When winter weather strikes, highway snowplow operators have a serious job to do: They’re tasked with clearing snow and ice so motorists — including the professional truck drivers who keep freight moving — can travel as safely as possible.
But who says the vehicles doing that important work can’t have a little personality?
Across the country, state departments of transportation (DOTs) have turned to students, schools and the general public for help coming up with creative names for their snowplows. The results range from clever wordplay and pop culture references to names that are downright hilarious.
Think Sled Zeppelin, Snowtorious B.I.G., Rhinestone Plowboy and The Big Leplowski.
And with another winter approaching, several states are gearing up for a new round of snowplow-naming fun.
Oklahoma opens public voting
In Oklahoma, the Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) are inviting the public to vote on names for 35 snowplows — 24 operated by ODOT and 11 by OTA.
Students in kindergarten through 12th grade submitted suggestions earlier this fall, and agency employees narrowed the entries to finalists.
Voting opened Oct. 12 and continues through Friday, Oct. 16, at OKtraffic.org (click the snowplow-naming GIF in the bottom-right corner and cast your vote!). Winners will be announced Nov. 2, and the names will be featured on the state’s online snowplow tracker during winter storms.
Behind the lighthearted competition is a sizable winter maintenance operation. According to ODOT, the state’s combined fleet of agency and contractor equipment includes 768 snowplows. During storms in January 2026, crews cleared nearly 640,000 miles of highways, interstates and turnpikes.
Students get creative in Idaho and Vermont
Idaho’s Transportation Department is accepting entries for its third annual Name a Snowplow contest through Oct. 31.
Students in grades 6-12, including homeschool students, can submit names through their classrooms. Department employees will select 12 winners, two from each of Idaho’s six regions, and the winning classes will receive visits from their newly named snowplows.
Previous winners include CtrlSaltDelete, Sleetwoodmac and Scoopy Doo.
Meanwhile, Vermont takes a slightly different approach.
The Vermont Agency of Transportation’s Name a Plow program isn’t technically a contest. Instead, eligible schools can each name a snowplow, with participation available on a first-come, first-served basis for up to 250 trucks.
The deadline for submissions is Oct. 30, and participating schools can look forward to visits from plow operators during Vermont Plow Day on Nov. 10.
Nebraska announces new winners
Nebraska’s Department of Transportation recently selected 16 winners in its sixth annual Name-a-Snowplow contest. The agency received 2,460 entries from 165 schools in 96 communities, selecting two winners from each of its eight districts. Among the winning names were Dolly Plowton, Plow Forrest Plow, Weird Plow Yanokovic and Snowbraska.
Throughout October, maintenance crews are visiting winning schools, giving students a chance to meet snowplow operators, get a close-up look at the equipment, and learn about winter road maintenance.
A blizzard of creative names
In Minnesota, this year’s winners included Oh, For Sleet’s Sake and Flurrious George. Connecticut’s fleet features names such as The Saltfather, Truck Norris and Grateful Sled.
South Dakota has rolled out Sleddy Roosevelt, Plowverine and Rhinestone Plowboy, while New Mexico’s winners include Chilly Changa, Betty Whiteout and Nope. School’s On. Alaska’s 2025-26 winner, The Whiteout Warrior, was assigned to Thompson Pass along the Richardson Highway.
The names may generate laughs, but the contests also offer transportation agencies an opportunity to introduce the public to the employees and equipment responsible for keeping highways passable through winter storms.
For professional truck drivers, the message behind the fun is worth remembering:
Snowplows need room to work. Maintaining a safe following distance, avoiding blind spots and exercising patience around snow removal operations can help everyone get where they’re going safely.
After all, whether it’s called Snowtorious B.I.G. or simply Truck No. 27, a snowplow has an important job to do.
Linda Garner-Bunch has been with The Trucker since 2020, picking up the reins as managing editor in 2022. Linda has nearly 40 years of experience in the publishing industry, covering topics from the trucking and automotive industry to employment, real estate, home decor, crafts, cooking, weddings, high school sports — you name it, she’s written about it. She is also an experienced photographer, designer and copy editor who has a heartfelt love for the trucking industry, from the driver’s seat to the C-suite.
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