REGINA - A new winter safety campaign has been launched by the Ministry of Highways, just in time for a big winter storm to hit.
The campaign includes a new Highway Hotline ad campaign, as well as new terminology on the website for road conditions.
The campaign launch took place at the busy Ministry of Highways offices in Regina where Highway Hotline is based. It could not have been a more timely event, given the weather predictions of a major dumping of upwards of 25 cm of snow on Regina and area highways this weekend.
Brad Crassweller, the new MLA for White City-Qu’Appelle, spoke on behalf of Highways Minister David Marit at the launch. In particular, he pointed to the updated terminology and colour scheme being used on the website and app. The highways are depicted as black for "bare," yellow for "partly covered," pink for "covered,"blue for "travel not recommended," and red for "closed."
“In September, we updated the terminology used by the highway hotline to describe winter driving conditions. The new terminology offers clearer and more concise information. It's also more consistent with neighbouring provinces," Crassweller said.
“That makes using the hotline easier for people travelling across Western Canada... And now available on the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways YouTube channel and coming to a theatre near you, you can also see a new ad about this updated terminology.”
According to the province's news release, the video playing in cinemas, on TV and online depicts a father planning to go ice fishing with his son, but he checks the road conditions on his mobile device and waits for those conditions to improve before heading out.
There are also plans to show a new online digital animation ad, as well as replay the ad from last year urging people to slow down and stay back from snowplows.
Crassweller noted Highway Hotline is available through a free app for mobile devices, by visiting saskatchewan.ca/highwayhotline or by calling 511.
As was the case last year, there is also a focus on how to stay safe and maintain distances when around snowplow operators.
Snowplow operator Robert Dolinski is with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways, based out of Odessa on Highway 48 southeast of Regina. He spoke of one incident in the winter of 2022 where he was spreading salt to treat ice on Highway 33.
He noted a car was passing his snowplow on the right side of the highway shoulder.
“I thought what is this guy doing?" said Dolinski. "Thank goodness I saw him and that the driver is lucky I didn't drop the right blade before I saw him or veer to the shoulder. Anyway, the driver successfully made it past me. I was relieved the car passed me without incident and then kept on with my shift, but I kept replaying the incident in my mind.”
He also pointed to an incident plowing snow in the driving lane on Highway 48 in late 2023.
“In that case, I was creating a mini-blizzard or snow zone with my front blade down. I also had the right wing blade down. There would have been almost no visibility because of the snow for drivers behind me to check if it was safe to pass…
“Yet out of the white cloud behind me, a driver pulled out to pass on the left side. Ultimately, he was fine but luckily there was no oncoming cars. Had there been oncoming traffic I would have been forced to take fast and evasive measures to try to avoid a collision.”
Dolinski told reporters he had a simple message for those on the road this winter:
“Stay back, give us room and stay safe. That's the biggest thing. We need a lot of room to do our job.”
As for how a tool like Highway Hotline benefits him in his job, Dolinski said this:
“Well I'm always watching it to see what other areas are doing so when you have a storm coming through it's going to start say from the west and go into the east so I'm going to watch what the other areas are reporting to see what we're going to be expected.”
Tom Lees, Assistant Deputy Minister with the Operation and Maintenance division, pointed to the importance of checking the Highway Hotline and being careful around snowplow operators.
“You can imagine they're out in the worst of weather trying to make our highway safe, so I would say first and foremost check the Highway Hotline. When you're out on the road make sure you're looking for our snowplows. You'll see them right they're really large they've got flashing lights they've got yellow and blue flashing lights. When the blue light is flashing, it means that they're actively in winter operations. Approach them with caution, slow down, give them space. That's for our employees’ safety, as well as the motoring safety.”
