Snowplow
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A snowplow (or snow plow, US English; in UK English, snowplough or snow plough) is a vehicle, or a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, for removing snow and sometimes ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes. In many cases, pickup trucks are outfitted with plows from brands such as Western, Meyer and Fisher, to fulfill this purpose, and some regions that do not frequently see snow may use graders and other equipment to fulfill this task. However, it is common for areas that regularly receive large amounts of snow every year to use specially-designed dump trucks whose primary purpose is to move snow and otherwise improve roadway conditions in cold weather. Modern plows may include a great deal of technology to make the job—and staying on the road—easier, such as Global Positioning System receivers, heads-up displays, and infrared cameras.
In most cases, these vehicles have plows that are mounted on hydraulically-actuated arms, allowing them to be raised, lowered, and angled to better move snow. The dump truck portion of purpose-designed plows allows them to carry large amounts of salt, sand, and other chemicals (colloquially known as "grit"; some vehicles apply grit, but do not plow) that can be dispensed via a rear-mounted impeller to de-ice roadways. Additionally, front-end loaders can be used to remove snow,they can use a snowplow attachment which mounts on the loader's arm in place of its bucket. Or they can use their bucket or an attachment called a snowbasket to load snow into the rear compartment of a snowplow,or even a regular dumptruck which then hauls it away.
When snowfalls accumulate above a certain height, snowplow operators may be seen clearing primarily designated "snow routes", often for the exclusive use of emergency vehicles such as fire trucks.
History
In 1923, the brothers Hans and Even Øveraasen constructed the world's first snowplow for use on automobiles. This proved to be the start of a tradition in snowclearing equipment for roads, railways and airports, as well as the foundation of the company Øveraasen Snow Removal Systems.
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