Shedding light and improving safety

An idea from District 4’s Dave Dana could improve safety for all ITD maintenance workers, particularly those standing next to traffic…in the dark.

Dana, the foreman of the Twin Falls Maintenance shed, said his safety night light consists of a pair of 2-inch x 4-inch lights contained in an aluminum light bar that can be attached to a receiver hitch on a truck and shed light far beyond its specific location.

“It will extend about 14 feet, and throw a swath of light out in about a 20-foot by 20-foot circle.”

Dana said he first had the idea about 10 years ago, but it went nowhere. About a year ago, he mentioned the idea to local company Roadwork Ahead, and they thought it had enough merit that they produced a half dozen of them. Although funding remains a challenge, Dana is optimistic that the idea will gain traction with ITD this time around.

“I just did a demonstration at the July Idaho Transportation Board meeting, and my Operations Manager said it needs to be funded for the safety improvement it would provide,” Dana explained. “I feel like it will move forward this time. Every other worker I’ve talked to loves the idea, and we have a pretty big advocate in management as far as safety goes.”

Dana said that when he has searched online, the costs generally start at $1,300 for the lights, but ITD could manufacture them for less than half that cost.

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Published 07-19-19