"Green means slow": Norfolk hopes new green lights on snowplows will improve safety
NORFOLK - When you see a green light, you might think "go". But if you see one on a snowplow in the town of Norfolk, "green means slow," says Public Works Director Blair Crane. He's launching an experiment with new flashing green lights on some of Norfolk's plows, preparing for some wild weather starting Thursday night, and off-and-on through the coming week.
It's a possible solution to problems crews have had with traditional lights blending in during past storms.
"The color green is the easiest to be picked up by the human eye," said Crane. "So, we're hoping that this color change will not only allow you to take notice of it, but for pedestrians and drivers alike to be able to see it from a further distance in all types of weather," he said.
If the pilot project shows the lights make a difference, Crane plans to push for them to be used statewide.
"We're definitely up against some bad weather and a very busy time on our roadways," said AAA Northeast spokesperson Diana Gugliotta. The agency put out a warning to drivers. "We certainly see an uptick in crashes this time of year unfortunately. In a typical winter, we see about 2,000 fatalities attributed to just slick conditions," she said.
Cities and towns spent Thursday preparing equipment, and residents in need of supplies made trips to hardware stores. "It's great for business," said Millis Ace Hardware manager Shirley Souza. "It's great that we have everything in stock, and we have plenty of it, so we're not going to run out the first storm, don't have to worry about that," she said.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation put out a travel advisory Thursday telling drivers to prepare for heavy rain and snow west of Worcester. MassDOT has about 3,600 pieces of equipment between state plows and those belonging to vendors the state has hired to help.
