PennDOT is already preparing its response to the incoming winter storm. Newswatch 16’s Adi Iyer took a ride along with.

DUNMORE, Pa. — With what could be the biggest snowstorm we’ve seen in years just days away, PennDOT’s preparing.

PennDOT District 4 Maintenance Manager Gene Perry says, “We’re focusing on our equipment, our materials, our staffing, making sure our manpower is going to be available, and also contacting our rental partners that we have on as well.”

Part of that equipment and part of that manpower is this plow truck and the man behind its wheel.

Joe, a PennDOT plow truck driver, says, “We got so many miles to do, and it usually takes an hour or two or maybe three to complete the route.”

And when there’s snow constantly falling, plow truck drivers do their route.

“Over and over and over, I don’t give count, but it’s continuous, it’s over and over and over,” Joe says. Over and over and over until the snow comes to stop.

“Shift starts from twelve in the afternoon, if it snowing, to twelve at night. If it’s dark here, you’ve got to use extreme caution,” says Joe. Extreme caution balanced with a whole heap of hurdles.

“You got the road to watch, you got vehicles to watch, you got how much snow, you gotta watch it if you’re too close to the guardrail, with your wing, so you got a lot going on, so you really got to pay attention,” says Joe. 

But sometimes drivers don’t make the job easy.

“When I’m driving, and I look out my mirror, and I see a guy coming up. I’ll just lay on the horn and let him know back off. Give him a warning, don’t get near us, let us do our thing, get through, and the road’s open and they can go, go back to speeding,” says Joe. 

It’s all things plow truck drivers need to remember especially when there’s a major snowstorm on its way..

Joe says, “For a storm like this, I’ll try to get a good 8-9, 10 hours sleep, so I’m well rested. There’s going to be a long two or three days, whatever it takes, it’s gonna be long, so you’ll be tasked to the limits.”