Safety specialist Jason Todhunter of the Montana Logging Assn. recently published an interesting safety note for loggers working in snowy conditions: When operating on public or public access lands in snowy tracts, loggers many times are hauling on the only road that’s regularly plowed and accessible. This means late season hunters or recreationists are more likely to be in contact with traffic to and from the job site. This is especially true for hound hunters cruising roads looking to cut a fresh track, he says.
“The road to your job is plowed and this focuses the traffic right to your operation,” Todhunter notes, adding that winter also brings lots of firewood cutters as well. Extra caution is needed, he adds: “Winter conditions bring our slickest and hardest to stop road conditions that greatly compound the hazard of unexpected traffic encounters.”