February 28, 2023 - Removing snow from the road, Croatian snowploughs covered 75,000 kilometers this weekend, almost two full circles around the Earth, the circumference of which is 40,075 kilometers, Croatian Highways (HAC) reported on Monday.
As Poslovni writes, over 181 trucks with plows and spreaders cleared the snow on a thousand kilometers of highways in two days, and more than 3,300 tons of melts was sprinkled on highways, rest areas, junctions, toll points, and border crossings, according to the HAC statement.
On snowy sections, the plows worked for up to 30 hours without stopping.
HAC commented on drivers' complaints that they did not see the plows on the road during snowfall, pointing out that if the ploughs were visible to every driver, then traffic on the highway would be impossible - "that would be a collapse and an absurdity."
As soon as the plough passes a section during snowfall, a new snow cover is created, which is cleared immediately in the next cycle, emphasizes HAC, adding that there are enough working machines for all highway maintenance tasks.
Stormy and snowy weather
Only the carriageway with the approaches to rest areas is cleared in heavy snowfall. It is possible to make the highway passable only after it stops snowing.
HAC reminds of the legal obligation for winter equipment, with which most problems and delays would be significantly less, and urges drivers that if they find themselves behind ploughs, they should not overtake them but drive behind them.
They also warned against yesterday's disregard of the traffic ban for all vehicles by some drivers who took the closed section of the highway from Sveti Rok to Posedarje, which was closed from the early morning hours due to the hurricane storm.
"We can compare this to going through a red light at an intersection. In the conditions of a hurricane, the closed section cannot even be cleared because dangerous snowdrifts are created due to the wind", says HAC.
They added that because of such irresponsible drivers who ignored all prohibitions and instructions, their workers and members of the HGSS service endangered their own lives, saving people from the road until the early morning hours.
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