Driving in Winter Weather S’no Fun

Veteran TLD driver makes it through his first snowfall of season, expects more to come

By Al Muskewitz

The first snow of the year usually gets those who don’t have to be in it pretty excited. It certainly is something nice to look at when it first blankets the landscape and signals the upcoming holiday season is right around the corner.

But for over-the-road truck drivers like Buddy White, driving into the first falling snow of the year – well, any snow, really – is “a dread.”

White, an owner-operator contracted to TLD Logistics, ran through his first snow of the season earlier this week just south and east of Seattle. He likes to tell people he spends October to May in snow up to his knees as he drives a run between Omaha and Seattle.

In fact, he ran through an area just the day before that had gotten a heavy dose of the white stuff and had snow all over the ground. So, while he may be used to it, it doesn’t mean he’s a big fan, especially while he’s driving as it’s coming down.

“I’m in snow every year and it’s so nice when there isn’t any, but when there is, it’s dangerous,” White said as he was waiting to be loaded. “I worry about people who are, one, not afraid of the snow and, two, people who are too afraid of the snow. Either way is dangerous.”

On this particular trip he was making his way east on I-90. Seattle was in his rearview mirror and Snoqualmie Pass was just outside the windshield. He knew snow was coming, but was hoping to get through the pass before sundown. It was still daylight when he got there, but it didn’t matter. The snow came anyway.

Higher and higher he climbed the mountain and harder and harder the snow fell. Eventually, the road conditions forced him to call it a day some 300 miles sooner than where he wanted to stop. Fortunately, it was only a 15-mile turnaround to get back to the TA Travel Center to shelter for the night.

“When I left North Bend the roads were wet and as I started to climb it started to snow harder and harder,” White said. “Finally the road was covered and I called my dispatcher and said that’s it. I still had 2,000 more feet to go up and it’s snowing like crazy; I’m going to call it.”

He knew it was right call because as soon as he did he reached an area where local chain laws were in effect. Trucks were lined up on the shoulder chaining up and White didn’t want to be part of that scene.

“I try to avoid that if I can,” he said. “If it’s bad enough I need to chain up, I need to stop.”

Amazingly, and typical for the state, 16 hours later the roads were like it never even happened.
 
White lives by four basic rules for trucking success – don’t bend anything, don’t get written up for anything, be on time, do your paperwork. His philosophy on the bad weather is a lot like it is on rush-hour traffic: You’d like to avoid it if possible, but if you’re going to drive a truck, it’s inevitable and you just have to get through it.

He admitted being caught a little off-guard on this latest ice-road trucker episode, but he does have a few tips for drivers to handle bad weather.

• Be hyper aware. Look for little signs like blowing snow and wet roads, and watch the temperature.
• Monitor the distance between vehicles.
• Carry provisions in the truck. White has been snowed in with no place to park in Wyoming in May.
• Make sure you’re legal in terms of chains and other required weather-related equipment.
• Don’t be afraid to stop and sleep.

“When you know there’s going to be snow – and this is especially true with ice – you have to anticipate it because it can come up quickly and unexpectedly,” White said. “If you see signs like blowing snow across the road, where it’s sticking to the road, slow down because further up the whole road may be covered. And if you’re doing 70 when you hit something like that it is a struggle because the likelihood is somebody’s going to be in the middle of that going much slower so you have to slow down in a hurry.

“You have to anticipate that it’s going to be right there soon, and if it takes longer it takes long. Usually, most shippers will not penalize you for a weather delay.”

Cover photo: TLD driver Buddy White shares the scene on I-90 just south of Seattle. Trucks have lined up on the opposite shoulder to begin applying chains for the snowy conditions ahead.

Al Muskewitz is the Editor of Wright Media. He can be reached at musky@wrightmediacorp.com