{"id":36049,"date":"2023-01-30T04:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T11:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/seasoned-snowplow-driver-has-some-advice-for-overly-confident-drivers\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T08:29:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:29:00","slug":"seasoned-snowplow-driver-has-some-advice-for-overly-confident-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/seasoned-snowplow-driver-has-some-advice-for-overly-confident-drivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Seasoned snowplow driver has some advice for overly confident drivers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Dusty
Dusty Ledford, a snowplow driver with the Colorado Department of Transportation, clears snow on U.S. Highway 160 east of Durango. \u201cIf we\u2019re around and can provide a service, we jump in to help,\u201d he said. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Dusty Ledford has been working with the Colorado Department of Transportation for 17 years, and he looks forward to retiring in 20 years, give or take. Born and raised in Durango, working for CDOT has always been in his blood. His grandfather, father and uncles also worked for CDOT.<\/p>\n

\u201cI come from a long line of CDOT workers,\u201d he said. \u201cI have uncles who worked the route over Red Mountain Pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Red Mountain Pass is considered one the most dangerous areas to drive a snowplow in CDOT\u2019s Region 5 area, which covers the southwest quadrant of Colorado. There is always a danger when it comes to plowing snow, especially during storms over mountain passes \u2013 and Region 5 has plenty of them.<\/p>\n

\"Dusty
Dusty Ledford fills the tanks on his snowplow with a salt\/brine mixture used to melt the ice and snow on roads. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

During the winter months, Ledford usually runs the patrols between Mancos and the Piedra area near Chimney Rock.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can get pretty hairy scary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ledford is at ease most of the time behind the steering wheel of a CDOT snowplow, mostly clearing U.S. Highway 160 and U.S. Highway 550 north of Durango to Purgatory Resort. Even a seasoned professional like him can get caught in situations that leave him a little shaken, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get those times where you can\u2019t see a thing,\u201d Ledford said. \u201cYou look for landmarks, but sometimes you can\u2019t see them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only a couple of years into working for CDOT, Ledford was plowing the roads around the Lower Piedra area and realized something frightening.<\/p>\n

\"Dusty
Dusty Ledford clears snow along U.S. Highway 160 east of Durango. \u201cIt can get pretty hairy scary,\u201d he said. \u201cYou definitely don\u2019t do this job for the pay.\u201d (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIt was snowing really hard, and the wind was blowing it sideways,\u201d he said. \u201cDelineation helps us tell where we are. I was looking for the markers on the side of the road, but I couldn\u2019t see anything. I realized I\u2019d been driving on the wrong side of the road, and then I was just bouncing from one side of the road to the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ledford is aware of the anger snowplow drivers can cause when they push snow into driveways that have been recently plowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yeah, we get a lot of complaints,\u201d he says with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Ledford advises homeowners to rethink where they put snow from their driveways.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can help yourself by not putting the snow from your driveways out onto the roads,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we come by to clear the roads, the snow just goes right back where it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dusty
Dusty Ledford inspects a snowplow before taking it out on his shift. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Ledford also has advice for those who have to travel or commute on hazardous roads.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraffic should stay where it\u2019s sanded or shoveled,\u201d he said. \u201cWe work from the center out. Traffic can help by driving where we\u2019ve cleared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Something that always worries Ledford on treacherous roads are speeding drivers.<\/p>\n

\"Dusty
Dusty Ledford warns overly confident and impatient drivers not to pass snowplows when they are clearing roads during a storm. \u201cPeople shouldn\u2019t be passing snowplows, but especially not on the right side,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have a lot going on, and we can\u2019t see you.\u201d (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cYou have these overly confident drivers speeding past everyone,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to make the roads better for them, and they just go around us. Most drivers are courteous and helpful, but we don\u2019t always get that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drivers who speed around snowplows are putting themselves and others in danger, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople shouldn\u2019t be passing snowplows, but especially not on the right side,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have a lot going on, and we can\u2019t see you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ledford recalls an incident when an impatient driver sped past his snowplow on the right side and accidentally hit the side of the vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis dude decided to pass me on the right side and clipped the edge of the plow,\u201d he said. \u201cHe ended up flipping his car over, and I had to call dispatch to come and help him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snowplow drivers are often the first to call dispatch after coming upon crashes and drivers stuck in the snow.<\/p>\n

\"Dusty
Dusty Ledford has worked for the Colorado Department of Transportation for 17 years. He is unsure if he wants his son to continue his family\u2019s tradition. \u201cI told him to do something else,\u201d he said with a grin. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIf we\u2019re around and can provide a service, we jump in to help,\u201d Ledford said. \u201cWe\u2019re out there for everyone\u2019s safety. We\u2019re looking out for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He remembers a time when he might have caused more harm than good, during a series of unfortunate occurrences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis elderly women had slid off the road in her car and down to the creek below,\u201d he said. \u201cShe had to climb back up the hill with her dog in her arms to get help. I came by plowing the roads, and I just didn\u2019t see her in time. I ended up smacking her full force with a bunch of snow as I drove by. I felt terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ledford also admits to accidentally hitting a homeowner or two with a fresh batch of snow when plowing the roads in their neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re out their shoveling their driveways, and I can\u2019t see them before it\u2019s too late,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite the anger such accidents elicit, Ledford says La Plata County residents generally have a positive attitude toward snowplow drivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cA majority of the time, people are thankful and have a lot of gratitude toward CDOT and what we do,\u201d he said. \u201cWe try to do the best we can. There are goods and bads, but that\u2019s part of the job. You have to love what you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recently, Ledford\u2019s son voiced an interest in working for CDOT, but Ledford is not sure he wants the tradition passed onto yet another generation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him to do something else,\u201d he said with a grin.<\/p>\n

molsen@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Dusty
Dusty Ledford looks at the salt\/brine tank on the snowplow. The mixture is sprayed onto roads to help melt snow and ice. \u201cWe\u2019re out there for everyone\u2019s safety,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking out for them.\u201d (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ledford has seen his share of incidents on snowy roads of Southwest Colorado<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[576,28,69,1384,414],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-36049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-department-of-transportation","tag-headlines","tag-u-s-highway-160","tag-u-s-highway-550","tag-weather"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36049"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83216,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36049\/revisions\/83216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36049"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=36049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}