PennDOT Program Will Allow Drivers To Track Snow Plows Online
NORRISTOWN, Pa (CBS) -- PennDOT officials are in the middle of launching a pilot program to install a GPS device inside snow plow and salt trucks. According to spokesman Gene Blaum, 205 trucks in the area will have the technology that will allow Pennsylvanians to track online the location of the trucks.
"Should a problem develop on a particular highway such as I-95 and at a certain location, they'll be able to see immediately what trucks are closest," Blaum told Eyewitness News.
Blaum told Eyewitness News the technology is only available to trucks on interstate highways and expressways. Side roads and neighborhood roads are not part of the experiment, though that's what many drivers told Eyewitness News they want to see.
"I could say to my boss the snow plow is not going to be here for another two hours but she's going to say get here when you're supposed to get here," Celeste Walton told Eyewitness News.
Blaum said it's possible in the future the tracking will be available on neighborhood roads, but for now the department is focused on getting those 205 trucks ready to track. He says the technology is expected to save the department $1.4 million in operating costs over the next 4-6 years.
By the end of the year, drivers can go to www.511pa.com and see live maps to track the PennDOT trucks.