Usage
A snowplow works by using a blade to push snow to the side or straight ahead, clearing it from a surface. Modern plows may include a great deal of technology to make the job—and staying on the road—easier, such as Global Positioning System receivers, head-up displays and infrared cameras.
Large custom snowplows are mainly used at major airports in North America. These plows have oversized blades and additional equipment like a rotating sweeper broom (sometimes called jetblade) and blowers at the rear of the plow.
For sidewalks and narrow laneways small tractor plows (tracked or wheeled) are used in Canada and the United States.
When snowfalls accumulate above a certain height, snowplow operators may be seen clearing primarily designated "snow routes", often for the exclusive use of emergency vehicles such as fire trucks.
Underbody scrapers are sometimes mounted on vehicles in residential and urban settings, operating on principles similar to a road grader, but allowing greater weights and speed along with the carriage of a road treatment applicator.
Newer technology has allowed the use of articulated plow systems which can clear multiple divided highway lanes simultaneously; jurisdictions adopting this technology include the provinces of British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec in Canada, along with 12 states (Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin) in the US.
Read more about this topic: Snowplow
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