New lights designed for better road safety and winter visibility
The colour blue will have a new function starting Monday — to alert drivers to snowplows on the roads over the winter.
Don McMorris, minister responsible for SGI, announced today that the province’s snowplows are getting an upgrade to their flashing lights to make them more visible.
Each of the 520 plows are getting fitted with a blue light, to go along with the existing amber light.
It costs about $1,500 per vehicle, but McMorris said the money is worth it to distinguish snowplows from other vehicles that use just amber lights.
Snowplows are unique on the road as they move slower, at about 60 km/h, and have poor visibility.
“Motorists need to be aware of that. That’s why we’re making this move,” McMorris said.
The idea came from the Transportation Association of Canada, which published guidelines for snowplow safety.
A number of other provinces, including Ontario and Manitoba, are also making the move to blue.
Source: cbc.ca
