If you’ve been unfortunate enough to be out on the road in our part of New England during a storm this winter, you may have noticed that driving while it’s snowing is considerably easier in Maine or New Hampshire than it is in Massachusetts. In recent storms in all three states, the plows on Interstate 95 and Interstate 93 were echelon plowing, arrayed in close (diagonal) proximity across multiple lanes, the better to clear a wider swath of roadway, and without snow windrows. But there was this important difference: In both Maine and New Hampshire, the plow battery kept the left-most lane empty, so that motorists could navigate around the snow-removal equipment.

In Maine and New Hampshire, where it was actually snowing more heavily than in Massachusetts when a Globe editorialist drove through, drivers could get by the column of plows and continue at a reasonable speed suited to the conditions. Not in Massachusetts, however. Here, in the same storms, MassDOT ran its plow formation with snow-removal equipment in each and every lane. With no way to pass the plows, traffic clotted behind them, where it slowed to a crawl. .

Told about the recent driving experiences in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, Thomas Tinlin, MassDOT’s highway administrator, said road safety, not speed of travel, was his department's primary concern. “It is not our mission to get drivers where they need to be quickly,’’ he said. “Our mission is to get them where they need to be safely.’’

Tinlin added that this state employs the same plowing techniques as 32 other states, including Maine and New Hampshire. Highway maintenance officials from Maine and New Hampshire confirm that they, too, do across-all-lanes, or echelon, plowing in heavy snow.

Yet it’s apparent that Massachusetts starts echelon plowing in less severe weather than do our neighbors to the north. Deciding which plowing techniques to use, and when, is both art and science, say the experts from those states. Still, several noted that when possible, they do try to keep a travel lane open. However, obviously reluctant to throw fellow members of the snow-removal brotherhood under the plow — um, bus — they stressed that Massachusetts deals with greater traffic volumes than do their states.

Yes, indeed. Still, those states have just as much, if not more, experience dealing with winter weather. Without in any way slighting MassDOT’s good intentions, it’s worth considering whether this state moves too quickly into across-all-lanes plowing formation. The experience in other New England states suggests that may be the case.