Photo: Stephen Brashear / Getty Images
For: The Opinion
Monday, December 23
A new crisis? Snowplow driver shortage will be felt on the roads
The shortage of snow plow drivers will feel as winter storms from the Rocky Mountain region to the upper reaches of the Great Lakes.
The above threatens to be more than a headache for motorists , who would see a significant delay in their movements or even be stranded on the roads.
From Washington to Pennsylvania, via Montana and Wyoming , the authorities face difficulties in finding personnel to carry out the function of removing snow from the road.
And it is that the remuneration in these jobs is not very attractive , in addition to the fact that the schedules are not They tend to be ; It goes without saying that employment conditions are dangerous .
To this we must add that, to drive one of these vehicles, a commercial license is required .
“We want the traveling public to understand why this season it could take longer to clear roads during winter storms. Knowing this will help motorists plan ahead and adjust or even delay their travel plans , ”The Associated Press quotes Jon Swartz, maintenance administrator for the Montana Department of Transportation.
That department reports the missing almost a hundred drivers .
This segment has not been immune to the labor shortage caused by the pandemic, which has affected employers in many sectors.
“Everyone is competing for the same group of workers, and often private companies can offer higher wages than the state government ”, highlights the spokeswoman for the Washington State Department of Transportation, Barbara LaBoe.
Particularly, The lack of drivers to remove snow from the road is also due to an aging workforce and growing demand for diesel mechanics, state transportation departments explain.
The snow has already reached some states of the country: on Thursday, Utah suffered a storm at night, a fact that was repeated a day later in Colorado. The forecast does not have different conditions for areas of Nebraska, Iowa, Nevada and New Mexico . A storm is forecast for Sunday in Northern California.