All of our plow truck drivers are union and governed under the CDL guidelines, as such, we have broken our plow routes in two shifts, A & B or Red and Green. When we have a sustained snow event, our drivers work 12 hour shifts and alternate until the snow event is concluded and the roads are pushed back to the curb. I have heard that some communities further alleviate the stress on their drivers by alternating which team is listed as the primary and which is secondary in 2 week cycles. For instance, December 1st-15th, the Red team is the primary and the Green team is secondary, then December 16th-31st, the teams alternate. Sometimes it works out the one team get more hours, but by alternating the shifts it helps to reduce the stress on any one team and it spreads out the overtime a little more equitably. In Elgin, IL, our crews average 20-30 plowable (not a real word) events per year, although the ’13-’14 season our crews went out more than 50 times, and even with the two shifts our drivers are exhausted by the end of the snow season. I agree that the APWA might be an additional resource for suggestions. Please let me know if you have any questions. Good luck…
