It’s illegal to shovel snow onto state highways

JOHN DAY – As the Eastern Oregon winter settles in, ODOT wants to remind locals NOT to shovel or plow snow onto state highways. Below is a release from ODOT’s winter driving page:

“The state highway is not a good place to deposit snow from your driveway. In fact, it’s against the law to deposit any object onto Oregon highways and highway right of way, including snow.

Placing driveway snow on the road or shoulder creates a hazard for other highway users and for our snowplow operators. Chunks of snow and ice form an uneven road surface that can surprise drivers and cause crashes.

When snowplows create berms of snow at the end of driveways, we ask property owners to help by shoveling that snow to the sides of their driveways, rather than back onto the road or shoulder.

If you shovel snow onto the roadway, you will be asked to clear it away. Or we may remove the snow and bill you for the cost of doing so. In addition, you may be cited under Oregon law; violations are punishable as a misdemeanor.​”

ODOT’s Region 5 Community Affairs Specialist Vicky Moles in John Day suggests logging on to tripcheck.com for other winter highway tips:

“It’s just a great resource for winter driving in general. If you go to the ‘Road’ and ‘Weather’ tab and link on to the ‘Winter Travel;’ there’s some information about traction tires, winter driving safety. It’s not just for driving and the cameras.”

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