Winter service vehicle

A winter service vehicle clearing roads near Toronto, Ontario

A winter service vehicle (WSV), or snow removal vehicle, is a vehicle specially designed or adapted to clear thoroughfares of ice and snow.[1][2][3] Winter service vehicles are usually based on a dump truck chassis, with adaptations allowing them to carry specially designed snow removal equipment. Many authorities also use smaller vehicles on sidewalks, footpaths, and cycleways. Road maintenance agencies and contractors in temperate or polar areas often own several winter service vehicles, using them to keep the roads clear of snow and ice and safe for driving during winter.[4][5] Airports use winter service vehicles to keep both aircraft surfaces, and runways and taxiways free of snow and ice, which, besides endangering aircraft takeoff and landing, can interfere with the aerodynamics of the craft.[6][7]

The earliest winter service vehicles were snow rollers, designed to maintain a smooth, even road surface for sleds,[8] although horse-drawn snowplows and gritting vehicles are recorded in use as early as 1862.[9] The increase in motor car traffic and aviation in the early 20th century led to the development and popularisation of large motorised winter service vehicles.

  1. ^ "How do snowplough drivers get to work?". BBC News Magazine Monitor. 8 February 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
  2. ^ "Vehicles used for snow removal" (PDF). Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  3. ^ "Winter Driving". Highways Agency. Archived from the original on 26 January 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
  4. ^ United States National Research Council (1999). Report on the 1998 scanning review of European winter service technology (PDF). Transportation Research Board.
  5. ^ United States National Research Council (9 February 1995). Winter Maintenance Technology and Practices – Learning from Abroad (PDF). Transportation Research Board.
  6. ^ "Once around the world: Dresden Airport's Winter Service covered about 40,000 km". Dresden Airport. 19 April 2006. Archived from the original on 24 September 2006. Retrieved 9 February 2007.
  7. ^ "Tips on Winter Flying". FAA. Archived from the original on 6 August 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  8. ^ "Moving The Snow". Weather Almanac for December 1999. Retrieved 17 April 2007.
  9. ^ Cheshire, Laura. "Have Snow Shovel, Will Travel". National Snow and Ice Data Center. Archived from the original on 11 September 2006. Retrieved 17 April 2007.