We Have A Great Idea For The Maine Department Of Transportation

Here in Maine, and much of the rest of the United States, we really don't pay much attention to the weather in other parts of the country.  Of course, if there is a tornado or hurricane we'll probably keep an eye on the news, but not when it comes to normal weather.

And, when it comes to weather in other countries, forget it!  You could tell me that it rains spaghetti on Corsica and I wouldn't know enough about Corsican weather in order to be able to disagree with you.

That’s one of the reasons I was so surprised at what I learned about the government road crews in Scotland.  First, they do get a significant amount of snow.  Parts of the Scottish Highlands can see snowfall on over 100 days per year.   Second, they name their snowplows!

According to CNet, the country that brought us haggis, bagpipes, and Sean Connery also names their snowplows (or, as they spell them snowploughs).

Some of the plows…  excuse me, ploughs…  on the road right now include: Blizzard Bear, Gangsta Granny Gritter, Polar Patroller, Darth Spreader, and my personal favorite, Snowbegone Kenobi.

The practice, which started in 2006, was started by the Scottish Transport Ministry as a fun way to get kids involved in road safety.  In 2016, they launched a cool online plow tracker.  You can check that out HERE.

Where are we going with this?  Well, wouldn’t it be cool if the Maine Department of Transportation started doing the same thing with our snowplows?  We’ve got some really creative kids in Maine.  And, on top of that, with all the craziness that has gone on in their lives over the last nine months, they really deserve something fun to take their minds off everything.

What do you think?  If you think it is a good idea, you can let the Maine DOT know HERE.