Caffeinated Politics

Tuesday night, as the snow started to fall with gusto, James and I trekked across the city to stop at a business that had framed one of our pictures. The snow was beautiful, and while most drivers were mindful of how they needed to operate their vehicles, others thought Mother Nature could be toyed with during the winter season. A pickup truck spun out and turned around facing the wrong direction on the Beltline due to speeding in the snowy conditions. He landed against a guardrail.

Meanwhile, on the opposite lanes of the Beltline, a flashing snow truck driver, one of Madison’s finest, was working to make driving as safe as possible for what promised to be a wet and slick night in the city. It is those workers in the big trucks with so much responsibility that I wish to write about in this column.

When our city streets vanish beneath layers of snow, most of us retreat indoors, grateful for warmth and shelter. (Unless we need to get that framed project home.) While we often hunker down inside, a dedicated workforce is out in the cold, ensuring that our communities remain connected and safe. We all owe a great deal of respect for the snowplow drivers. Their work is often invisible, noticed only when it falters. But it is precisely because of their relentless effort that our morning drives or evening trips begin and end with passable roads. The school buses take kids to classes and, if needed, emergency vehicles can reach those in need.

Snowplow driving is not a simple task of pushing snow aside. It requires precision, endurance, and constant vigilance. Drivers navigate heavy machinery through blinding flurries, icy patches, and unpredictable traffic. They work long, grueling shifts, often overnight, when fatigue and darkness compound the dangers. Every pass of the plow is a calculation: how close to the curb, how to avoid parked cars, how to keep intersections clear without endangering themselves or others.

Too often, drivers of smaller vehicles crowd snowplows, impatient to get around them. This is not only reckless but dangerous. Snowplows are large, slow-moving machines with limited visibility. Their blades can throw snow and ice in unpredictable arcs. Tailgating or attempting to pass them risks collisions, not just with the plow but with hidden hazards on the road. Giving them space is not a courtesy but rather, it is a matter of safety for everyone.

It’s easy to take clear roads for granted, to assume they simply “happen” to appear. But behind every salted street and plowed major throughfare is a driver who sacrificed comfort, sleep, and safety to make it possible. These workers endure the harshest conditions so that the rest of us can carry on with our lives. A nod of gratitude, a wave of thanks, or simply the patience to let them do their job is the least we can offer. Snowplow drivers are the unsung guardians of winter, and our safety depends on their skill and sacrifice.

My dad, Royce Humphrey, was such a person, working for the Waushara County Highway Department for decades. I grew up with awareness about the drivers and wish to impart that thinking to everyone in our city.