Oneida County Plows To Have Feature Green Lights, Not Yellow
No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you.
A recently passed New York State law will mean you may see snow plow trucks with flashing green lights, or alternating green and yellow flashing lights, instead of the typical yellow lights ones we've come to expect.
Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente says the county's fleet of plows will be equipped with the new green lights in an effort to increase visibility and safety during the winter.
“Green lights have been used with positive results in other states since 2013,” Picente said. “Studies have shown that people see more shades of green than any other color, so utilizing them on our county plow trucks will make them more visible to more people than the customary yellow lights. I am confident that this pilot program will lead to safer roads for motorists, and our plow drivers, who work so hard to keep our winter roads clear.”
The change in Oneida County isn't necessarily permanent, as it's being done as part of a pilot program in Oneida County.
"Some of the DPW’s 25 plow trucks have already been outfitted with the flashing green lights and have been out on snow removal duty. The rest of the county fleet should have them installed by the end of December", county officials said in announcing the change.
Earlier this year, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the law, allowing for the change to green lights on vehicles being used for snow removal, however, the change is only approved for municipal plow trucks, not privately owned vehicles.
As of this posting, it is unclear if other local DPW crews from area cities, towns and villages will change over to green lights, or keep the traditional yellow ones.
