So, recently one of our employees had a close call on her
way home from work. Driving home on Route 84 at night is scary enough. Our
employee was following behind a Jeep Cherokee a few days after the snow storm
in the beginning of January. Being that the snow had time to melt refreeze,
melt refreeze, etc. this was surely pure ice.
Knowing this they decided to slow down to put some more distance between
them. Finally the ice flew off the roof of the Jeep, braking heavily and
pulling off into the shoulder was not enough though, the ice had landed
directly on the front windshield of the Toyota Camry, luckily the shatter
resistant glass was able to absorb most of the blow keeping most of the front
windshield intact for the most part, but the force of the ice at those speeds
covered the interior and the driver with tiny pieces of glass.
In the picture above you can actually see where the ice had
struck the windshield. It is VERY lucky the shatter resistant held the way it
did to prevent the ice from entering the car.
The Jeep did not even stop to see if the driver was ok. Thankfully the
driver was not physically harmed just really shaken up. No other damage to the car was sustained.
Investigating further into some NY State laws, it doesn’t seem
as if there are any state laws mandating that you clear the snow/ice off the
roof of your car, but the ball is rolling. A Suffolk County Legislative
Majority Leader, Long Island, has put together a law giving the police in that
area the ability to stop motorists that have failed to properly remove snow/ice
from their vehicle and issue a $75 fine, if the motorist’s failure to do this
resulted in personal or property damage the fine would be upped between
$200-$1500 in addition to any unsafe driving penalties that are already
enforced. http://huntington.patch.com/articles/cooper-wants-drivers-safe-from-ice
You could also be sued for negligence. Why risk the safety
of others to save a few seconds. http://nylawthoughts.com/2011/01/13/clearing-snow-from-the-roofs-of-cars-and-trucks-a-matter-of-courtesy-and-safety/
If this law hasn’t made it way up to the Hudson Valley I’m
hoping it does soon. As it did in New Jersey and Connecticut. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/automobiles/19SNOW.html
Of course, this really only covers Passenger vehicles. What
about tractor trailers? You can’t really expect the drivers of these vehicles
to climb up and shovel snow off the tops of these vehicles. How can one safely
clean the snow of these vehicles? NJ has snow removal stations, but the trucks
have to drive to these stations. Hopefully someone will come up with an
affordable solution for this problem as well.
Be courteous to your fellow driver. You share the road with
thousands of other motorists. Next time you drive the snow/ice that comes off
another car could hit you. You don’t want this to happen to you or someone you love.
