Indiana Department of Transportation workers spent a sunny, springlike day telling motorists to be careful of the big, yellow snow plows that soon will be working their way through area highways and streets when snow, ice and bitter winds arrive.

The message from INDOT Public Information Officer Doug Moats and the three plow drivers? Give the trucks plenty of room when they're working.

The department greeted visitors to the Portage Bass Pro Shops with a 12-foot, 15-ton truck with a 15-foot-long snow plow to end its Winter Preparedness Week, reminding motorists to “Don't Crowd the Plow.”

“We deal with a lot of impatient drivers, especially here in Northwest Indiana, and most of our highways and interstates are highly congested well traveled roads,” Moats said. “A lot of people don't want to be held up by our snow plows, even though those plows are doing everything they can to make the thoroughfares safer for them.”

Store guests were invited to climb into the yellow cab, with its side-view mirrors and part of its windows covered with fake snow, while a bright, red Toyota Prius, tiny in comparison to its neighbor, was parked extremely close.

The LaPorte District of INDOT, which includes Lake and Porter counties, covers 5,000 miles of highways and interstates. When snow is accumulating, the district dispatches more than 175 snow plows, according to information provided by the department.

The Portage scenario was meant to make a point, but drivers said motorists too often do not understand how speeding around the trucks, which drive about 35 mph when plowing, or cutting them off creates danger.

“If (motorists are) too close to us they can get caught in an area where they're going to be too confused, and it can create an accident situation,” said Amy Stanley, an INDOT customer service manager who spent 16 years driving a plow. “If they stay far away enough from us, we're going to have plenty of room to do our maneuvers and stay as safe as possible.”

Moats and the plow drivers advised motorists to never pass a plow on the right side, where most plows are tilted, stay four or five car-lengths behind the plows and be patient.

Pam Tompach, of Valparaiso, who climbed behind the wheel and gave the air horn several pulls, said she always tries to give the snow plows plenty of room, but not everybody thinks the same.

“People are in a hurry, and they don't realize the capability of this truck,” Tompach said. “It's like a semi. (Plow drivers) can't stop it. They can't see. I had the fake snow on the windows and I couldn't see.”

INDOT is taking its message on the road, setting up similar scenarios around the state, Moats said. The department also uses social media to get the word out on weather and driving conditions.

Michael Gonzalez is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.