There were nearly 50 accidents involving Syracuse public works vehicles this past winter, mostly for minor mishaps.
Despite the difficult weather conditions for much of this winter, the number of accidents for public works crews in the city of Syracuse declined from the winter before.
Public Works Commissioner Pete O’Connor says the 49 accidents from November to April is down from 63 for the period a year before. Not all of them involved the city's large plow fleet, though most accidents that did were for clipped side view mirrors of parked cars, O’Connor says.
"It’s a big challenge to be a plow driver for the city of Syracuse, for a lot of reasons," he said in an interview. "One because of the snow, obviously, narrow streets, illegally parked cars."
O'Connor says its fortunate there haven't been any accidents causing more damage or injury.
More than 90 people in the public works department are responsible for snow and ice removal for the city, though not all drive plows. Most of the city’s massive plows require a two person team, a driver and a "wing man" who operates the side plow.
All plow accidents are reviewed by a panel. O’Connor says operators can be disciplined or removed from the plow crew if the mishap is found to be their fault.
"And people are disciplined as they deserve to disciplined. And if you actually got in enough accidents, you could be dismissed from your job," O'Connor said.
Syracuse often ranks as the snowiest city in America, receiving an average of 115 inches of snow each winter. That's led to the city's plow drivers affectionately dubbed "snow fighters."
