LED Snowplow Lights – Evaluation Report

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) snowplow fleet currently uses halogen lights mounted on the push frame for night time snowplowing operations. Due to the excessive vibration, frequent bulb replacement is necessary. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are less susceptible to vibrations and could reduce long term maintenance cost. Plow drivers have suggested that LED lighting improves their visibility while operating as well as reducing the fatigue experienced during extended hours of plowing. Mechanical Services does not have a firm policy on the use of LED headlamps and needs to determine if the fleet would experience benefits by using LED bulbs. This project compared the use of halogen bulbs to heated LED bulbs. The results indicated that converting the NHDOT snowplow fleet from halogen bulbs to LED bulbs to reduces maintenance requirements, increases service life, and improves operator visibility for safer snowplow operations.

• Record URL:
  • https://mm.nh.gov/files/uploads/dot/remote-docs/nhdot-research-26962x-2020-report.pdf
• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/56798
• Corporate Authors:

  New Hampshire Department of Transportation

  Bureau of Highway Maintenance
  Concord, NH  United States 

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Fogg, Daniel J
  • Evans, Lane W
  • Ehmann, Jay D
• Publication Date: 2020-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 19p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Evaluation and assessment; Headlamps; Light emitting diodes; Service life; Snowplows; Visibility; Winter maintenance
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01759362
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-NH-RD-26962X
• Contract Numbers: 26962X, A004(843)
• Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Nov 30 2020 5:27PM