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2-Way Radios Make Holiday Parade Driving Easier and Safer

Did you ever wonder how the float drivers in a large holiday parade make some of those turns without running over somebody or something? Many parade organizers take advantage of wireless technology to help ensure safety at their events. In addition to driver training courses, 2-way radios are often purchased or rented to coordinate communications on the ground.

Some parade floats are gasoline powered, some are animal powered, and some even use foot power (pedaling). Whatever the source of power, the driver’s vision at street level can sometimes be limited. That’s where spotters and 2-way radios can make a difference.

For instance, take the many Thanksgiving Day parades around the nation. These extravaganzas are a prime example of how 2-way radios can coordinate communications in street parades. Most parades of any significant size require a float captain to coordinate the float drivers. Unlike the Three Bears, Cat in the Hat, and Humpty Dumpty—typically enacted by volunteers who get to take center stage—the float drivers operate in relative obscurity. But they’re often armed with 2-way radios.

One float captain said, “In order to meet the demand for drivers, we created a driving school, consisting of three one-day sessions conducted on weekends, to point out the challenges of float driving and how to master the use of the 2-way radios which would eventually be the float drivers’ best friend.”

Another captain pointed out that this application for 2-way radios illustrated the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety benefits these devices offer to large parades. “There’s nothing really complicated about basic float driving. Drivers are trained to be dependent on spotters, who walk the street beside the floats and provide direction manually via hand signals and verbally via their 2-way radios. Really big floats can have several spotters on the extremities. But we still need the radios to help make sure our parades are as safe as possible for the crew and the spectators.”

In addition to the 2-way radios being employed, some floats even add a wireless video camera in place of the peephole that feeds images to a monitor facing the driver. Of course, a little multitasking is involved here to enable the driver to follow the monitor, listen to the radio, and steer.

Spotters with their 2-way radios have another issue to deal with besides the float drivers. They have to also keep a keen eye on not only the parade watchers but all the characters wearing costumes who frolic up and down the streets next to the floats and who also often have limited vision. Running over someone costumed as a turkey or clipping a pedestrian on a turn needs to be avoided at all cost.

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