The winter months often come with uncertainty regarding road conditions and driving safety, a resource many drivers rely on is the Saskatchewan Highway Hotline. However, it isn’t always fully accurate. Dan Palmer with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways explains the hotline is updates based on reports by plow drivers and equipment operators on the move, and conditions change quickly.
“They are reported as quickly as they're known to be changed by the plow operators who are out there before, during and after the storms. They're out there. And when known condition changes occur, they are updated.”
The hotline is colour coded for bare, partly covered, covered, travel not recommended, closed, and reduced visibility. Palmer says you don’t have to take their word for it all the time, as they have cameras that allow you to see the current conditions for yourself.
“When there are opportunities to incorporate cameras into the hotline, we certainly look at those opportunities, whether it's a big project or that.” He continues “as of right now, the current complemented cameras on the system are there. But any infrastructure project, any capital project, if there's an opportunity to do it, we certainly will take advantage of it.”
A feature more recently implemented is “track my plow”. It shows where plows, salt trucks, sand trucks, and other road maintenance vehicles are, including a breadcrumb trail of areas they’ve gone over.
Palmer notes if a motorist encounters a plow while on the road, slow down to 60 kilometers per hour and pass only when safe to do so.
“It's recommended that you slow down, stay back, be patient because keep in mind they're plowing that road for the motorists to continue on their journey. So just please be patient, stay back, stay safe. Remember that they will pull over every 10 to 15 kilometers when it's safe to do so. So a little bit of patience will help you on your journey.”
The Hotline provides a variety of resources to make an informed decision before heading out on the roads, still, Palmer reminds its ultimately up to the drivers to utilize them.
“We always remind motorists, make an informed decision, check before you head out. And of course, check throughout your trip because conditions can change throughout the journey as well. So, you might get to your destination.”
You can find the latest road conditions here.