# Do i need a strobe light while plowing



## raptorman03 (Mar 1, 2004)

Do i need a strobe light while plowing


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## Metro Lawn (Nov 20, 2003)

I don't think you have to have a strobe light, but some local laws require some type of amber light. It can be flashing or revolving. Here, they are only required if you enter a roadway. example backing out into a road to push a driveway ect. Check with your local police, they should know.


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## Crumm (Nov 5, 2003)

Up here we use flashing or rotating beacons. I think it is the law here but even if it is not it is still a good idea. Better to be seen than run over. As far as the strobes I am not sure how well I like them. I see some plows and pilot cars with really bright flashing lights and they are so blinding that I feel they may get run over by blinded drivers. That is just my .02c.


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## raptorman03 (Mar 1, 2004)

yea thats what i ment a flashing light


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## wfd44 (Jan 31, 2004)

I would not consider plowing my own driveway without a rotor or strobe light of some kind for warning when backing out into the road. Even with my mini bar I almost got whacked a couple times last winter right behind my own house. 

The law in your state may also have some fairly specific "minimum requirements" (mine does) for warning devices on a vehicle plowing snow in a public road.

Warning lights are like American Express Travelers Checks - don't leave home without them...


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## edosher (Jan 26, 2004)

*strobes..*

And like travelers checks, the more the better! I run 6 strobes and 6 flashing lights on my light bar-usually just for driving on the road on the way home from work in the afternoon before I do my night route. I think that I could harness the sun's power somehow and people would still drive like a moron! If people get that scared in 1-2" of snow at 5pm at 5-15 mph, then why are you on the road in the first place?


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## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

Less is more on the damn strobes hate to say it, do people really only drive like morons when you are around with your plow attached. One is enough, its our responsibility to look out for them not the other way around. Only use it when you are plowing, driving down the road is for emergency vehicles.


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## snowfighterG (Feb 18, 2003)

*strobe or not to strobe*

:salute: Here we used amber mini bars and a single strobe in the rear tail light assembly any more that I think would be more distracting to the plow driver than the traffic, besides if your truck is lit up like the forth of July an idiot is still...well an idiot..

Snowfighter "G"

Spending Time Dreaming of Snow!


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## fernalddude (Feb 15, 2004)

OK guys the strobes are cool but the lite bounce of the snow give you nite blindness in my opion. I use rotating lights but they look like strobes whelen guardian are my new ones got a ton of old rotating kind but got to admit newer is better if you can afford them but you got to have some kind of warning lite to let the other driver know you are working ......


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## raptorman03 (Mar 1, 2004)

ok then what should i get then?


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## chevyshovelin (Oct 17, 2004)

heres why ya need a strobe,,if someone wacks your ass end while backing out of a drive,,the officer is going to ask if your safety/warning lights were on,,if yes ,,the driver would more likely be charged with inattentive driving or both so it helps to have a safety light,,kinda like if you switch lane without a turn signal and hit a car,,thats an unsafe lane change,big fine$


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

I had a Deputy stop me one night and he warned me that I will have the beacon on anytime I am plowing public places. No ticket just a friendly warning. He also stated that at least one flashing light has to be seen 360 degrees around the truck or it's not legal. Just remember morons are everywhere when it snows!  
Just look at the money tow trucks make when it snows hard. payup


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## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

chevyshovelin said:


> heres why ya need a strobe,,if someone wacks your ass end while backing out of a drive,,the officer is going to ask if your safety/warning lights were on,,if yes ,,the driver would more likely be charged with inattentive driving or both


Of corse you need a strobe some just go nuts with them and think that they need to drive down the public roadways when the roads are clear and its sunny after a storm, with all their strobes going  just because they have their plow on.

If someone "whacks your ass end" while YOU are in motion backing out of a driveway it is ALWAYS *YOUR* fault. It is your responsibility to check for traffic even remotely close when backing out onto a busy road. If you back out unsafely, and the oncoming driver has no choice but to hit you it can be nothing but your fault. "The car was going too fast for conditions" is not a valid excuse either, its the same as pulling out on to main street, if you get hit while leaving private property it is your fault. It does not matter if you are lit up like a christmas tree, traffic on the road always has the right of way, no matter what. Just because we have a plow hanging off our trucks does not entitle us to back into people.


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## johntwist (Feb 10, 2004)

I have to agree with you Chris.

I may not be an experienced plow operator, but I've been driving for over 20 years and the right-of-way is definitely the key here. You can have all the lights in the world and if you enter a main road from a side road or driveway without a clear path and somebody hits you, you're the one who will get the ticket, not to mention the surcharge. My wife's cousin and one of my oldest friends are on the State Police and they agree.

The only place it gets complicated is if you are already on the main road, say pushing a berm out of the way to get into a driveway, and then someone comes along and hits you. That's when the amber light(s) will be an issue. If you don't have one, or if it was not operating at the time of the accident, you may get the bad news. :crying:


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## edosher (Jan 26, 2004)

*CJA, a misunderstanding*

Maybe I was coming off the wrong way in my last post, and maybe you can understand living in Randolph. I work in the day as a cabinetmaker and commute the 14 miles home in the afternoon. When it snows, I put the plow on the truck the night before, drive to work at 5 am to avoid the morning rush on RT 3/93/128/95. 
When on the highway, I travel in the right lane at 40 mph with my rear flashers (not strobes ) on to warn others as I am a slow moving vehicle. ( as all vehicles on a major highway traveling under 45 mph). I am always yielding to others entering the roadway and give more than enough distance between myself and other vehicles. And as always, the blade is chained in the travel mode and angled to the right.
As you can attest to living and driving in Mass, the afternoon commute in that area is hell. It takes an hour in the summer, now include 2" of snow on the roadways, impatient and unexperienced drivers. I will not even attempt to travel the highways on the way home. How many accidents do you see on a snowy day? Others on the roads do not realize either basic high school physics ( Kinetic energy ) or that the new suv 4x4 does not mean 4 wheel stop. 
I do not think that I am an emergency vehicle, even though I was a EMT/P and a Combat Medic in the Army. In 15 years of driving, I have never been in an accident that has been my fault or have been in any type of accident while plowing. I do not rationalize the thoughts of "the guy with the bigger tires, more lights, etc has the right of way". I run my strobe lights when I am plowing, and usually only when it necessary like in a residential area, major roadway (like North St in Randolph), or if I am helping a disabled vehicle. I would prefer to have another motorist think " look at that idiot with all of the lights" than for him to explain "I didn't see you".


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## johntwist (Feb 10, 2004)

edosher:

As a tradesman myself, I'm on one highway or another all the time going back and forth to work and I definitely understand where you're coming from. I'll go farther than that and say you're a brave man :salute: to drive 40mph on 128 at any time of the day! But, seriously, at 5am, which is when I'm usually on my way to the job site, it's not too bad yet. The weather is always the wild card.

In fact, if I were you I _would_ put my strobes on plus the flashers while it was still dark, or if the weather was bad in any way. You have to because of the way some people are forced to use the slow lane to pass because there is always some idiot in the left lane doing 65 and talking on a cell phone with nobody in front of him for a mile :realmad: . When I'm forced to do 40 on a road where everyone else is doing 75, I want to be seen by as many people as possible. Things can happen so fast out there, and my wife and kids need me to come home at the end of the day. 

I do try and avoid going on the highway with the plow on whenever possible which weighed heavy on my decision to buy a new set up which would go on and off the truck quickly and with no hassles. But, I'll even go so far as to (please don't flame me guys) leave the truck home and take my wife's minivan to work, just to avoid that situation. But, I usually commute between 40 and 60 miles depending on where the job is and that would bite with the plow on.

Anyway, everyone's input was great. Best wishes to you all for a safe and hopefully profitable season!


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## Dwan (Mar 24, 2004)

Reply to the origional question;

comman sence says *yes*


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## Crumm (Nov 5, 2003)

edosher said:


> I run 6 strobes and 6 flashing lights on my light bar


I still think more than one or two beacons is overkill. When you have several strobes and flashing lights all people can see is LIGHTS. I want people to see me but I also want them to see the road and other obstacles. Who hasn't come up onto a traffic accident at night where there are a bunch of emergency vehicles with all there lights and strobes flashing right in your face. It is like trying to drive into the sun. I often wonder if those emergency people have any idea how hard it is to see them walking around when all you can see is spots from the flashing lights.


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## szippijr (Oct 10, 2004)

*Check First*

All states require a permit for strobes or rotators regardless of color. No more than two. Check your state law.


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## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

edosher said:


> Maybe I was coming off the wrong way in my last post, and maybe you can understand living in Randolph. I work in the day as a cabinetmaker and commute the 14 miles home in the afternoon. When it snows, I put the plow on the truck the night before, drive to work at 5 am to avoid the morning rush on RT 3/93/128/95.
> When on the highway, I travel in the right lane at 40 mph with my rear flashers (not strobes ) on to warn others as I am a slow moving vehicle. ( as all vehicles on a major highway traveling under 45 mph). I am always yielding to others entering the roadway and give more than enough distance between myself and other vehicles. And as always, the blade is chained in the travel mode and angled to the right.
> As you can attest to living and driving in Mass, the afternoon commute in that area is hell. It takes an hour in the summer, now include 2" of snow on the roadways, impatient and unexperienced drivers. I will not even attempt to travel the highways on the way home. How many accidents do you see on a snowy day? Others on the roads do not realize either basic high school physics ( Kinetic energy ) or that the new suv 4x4 does not mean 4 wheel stop.
> I do not think that I am an emergency vehicle, even though I was a EMT/P and a Combat Medic in the Army. In 15 years of driving, I have never been in an accident that has been my fault or have been in any type of accident while plowing. I do not rationalize the thoughts of "the guy with the bigger tires, more lights, etc has the right of way". I run my strobe lights when I am plowing, and usually only when it necessary like in a residential area, major roadway (like North St in Randolph), or if I am helping a disabled vehicle. I would prefer to have another motorist think " look at that idiot with all of the lights" than for him to explain "I didn't see you".


Of course, no problem at all  

I see what you mean, i guess its a judgement issue more then anything else on when/ when not to run the strobes. I dont mean to refer specifically to you, iam just talking about the guys that constanly have them on, for sometimes no reason, it can be distracting.

Yes, the commute is a nightmere, especially in snow on 128. It has taken me over an hour to get from school (in braintree) to my house via 128 during snow storms. Thats why I, like you, use backroads in snow.


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## edosher (Jan 26, 2004)

*reply to crumm*

Do you live in a heavily populated area of the nation with some of the worst insurance rates and driving records?
My wife and I with perfect driving records (step 9) pay over $3500 a year for my truck and plow (commercial) and HER PICK UP...It's ok guys, hers is the ext cab, but mine has the plow....
Anything that I can do to be visable to others is the key here in Mass.
Mental note on Mass Drivers: I live less than one mile from my police station, on a side road with an elementary school, and daily watch other drivers PASS A SCHOOL BUS WITH RED LIGHTS ON that wouldn't begin to slow down untill I flashed all of my lights at her... Goes to prove that some people just don't pay enought attention........


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## Dave Sponaugle (Sep 19, 2004)

When I am on the highway during the storm or the roads are bad and my plow is on the truck, my two strobes on the headache rack are on. Reason, the truck is five feet longer than people think it is. I am warning them that something is not normal about my truck.

The last time I was on the road with the plow on and I did not have the strobes on a guy in a S-10 pulled out in front of me. He had his baby in the passenger seat. The only reason that baby is alive today is I had the blade angled full left. If it would have been in the straight or right position it would have gone through the door or window of his truck. Funny that now all I remember is that kid in the car seat strapped to the truck frame and I did not have room to stop or swerve.

When I am plowing every light on my truck is on, day or night, private or public property.


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## Crumm (Nov 5, 2003)

edosher said:


> Do you live in a heavily populated area of the nation with some of the worst insurance rates and driving records?


No I don't. I live in a mid-sized town with high insurance rates. I don't think that insurance rates are reasonable anywhere.



edosher said:


> I live less than one mile from my police station, on a side road with an elementary school, and daily watch other drivers PASS A SCHOOL BUS WITH RED LIGHTS ON ..


Do you think it is going to matter if you have 10 strobes or one beacon to this driver? Anyone that will pass a school bus when the red lights are flashing isn't even going to give a plow truck with flashing lights a second look. I am not saying you don't need warning lights. I am saying you don't need so many that it is blinding to other drivers. You just need enough so that you can be easily spotted. Maybe I am all alone in thinking this way but I hate bright lights in my face when I am trying too see where to safely drive. I feel the same way about fog lights. Vehicles should have two low beam headlights on when meeting traffic and NO more. All these new cars with factory fog lights are nothing but irritating when you meet them. Most of the ones I have saw don't even help the guy that has them they just blind the oncoming traffic. I like the guy I am meeting or the guy that is driving by me when I am plowing to be able to see where he is going. If he is seeing spots he has a good chance of trading sheet metal with me. Just my .02c since I am 3 or 4 thousand miles away from you I doubt that your lights will ever bother me. Up here most guys run a beacon or maybe two and they get by just fine.


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