Subaru WRX Sliced In Half After Trying To Pass In Front Of Snow Plow

[ZLoth]

From Motor 1:

Subaru WRX Sliced In Half After Trying To Pass In Front Of Snow Plow
The driver somehow didn't suffer any serious injuries.

All-wheel drive can be helpful for providing extra traction while navigating an icy road. But you still need to drive cautiously because lateral grip is at a premium, no matter how many wheels are putting power to the ground. This Subaru WRX driver in New York learned an important lesson about limits of AWD after they lost control and struck a plow truck head-on, slicing the car in half.

The X (formerly Twitter) account for the New York State Department of Transportation posted the dashcam video from the snow plow as a warning to other motorists about how not to drive on a snowy road. The clip starts as the WRX is attempting to pass a big rig, not realizing there's no room to squeeze between it and the oncoming plow. The car slams into the plow, causing an explosion of debris.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[Rothman]

NYSDOT social media people are getting bold.

[jeffandnicole]

"Where are the plows?  What isn't the road plowed"

Because this.  Plow's now stopped at the crash scene.  In worst cases, even if the plow truck still works, the driver may have to go for drug/alcohol testing and can't continue his shift until he's cleared.

At least he had video.  NJDOT doesn't put dash cams in their trucks.  I often considered bringing my own when I plowed, but decided against it.

And if you're going to pass, do it on a straightaway, not on a curve.

[Rothman]

The amount of technology in a NYSDOT plow is incredible.  The plow driver is expected to drive, operate the blades and keep a computerized tracker going all at the same time.

[jeffandnicole]

The amount of technology in a NYSDOT plow is incredible.  The plow driver is expected to drive, operate the blades and keep a computerized tracker going all at the same time.

I often joked that the thing I did least was looking at the road in front of me. When plowing, gotta look back to make sure the blade is down properly and clearing the road.  When salting, gotta constantly look back to make sure the spreader is spreading.  And make sure it's spreading the width intended.  Gotta know where curb islands are.  Gotta remember where manhole covers may stick up.  Any of them can break the blade.  Gotta put the bed of the truck up to shimmy the salt back. Gotta keep an eye on power lines and overhead stuff.  Gotta remember to put the bed back down.  Gotta pay attention to pedestrians walking in the road wearing all black at 2am.  Gotta watch for cars parked on the road.  Depending on the truck, gotta remember the controls and their little issues - I had one truck where the left-right toggle switch was backwards, so to move the blade right, you had to hit the left toggle.

If the spreader or auger box was jammed and didn't spread salt for a 1/4 mile, after I stop, jump out, clear the obstruction or issue and go back in, now I have to deal with a 1/4 mile of roadway that wasn't treated properly.  Depending on the road, not easy to backtrack to get to it.  Drivers can be driving along for miles without issue, but that quarter mile of icy roadway will trip them up. 

When things are going smoothly, it's a relaxing ride.  Some nights I'd have the window down, heat blasting, radio blasting, and just cruse along doing the job.  Other nights - I regret my decision to take the shift.

[Billy F 1988]

The way winter driving is for me is this - just because you got all wheel drive or FX4 or Z71 or TRD or PPP don't mean POOOOOOP! You start sliding on ice, it's NONE-wheel drive and off to the boneyard for 'yo dumbass wreckage of a car. Use your smart head, don't be a poop head!

[webny99]

Goodness. Trying to pass on a two lane road in those conditions is absolutely insane, not to mention that the double solid yellow line was there for a reason. Reports are that this happened on NY 28 between Inlet and Blue Mtn Lake, right in the heart of the Adirondacks. It's a good quality road but quite winding - there's maybe two or three safe spots to pass on that stretch in perfect conditions. A complete non-starter with snow covered roads.

NYSDOT social media people are getting bold.

If you're referring to the tweet with the video, the tone was a bit cheeky given the near-tragic nature of the situation but I have no problem with them calling it out.

[ZLoth]

From my limited expertise, it isn't the driving in snowy weather that's the problem, but rather being able to slow down and stop.

[epzik8]

The way winter driving is for me is this - just because you got all wheel drive or FX4 or Z71 or TRD or PPP don't mean POOOOOOP! You start sliding on ice, it's NONE-wheel drive and off to the boneyard for 'yo dumbass wreckage of a car. Use your smart head, don't be a poop head!

Yep, too often driving in the snow I'll encounter a pickup or SUV driver trying to flex their 4-wheel drive and acting like I'm an idiot or coward for trying to use extra caution.

[Brandon]

So essentially, this has little to do with the fact that a plow was heading in the opposing lane, and much more to do with the WRX driver being an impatient idiot trying to pass a truck in a no passing zone.  The plow could've been another car or a truck for that matter.

[jeffandnicole]

So essentially, this has little to do with the fact that a plow was heading in the opposing lane, and much more to do with the WRX driver being an impatient idiot trying to pass a truck in a no passing zone.  The plow could've been another car or a truck for that matter.

If it was, it probably would've been much worse. That plow is an excellent buffer for thr truck driver.  For the car driver, he's lucky the plow hit just behind the driver's door.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

According to ODOT, 10 drivers have run into snowplows, around Ohio, since Christmas. 
I've seen video from several of these run-ins on local news, and I find myself wondering what were drivers thinking (and I don't mean the plow drivers)?

[jeffandnicole]

According to ODOT, 10 drivers have run into snowplows, around Ohio, since Christmas. 
I've seen video from several of these run-ins on local news, and I find myself wondering what were drivers thinking (and I don't mean the plow drivers)?

The same drivers who have been getting more aggressive or bold in the spring, summer and fall are going to continue being aggressive and bold in the winter. 

People that like to 'victim shame' ("oh, they saw I was going thru the red light, they're the ones that should have hit their brakes") continue to think every wrong action is really the victim's thought.  If they're passing a plow driver, they think the plow driver needs to avoid the collision and it's their fault for causing the crash.

That said, they're sometimes a bit more innocent.  My DOT yard had two plow trucks get slammed into over the years by truckers who said they had fallen asleep.  These crashes have occurred early in the morning, probably after the trucker had been driving all night in less-than-ideal conditions, leading to the driver's fatigue.  One of them, just off 295 South at Exit 18, flipped the truck over, along with all of its salt.  Even though the salt was cleaned up, nothing grew in that spot for years.

[MikieTimT]

AWD will help with accelerating, but not much on turning and none on braking.  Combined with someone with a false sense of winter driving skills, it probably leads to proportionally more accidents than 2WD vehicles with snow tires or chains.

[Rothman]

AWD will help with accelerating, but not much on turning and none on braking.  Combined with someone with a false sense of winter driving skills, it probably leads to proportionally more accidents than 2WD vehicles with snow tires or chains.

Wonder if locking the AWD like some models allow you to do help anything.

[kalvado]

AWD will help with accelerating, but not much on turning and none on braking.  Combined with someone with a false sense of winter driving skills, it probably leads to proportionally more accidents than 2WD vehicles with snow tires or chains.

I heard more than once that safety improvements are at least partially offset by people willing to take more risks.  So a fair choice of more routine issues  with 2WD and more stupid decisions on 4WD should more or less level things out.

[1995hoo]

I've seen other drivers get mad at me for hanging back well behind a plow truck, a longer distance than I would allow when following a regular vehicle. That's their problem because, at least around here, the plow trucks almost always drop salt as well, and the bouncing rock salt can chip your car's paint. I'm not going to follow closely and risk chipped paint just to appease aggressive drivers.