Roselle crews test skills in 'Snow Roadeo'

While many Roselle residents strolled outdoors and drove with their windows down to enjoy Thursday's near-perfect weather, employees of the village's public works department hauled out their fleet of snow plows.

Whizzing through an obstacle course of traffic cones, road barricades and simulated snow, more than 20 men participated in Roselle's third annual “Snow Roadeo,” which prepares drivers for the hazards of winter plowing.

“This helps remind them that we have a responsibility, since these are large pieces of equipment and they carry a lot of liability,” Street Superintendent Robin Jones said.

Public works crews from various departments, including streets, engineering and wastewater, took part in a daylong series of training for the snow and ice season.

The men took a written test, then evaluated 25 areas on the plows to spot simulated problems created by Jones and other supervisors, such as low oil, garbage in the truck bed, or even low air on a plow's inside row of tires.

The trickiest part of the day, however, was the obstacle course drivers aimed to finish in three minutes. The men are evaluated on whether they can avoid nicking traffic horses that simulate parked cars and curbs, scoop up all the fake snow, snake through cones forward and backward, and negotiate sharp turns.

“It's stress,” said Jeff Peto, an employee in Roselle's wastewater division. “Of course you want to win, but there are some really good drivers here. But more importantly, this is good for us because we don't do this every day.”

How well the drivers do matters in a few ways. First, their total points go into their employee records. They also naturally want to avoid any unnecessary accidents on the road each winter.

But Jones also buys gift certificates from local stores to reward the first-, second- and third-place winners.

“It just adds a little fun,” he said.

It also keeps everyone on their toes. Roselle uses more than 20 drivers from all areas of public works not just the street division to man its 11 plows and clear more than 100 thoroughfares.

“They really do a good job for us and their work makes a big difference,” Jones said. “I know police and firefighters are the ones considered heroes, but these people sacrifice a lot of time with their families to make sure your streets are safe and your water is clean and running.”