The
Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) is equipping six winter-maintenance
vehicles with green lights to increase visibility/safety and alert motorists to
slow down when approaching a snowplow.
Recently, the Michigan Legislature
enacted Public
Act 161 of 2016 that legalizes the use of green flashing lights on vehicles
used to address snow and ice conditions. The use of green flashing or
oscillating lights enhances the current use of required amber lights on winter-maintenance
vehicles.
“The human eye is very sensitive to
yellow/amber and green lights which is the reason many road agencies are using
these colors on winter-maintenance vehicles,” said RCOC Managing Director
Dennis Kolar. “The addition of green lights will hopefully enhance safety,
improve the visibility of RCOC trucks and prevent crashes.”
RCOC will closely monitor the green
lights and look at their effectiveness elsewhere as they are used in other
counties throughout the state. If the green lights are successful at improving
safety, RCOC will equip additional winter-maintenance vehicles with them as
well.
RCOC also reminds motorists to never
pass a snowplow truck on the road shoulder. Many of the RCOC snowplows are
equipped with wing plows (plows which extend from the right side of the truck),
and they are frequently used to clear shoulders while the front and underbelly
plows clear the traveled lane.
