Synthesis of Best Practices for Eliminating Fogging and Icing on Winter Maintenance Vehicles

Windows and mirrors on snowplow trucks often become covered with snow, ice, fog and frost during winter storms, obscuring the operators' field of vision and raising safety concerns. The Clear Roads winter maintenance pooled fund research program sought to address these problems through this research project. The objective was to compile the most effective designs, technologies, materials and practices for keeping snowplow glass and mirror surfaces clean of winter precipitation inside and out. To gather information for this synthesis, the researchers completed a literature search of existing research, phone interviews with winter maintenance professionals, and two Web-based surveys. More than 200 winter maintenance professionals from 30 states and five foreign countries responded to the surveys. The study identified a number of strategies that agencies across the country have used to address icing and fogging problems and recommended opportunities for additional research and product testing by state agencies. Successful strategies highlighted in the report include heated mirrors (for addressing icing on mirrors); the improved heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems on newer trucks (for addressing interior fogging and exterior icing); winter-grade wipers (for addressing buildup on wipers); and plow deflectors and plow flaps (for addressing blow-over that leads to windshield icing).

• Record URL:
  http://clearroads.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/05-01-Anti-fogging-Final-Report.pdf
• 
• Summary URL:
  http://clearroads.org/project/synthesis-of-best-practices-for-eliminating-fogging-and-icing-on-winter-maintenance-vehicles/
• Corporate Authors:

  CTC & Associates LLC

  4805 Goldfinch Drive
  Madison, WI  United States  53714

  Wisconsin Department of Transportation

  4802 Sheboygan Avenue
  Madison, WI  United States  53707

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Thomas, Andrea
  • Linsenmayer, Kim
  • Casey, Patrick
• Publication Date: 2006-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: 118p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Best practices; Deicing; Fog; Frost; Heating, cooling and ventilation equipment; Highway safety; Icing; Rearview mirrors; Snow; Snowplows; Visibility; Windows (Vehicles); Windshield wipers; Windshields; Winter maintenance
• Uncontrolled Terms: Heated mirrors; Maintenance vehicles; Plow flaps; Winter windshield wipers
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Vehicles and Equipment; I62: Winter Maintenance;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01039078
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: CR2005-01
• Contract Numbers: 0092-06-22
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 3 2007 8:48AM