The final report includes numerous recommendations for agencies to help them select the right lighting package, mounting location and available technologies to improve the illumination for snow operators and travelling public. Highlights include: 1) LEDs are favored for use in new vehicles, retrofits, and replacements due to improved visibility.
However, it is important to have some mechanism to keep the lights clear of snow because LEDs do not produce enough heat to melt snow and ice off the light surface.
2) For warning lights, amber is the color most commonly used for warning lights. However, agencies are using and/or testing blue, white, and green colors. Operators prefer white colored warning lights because of perceived increased conspicuity during low visibility (e.g., fog, storm conditions, etc.) conditions. 3) It is important to have both flashing lights and steady burning (constant burn) lights that are spaced apart for rear warning lights. Flashing lights help to identify the presence of a plow and steady burn lights aid in the estimation of the relative speed of plow. 4) Retro-reflective tape markings are very effective and provide an additional level of warning for approaching vehicles. However, keeping retro-reflective markings clear of snow and visible at all times is an issue during snow plowing operations. 5) The issue of increased brightness introduced
by warning lights can be resolved by using day-versus-night settings for lights on snowplow vehicles, but this feature is not commonly available.