Plow Drivers Are 'In For A Long Weekend'

DENVER (CBS4) - Snowplow driver Harvey Inouye spoke with CBS4 on Thursday morning while he worked in Denver.

The snow had begun piling up and, "We're running out of places to pile up all the snow," said Inouye.

It's a problem for the city plows, as he explained, "the poor city guys, they can only put it so far, at least we can haul ourselves up," referring to the flexible shovel of the plow.

Inouye also warned that drivers, "Might want to be careful as you're going into parking lots, even though the parking lot might be clear," because often the plows have no place to put the snow except for in the entrance.

"Unfortunately they've got to close off the entrances or plow out the entrances and we've got to come back and clean them out," he said of the larger CDOT plows.

"After a snow storm like this comes down, we come out later in the day and clear up the rest of the plows. Right now we're making some pretty serious piles," Inouye explained.

Another round of snow is expected to come Thursday night, meaning plow drivers will, "Work all night tonight, come back here in the day, clean up some of the spaces and some of the areas we couldn't get to."

Inouye added, "Hopefully get about an hour or two of sleep, and then hit it the next morning."

One important thing he clarified was that all season tires are not snow tires. Wednesday's sudden weather caused a series of crashes along I-70 and across the state, prompting CDOT to remind drivers to properly prepare their vehicles with good snow tires.

Lawmakers recognize the distinction as well, and are considering stricter snow tire requirements.

Reminded of last night's accidents, Inouye said, "It's nice when it stops right about midnight, we can come out here and get it all cleared out and most of the bozos are off the road."