Pittsburgh, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is pleased to announce the Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence County winners of the Paint the Plow safety outreach contest.
Paint the Plow is a statewide outreach aimed at promoting winter driving safety and fostering appreciation for high school art programs and student creativity. Students are invited to paint a plow blade with an original design based on a provided theme.
A.W. Beattie Career Center of Allegheny County won the “Fan Favorite” award, which was determined by online voting through penndot.pa.gov/PaintThePlow. The plow conveys the students’ interpretation of this year’s theme “Use your reason when it’s freezin’.”
Members of the public were invited to vote for their favorite plow from nine area high schools that entered in this year’s regional contest. Votes were accepted from December 9, through December 15, 2024.
The winner of the “Judges’ Pick” award was Fox Chapel Area High School of Allegheny County. This award was determined through judging by PennDOT representatives and selected based on a specific criterion, including its incorporation of the designated theme.
During the winter weather season, the painted blades are used to maintain state-owned roadways.
Statewide, 76 schools participated in Paint the Plow and nearly 23,140 votes were cast. Photos of all the plows can be viewed on the PennDOT’s Paint the Plow website.
Additionally, is reminding motorists to give plow trucks on the road plenty of space, staying at least six car lengths behind. There may be blind spots where it is difficult for the plow operator to see the smaller vehicle. Never try to pass or get between several trucks plowing side by side in a "plow train,” and keep your lights on to help the operator better see your vehicle.
To help make decisions regarding winter travel, motorists are encouraged to “Know Before You Go” by checking conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. Users can also see plow truck statuses and travel alerts along a specific route using the “Check My Route” tool.
For more information on PennDOT's winter preparations and additional winter-driving resources for motorists, visit the department's winter website.
Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Allegheny, Beaver, Lawrence counties at www.penndot.pa.gov/District11.
Information about infrastructure in District 11, including completed work and significant projects, is available at www.penndot.pa.gov/D11Results. Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Yasmeen Manyisha, ymanyisha@pa.gov
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