Indiana Deploying New Tow Plows To Clear Roads Faster
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Lots of drivers in northwest Indiana might be doing double-takes this winter, when they pass the latest piece of snow-fighting equipment on the highway.
The new tow plow is essentially a large plow blade mounted on a trailer that looks like a small tanker. The $90,000 device is towed behind a regular plow truck, and swings out to the right so one plow driver can clear two lanes at the same time.
The Indiana Department of Transportation has a total of seven tow plows this winter.
They are the brainchild of Bob Lannert, a former transportation worker in Missouri, who had some advice for drivers when they see any snow plow on the road.
"I highly recommend that no one ever pass a snow plow on the right, because most all the snow is plowed to the right, and you're going to get plastered; either the front plow, or the underbody plow, or the tow plow," he said.
Other states have used tow plows to allow for less manpower and equipment to clear roads of snow.
