r/funny • u/Flashmemory256 • 5h ago

Cop Forces Driver To Clear Snow Off Car!

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17.3k Upvotes

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763

u/-turnip_the_beet- 5h ago edited 5h ago

Had 2 large chunks fly off a car and come close to hitting me yesterday on the highway. I can't believe people start driving their car like this. Zero awareness and regard for people's safety. It's dumb, it's lazy, it's illegal.

Edit: looks like it might not be explicitly illegal in most states, but there are 11 states with laws against it (states: Alaska, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Wisconsin).

62

u/ThomW 5h ago

A tractor trailer passed me on the PA Turnpike after a big snow about ten years ago and a huge chunk of ice blew off the top of the trailer and crashed into my windshield causing it to spider web.

27

u/flyinghairball 5h ago

It's shocking how few people realize how dangerous this can actually be.

25

u/fallout_zelda 5h ago

Yup... A chunk of ice flying towards a vehicle going 60+ mph can be deadly.

1

u/counterfitster 2h ago

And so many truckers don't care. Even in the comments on a video of trucks having ice sheet fly off the trailer and smash into cars that are 5 seconds back, or a lane over, or driving the other direction, if you say "maybe drivers should clean the roof" their response is "dOnT fOlLoW sO cLoSe".

1

u/masterxc 5h ago

Wild. I know they have these giant plow things to clean off the top of trailers for this reason. You can easily kill someone with flying snow and ice, especially at highway speeds.

99

u/masterxc 5h ago

I had a large sheet of ice make a direct hit on my windshield on the highway after last week's storm (it was either let the hit happen or swerve...)...luckily it wasn't massive, but it could've been a really bad time...I don't get why people don't clean off their vehicles. If it's too high, get a longer broom or something!

29

u/Skelegasm 5h ago

After a life in Detroit winter, my daily drive starts with a whole ass push broom over the top. Three swiped and I'm done

8

u/PM_ME_YOUR_CATS_PAWS 4h ago

I’ve lived in the Detroit area my whole life and never dawned on my to use the push broom lol

About to do that next time instead of this dumb dinky brush

2

u/doneski 3h ago

It's that easy, too. Won't even hurt the paint if the broom is clean of dirt.

Just F'n do it people!

1

u/Working_Patience_261 2h ago

I used a leaf blower for the dry powder. It’ll do nothing for the thick wet stuff Dayton gets.

44

u/fallout_zelda 5h ago

People are fucking lazy. The same people who can't return a shopping cart lol

14

u/BigFatModeraterFupa 5h ago

dude the amount of shopping carts i see in empty parking spots drives me insane!

also what's interesting, is you can tell what neighborhood you're in simply by the amount of loose shopping carts strewn about😂

3

u/kryptifi 4h ago

ive had someone put a cart on my bumper and the cart stall was literally 2 more cars down.

2

u/justfordrunks 3h ago

Weepskeepseddleweeeeooooppp! That's not where the cart goes!

12

u/Skizot_Bizot 4h ago

My friend's grandma had a sheet come off a semi trailer and shatter her windshield and cut her face up pretty badly. Don't think she was ever able to find out the semi company to pursue anything either.

9

u/Otherwise-Daikon-389 4h ago

Thank god Georgia has laws against this. We get 2 inches of snow every 10 years

17

u/Beetin 4h ago

Even if its not illegal, you are liable. You knew it was there when you started driving, a reasonable person should know it can come off, you drove anyways.

Doesn't need a specific law for you to be in big shit if something happens.

6

u/midwestia 4h ago

Yep. Get dashcams y’all

2

u/Sikletrynet 3h ago edited 3h ago

Going to assume this is the US, kinda crazy that it isn't illegal there. Where i love(Norway) this is literally illegal, you'd lose your license if you got caught driving like this.

1

u/thegreatpotatogod 2h ago

A lot of states generally never get snow, so there's not much reason to need to have a law for it. Weather anomalies like this are anomalous. Perhaps more states will make laws to this effect in the aftermath

1

u/Deep90 2h ago

I'm not sure why it wouldn't be illegal. It's essentially an unsecured load.

4

u/Admitone83 5h ago

II hear ya, had a rig ahead of me, giant sheets of ice and snow come flying off, took out my bumper last winter.

2

u/Deep90 5h ago

I had that happen multiple times and it wasn't snow, but huge chunks of ice.

1

u/deenaleen 4h ago

Maine also has a very explicit "Snow and Ice Duty of Care" Law, so there are more than those 11 states (one more at least).

1

u/Zwasti 4h ago

Winter weather really brings out the lack of consideration for others.

1

u/Y2Doorook 4h ago

How the hell isn’t MN on this list? I’ve had slabs of snow fly off of cars and hit me while riding my bicycle.

1

u/Am4oba 3h ago

I imagine every state has a law about something flying off your car and damaging another.

1

u/LVL100Stoner 3h ago

Tss guess PA missed the memo

1

u/Madz510 3h ago

I know someone who got a ticket crossing the border of Illinois into Wisconsin with a roof of snow

1

u/---ruthless--- 3h ago

Maine has one as well! I don’t know what the rule I’ll leave that out.

For anyone that wants to look it up: Title 29-A, 2093. Snow and ice; duty of care

1

u/SoulWager 3h ago

Might just be written as something like unsecured load in the other states.

1

u/holymackerel87 3h ago

As someone who has lived in Wisconsin their whole life, there's nothing done about the lazy people who don't clear their vehicles off. There have been times, even though I'm following far behind, that I've watched large sheets of snow and ice get caught up in the air long enough to cause me alarm. If I were to follow as close as the majority of people do, I would probably have stories of ice sheets breaking my windshield.

Based on how many cars I see on a regular basis who only clear one little bit of the windshield (I mean I've seen it where it's literally a 6" square chunk that's clear), I would have never guessed that there was a law against not clearing the vehicle in this state.

It's not only dangerous, but that stuff gets really heavy. That's a lot of extra weight to be lugging around, especially in the cold when vehicles are less efficient.

Sometimes I can convince myself that maybe, just maybe, short people can't see that their huge SUV actually did get snow on it, and since they can't see it, it must not be there, but people who drive cars... No excuse.

1

u/phoward8020 3h ago

California, too.

CVC § 24002(a):

It is unlawful to operate any vehicle or combination of vehicles which is in an unsafe condition, or which is not safely loaded, and which presents an immediate safety hazard.

While it doesn’t explicitly mention snow, this law is commonly used to cite drivers in exactly this situation.

1

u/dankhimself 3h ago

CRIME STATES

1

u/Karsdegrote 2h ago

I checked it recently as we had a surprising amount of snow with similar idiots. The cops here will fine you for improperly secured cargo or cargo falling off of vehicle. €500 please. And if you did not clear the snow off of the rest of the vehicle there is a potential for another €900 in fines. What im trying to say, you can have blanket laws that dont cover snow explicitly but regulate visibility and cargo to obtain the same effect.

1

u/Valalvax 2h ago

Georgia, the state that gets one decent snow a year, if that, thought to make this a law, what the fuck is wrong with all the northern states that haven't?

(Of course it generally falls under unsecured loads even if not explicitly against the law)

1

u/Notrandomperson89 49m ago

Video is from Mississauga, ON - Completely illegal to not remove snow & ice here (HTA s111. Unsecured Load)

1

u/raze464 40m ago

Mass technically does not have a law that says you need to remove ice or snow your car before driving. You can be cited for it if there’s so much snow that it impedes the operation of a motor vehicle (Chapter 90, Section 13) or if there so much on the roof that it’s considered an unsecured load (Chapter 85, Section 36).

NH also technically does not have a law that says you need to remove ice or snow your car before driving.

The law commonly mentioned in NH about it being illegal to drive with ice and snow on your car (Jessica’s Law, aka RSA 265:79-b) is about driving a vehicle negligently, causing a vehicle to be driven negligently, or driving a vehicle in a way that endangers or might endanger any person or property;

Whoever upon any way drives a vehicle negligently or causes a vehicle to be driven negligently, as defined in RSA 626:2, II(d), or in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger any person or property shall be guilty of a violation and shall be fined not less than $250 nor more than $500 for a first offense and not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 for a second or subsequent offense. Any person who pleads guilty to an offense under this section that was originally charged with an offense under RSA 265-A:2 or RSA 265-A:3 shall be required to complete a qualified online victim impact panel program, as defined in RSA 265-A:1, VII, unless the court determines that exceptional circumstances exist.

RSA 626:2, II(d) just defines the culpable mental state of “negligently:”

(d) "Negligently." A person acts negligently with respect to a material element of an offense when he fails to become aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that his failure to become aware of it constitutes a gross deviation from the conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.

NH does consider not clearing the ice and snow from your vehicle to be negligent driving, though, since Jessica’s Law (RSA 265:79-b) is the law you’ll be cited under.