Snow Selfies while roads are snow covered by Ohio Department of Transportation

**There’s an update at the end of this post… feel free to scroll down to read so you’re all up to date.**

I live on a state route in rural NE Ohio. It always feels like we are the last to be plowed by Ohio Department of Transportation. Sometimes we don’t see a snow plow or truck for a full day after a storm. I’ve posted numerous pictures this year of our snow via Instagram because this year I decided I wouldn’t let the snow get to me.

It was no surprise when we woke up yesterday to a new round of snow and covered roads. It was a snow day for us and I had a full house of kids and I was on day two of my 3 day vacation. The plows seemed to be out early with a township truck plowing (and throwing my garbage cans and trash four feet into the air but that’s okay, I don’t mind that… it’s what happened after that gets me hot) and they came back around 11:30 a.m. with a bulldozer/grader and a plow following behind it.

The plow and grader stopped almost right in front of our garage. I thought it was strange they stopped there but earlier that morning a car had been trapped by the snow and other motorists stopped to help push them to safety (while the ODOT driver sat in his truck and watched) so I figured something like that must have happened again. I watched from my dining room window which has a clear view of where the trucks had stopped. I watched the two men get out of the truck and bulldozer and stop to talk a bit off to the side of the road. Mind you we only had one good lane to begin with and they were mostly in it.

Did I mention we live right before a sharp curve that only has a two way stop? Have I told you that we have 5-6 accidents there a year? Or that semi trucks come barreling around that curve and don’t often see the Amish buggies until they are right.on.them? I think you get the idea…

The plow driver (the one without a hat and in the hoodie) looked at his phone and seemed to be looking for something. Directions? Their next road or route? I was stunned when he handed the bulldozer driver his phone and climbed up on top of the snow drift. He then began to pose very nonchalant.

SONOFA??? A snow drift selfie? Once I figured out what he was doing, I yelled out to my kids and ran for my phone. I was able to catch him hopping off the snow drift because I took too long looking for a better vantage point. I should’ve stuck to my window!

The bulldozer driver handed the plow driver back the phone and the two men looked to be laughing and smiling as the plow driver looked at the phone. They talked a bit more, then the bulldozer driver handed the plow driver his phone and went to stand in front of the snow drift between the two trucks.

HE WAS POSING TOO??!! I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked. I was stunned and this time I didn’t leave my window!

I was furious. While all this was going on, trucks and cars were trying to make their way around the two trucks which had taken up most of the right hand/south bound lane of my road. They were less than 1000 feet from the curve and I watched car after car carefully creep around them… the roads still mostly covered with snow and difficult to drive.

They got back in their trucks and began to back up to leave. Then they suddenly stopped. The plow driver got out of his truck and motioned to the bulldozer driver. I watched him again, hand the bulldozer driver his phone and walk around to the passenger side of his snow plow. I saw him climb a snow drift again but I couldn’t get a picture, I could only watch it unfold again in shock and irritation. The bulldozer driver handed back the plow driver’s phone, they smiled and nodded their heads, seemingly laughing and smiling again (probably about what a great picture!!) and then they pulled away.

FURIOUS! I am furious. Actually, furious is an understatement. I immediately tweeted the pictures to our local ODOT district.

These are my tax $$ at work. An @ODOT_NorthCenOH stops to take a pic on top of the snow. Cc @WEWS pic.twitter.com/73r14HU3x0

— Nichole Smith (@KnowitAllNikki) February 18, 2014

And now its the tractor drivers turn only he didn’t climb the snow drift. @ODOT_NorthCenOH pic.twitter.com/jeprtCt4os

— Nichole Smith (@KnowitAllNikki) February 18, 2014

They didn’t respond until today and when they did, their response was denial stating that the grader got stuck.

@KnowitAllNikki @WEWS ODOT grader slid off SR 539 & luckily a plow truck was there to assist. ODOT’s priority is to keep roads safe.

— ODOT_NorthCenOH (@ODOT_NorthCenOH) February 19, 2014

@KnowitAllNikki The employees worked togther to pull the grader on to road; we only use grader in major storms where drifting is an issue

— ODOT_NorthCenOH (@ODOT_NorthCenOH) February 19, 2014

The grader was NOT STUCK. Let me repeat. NOT STUCK. I watched from the moment they got out of their trucks to the time they drove away and so did the kids. I feel like their tweet was more for the media (ie: they got caught!!) than it was for me.

I also reached out via our district’s Facebook and got a much better response that they’d look into it.

I’m not holding my breath that something will be done but I reached out to the local news stations and it’s my hope that at least one of them will listen.

Heavy snowfall and dangerous roads is not the time to stop and take pictures in the snow when you’re on the job, especially when it’s your job to keep the roads safe. I’m not discounting the job they do and I know the job is demanding and they work long hours but if a break is needed then get off the road because you have no business being on it. Be safe and don’t put others at risk!

I received a phone call this morning from Christine at our ODOT district. I’ve spoken to Christine before in regards to work that was done by our house in the past so Christine and I have a good rapport, or at least I like to feel we do, otherwise, I don’t think she would’ve reached out and call me. Christine gave me some new information which I don’t feel would be best disclosing but I feel comfortable now knowing that ODOT has taken my report seriously and is looking into everything. While I do feel that they denied what happened initially, they have assured me that they were responding to the information about the incident that they were given at the time and I’ve been assured that the safety of their employees and motorists are very important to them.