How does a new snowplow driver train for the job?
B.C. highways are known for their difficult terrain, with steep mountain slopes, sharp corners and winter ice and snow - variables that can make driving dangerous.
So how do you safely prepare to operate a plow truck that’s 10 feet high, 13 feet wide and weighs 58,000 pounds when loaded with sand?
The B.C. Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association RoadShow coming to Prince George will have those answers.
In a joint venture funded by the transportation ministry, the provincial organization is bringing a 34-foot trailer loaded with video-screen virtual simulators used to train operators of snowplows, bulldozers, loaders and excavators.
The simulators have all the controls an operator would use in an actual truck or piece of heavy equipment, allowing new operators to learn without risk.
“It’s not the old days with heavy equipment where it used to be very hard to run,” said Kelly Scott, CEO of the B.C. Road Builders & Heavy Construction Association. “Kids today are very good with their fingers because they’re always on their video games and the equipment is the same right now.
“This exposes a generation to running equipment in an industry that long-term will provide them a good sustainable career without the need to move to Vancouver. You can be in Smithers, Fort St. James and anywhere in the province, all the highways are handled by the road builders. The intent of the RoadShow is to get out and expose people to what is available and what a career in the heavy equipment highway maintenance industries may look like.”
The RoadShow will be at three downtown venues over the next three days, and organizers of the event are inviting the public to come down and give the simulators a try.
“To be able to simulate what it’s like it gives you some skills,” said Scott. “Nothing ever beats firsthand knowledge but to have background knowledge what this does it’s very helpful for everybody.
On Thursday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. the trailer will be parked at the Prince George Native Friendship Centre at 1600 Third Avenue.
Friday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. the RoadShow will be at Prince George Nechako Employment Training Association at 198 Kingston St.
Then on Saturday, visitors drawn to Downtown Summerfest at Veterans Plaza in front of city hall will get a chance to try out the RoadShow simulators from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
The RoadShow trailer cost about $1 million to set up. The tour began this spring and will continue through the spring of 2026, visiting virtually every part of the province attending job fairs, trade fairs, farmers markets and visiting Indigenous community centres.
Scott once the tour is complete, highway maintenance operators such as Yellowhead Road and Bridge who are members of the Road Builders organization will be able to bring in the simulator trailer to train new staff.
“An excavator will run you $500,000 and you’re not going to put just anybody in it,” said Scott. “This allows us to do that in a classroom setting in our trailer. The instructors are there and it’s getting great feedback.”
