Buried under a thick layer of snow by a passing snowplow. That happened to Jan Martens from Hoeven on Sunday morning. The snow cloud from an oncoming slider folded his mirror inwards and ripped off the emblem from his car. “This is simply anti-social driving.”
It is around eleven o’clock when Jan takes his son to his part-time job on his Sunday off. It has been snowing for two days and the road is thick when he drives over the Backer van Ruebweg in Breda. “I was driving about fifty kilometers per hour, which was actually the maximum under these conditions.”
Jan drives in the left lane, between two tire tracks through the snow. There is also a high snow mound between the lanes. Everything runs smoothly, despite the slippery winter weather. Until he sees a snow cloud approaching in the distance. “A snow plow arrived at far too high a speed and did not push a huge pile of snow onto the side of the road, but straight onto my side of the road.”
On the part of the road where Jan drives over the Mark, the central reservation is a lot narrower than further down. The machine rushes closer. It is no longer possible to swerve and fully anchor is not an option. “The van in front of me also came through, so I just had to let it happen.”
Huge cloud
The snowplow throws a thick cloud over Jan’s car. “It looked like a mini avalanche. I couldn’t see anything for a moment because the window was completely covered in snow. It was a huge cloud.”
Frustration follows immediately. “Such a snow plow should ensure safety. Shoveling snow onto the other lane is not the intention, I think.” He is still considering driving after the car, but with the slippery conditions that is not possible.
The impact causes the left mirror of his car to fold inward. “That was just opening the window and folding back the mirror. Only later, when I looked at the damage at home, did I see that my emblem was gone.” The Toyota logo on his car was left behind in the snow tornado.
Complaint
Jan shares his story on Facebook and files a complaint with the municipality of Breda. “I hope they can find out who was driving. I don’t know if I can recover damages, but that would be nice.” He thinks it is more important that the driver is addressed. “This driving behavior is simply not safe. It’s bizarre, he should have just slowed down.”
His message generated several reactions. It turns out that there are more people who have seen the same loose snowplow. At least one person also filed a complaint with the municipality. Jan hopes to find other victims through his appeal. “Then we can work together.”
He can now laugh about it somewhat again, although he is critical of the driver’s driving behavior. “This ends with a lost emblem, but it could have ended very differently.”