unreasonable.”
Snow plows don’t need to install the safety features this year but next year, there’s no guarantees.
And Sullivan is not the only one who is worried. Dozens of contractors have raised concerns in a letter to the state.
“They’re going to lose equipment and just knowing these numbers they’re not going to maintain to a certain level,” he said.
And if the roads aren’t cleared, other services could be hampered.
Plow driver David Bennett said, “The motoring public is going to get less service, and if we don’t roll, the fire department doesn’t roll, the state police don’t roll, the town police don’t roll, the ambulances aren’t going to roll. It’s just a fact.”
7NEWS asked MassDOT if snow plow drivers will have to adhere to the rules in the future. A spokesperson said the rules are still being reviewed.
As for Sullivan and other drivers they’ll have to decide soon if they’re going to keep plowing.
“At some point it’s going to break the camel’s back,” he said. “We haven’t had a big storm in several years. If we do, I suspect the state is going to have to choose which lanes are not going to be serviced. It’s not being upheld this season, but moving forward, we don’t know what’s after that.”
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