Kelowna snow plow drivers seeing increase in ‘snow rage’

We've all heard of road rage but how about snow rage?

According to the person in charge of Kelowna's snow removal, snow rage is becoming a common phenomenon.

Kelowna and the Central Okanagan were blasted by a snow storm Tuesday. For some, the afternoon drive home took hours instead of minutes with blockages on the Bennett Bridge, Highway 97 and tertiary roads.

Many have taken to social media to vent their anger. But the City said there were two dozen trucks on the road at the height of the storm.

"In general, the public sees it as we haven't been operating but we have 24 trucks on the road right now. In the past 24 hours we have put down a thousand tons of sand," said Kelowna's Roadways Operations Manager, Andrew Schwerdtfeger.

"The reality is that we got buckets of snow by 2 p.m. and -23 degrees conditions. I'm not making excuses but those are pretty substantial conditions for the Okanagan," he adds.

Despite the City of Kelowna's efforts, Schwerdtfeger said the phones have been ringing off the hook. He's asking frustrated residents to be patient because this winter is shaping up to be an anomaly.

"It's going to be a long winter. Normally we don't start dealing with snow until the start of December and our crews have been working since November 4 during that first snow fall."

Another anomaly Schwerdtfeger is seeing is something he calls snow rage whereby residents lose their temper after the plow comes by — blocking their laneways — after they've shoveled their laneways.

"We're starting to see it in Kelowna residents right now where normal everyday people start to get fed up with shoveling their driveway — they just go off the deep end," Schwerdtfeger said. 

"It's like road rage. We get a lot of angry people and I'm afraid we're going to see it at the end of December and January."

Schwerdtfeger said so-called "snow ragers' are quick to pick up the phone and vent their frustration and some have even challenged the plow drivers — putting their safety at risk.

"I kid you not. I've had church pastors, working moms, working fathers just beat red standing in front of a 100,000 pound piece of equipment. I really discourage that. We're not trying to make anyone's life more difficult than we have to." 

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