Indiana, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is pleased to announce the District 10 regional 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. This year’s theme was “Use your reason when it’s freezin' ".
Indiana Area High School of Indiana County won the “Fan Favorite” award, which was determined by online voting through penndot.pa.gov/PaintThePlow. Keystone High School of Clarion County was the honorable mention. Students from Redbank Valley, Union, Keystone, Indiana, Penns Manor Area, River Valley, United, Marion Center Area, and Brookville Area school districts along with Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School and Jeff Tech participated.
Members of the public were invited to vote for their favorite plow from 11 area high schools that entered this year’s regional contest. Votes were accepted from December 9, through December 15, 2024. Indiana Area High School received 497 votes to win the 2024 “Fan Favorite” honor.
During the winter weather season, the painted blades are used to maintain state-owned roadways.
Statewide, 76 total schools participated in Paint the Plow, and 23,140 votes were cast. Photos of all the plows can be viewed on the PennDOT’s Paint the Plow website:
Additionally, PennDOT 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 a smaller vehicle. Never try to pass or get between several trucks plowing side by side in a “plow train,” and keep your headlights 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.