Watch out for reckless, crazy sidewalk plow drivers

Hiking along the sidewalk seems pretty safe, until a sidewalk snow plow comes whistling around the corner and nearly bowls you over.

The city’s road and sidewalk plows finally got a good workout last week, after idling through the previous winter, and are again on hold until the next dump of snow.

It looks like it’ll be at least a few more days before they hit the streets again, but a reader has sent a dire warning about small sidewalk plows, which my wife refers to as peanut pushers, as they were called by kids in Montreal, where she grew up.

David Wilen emailed to say that in our recent stories about snow clearing, “you seem to have the snow plows’ point of view,” but haven’t recognized “a very dangerous situation in Scarborough.

“We get our sidewalks cleaned by contractors under contract to the city, which I am thankful for.

“However, they have become a terror. While cleaning them (sidewalks), they go the maximum speed and have no regard for anything in their way.  There are blind spots (corners), hidden driveways (and) bushes.

“They just don’t slow down, and with kids and adults nowadays wearing headphones and talking on the phone, I am surprised nobody has been hit or killed.

“They are probably on some time limit to get all the streets done, so slowing down and being careful is not one of their concerns.

“If someone is coming around a corner and not paying attention, and the mini-plow is coming down the street at top speed, (it’s) a deadly accident waiting to happen.”

We get complaints about sidewalk plows every winter, but usually because they tear up the turf next to the sidewalk. This is a first.

Stand warned.