Few fined for ice, snow flying off of vehicles

Bob Crist was driving northbound on Interstate 83 near Strinestown recently when he saw ice and snow flying off a tractor-trailer that was heading the other way.

"I had nowhere to go," the Harrisburg-area resident recalled. "I turned my head, and that was it."

The ice and snow shattered his windshield. He managed to drive to the Strinestown exit, and called police from the parking lot of the Rutter's Farm Store. He suffered a bruise to his shoulder and cuts to his face, leaving him bloody. He went to a hospital to be checked out.

"I'm thankful that I'm alive and not seriously injured," he said, but added that his car has been totaled.

State law allows police to fine drivers if snow and ice flies off a vehicle and hits someone else -- but only if it causes serious bodily injury or death. The law, which had been in effect more than a decade, is "very specific," state police Cpl. Adam Reed said.

State police have issued a total of 12 fines statewide in the last couple of years, Reed said. None of those tickets was given in York, Adams or Lebanon counties. Two were issued to tractor-trailer drivers in Franklin County. The fine ranges from $200 to $1,000.

READ: Worst Pa. roads? York's got one

State Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton counties, has introduced a bill that would allow police to stop drivers with snow and ice on their vehicles and give them a fine before it causes damage or death, said Kurt Derr, legislative assistant for the senator. The bill could be discussed in the transportation committee next week.

"Our current law has no preventative component, and that is something we all should want to change," Boscola said in testimony this week.

Cases under-reported?

Crist was one of several motorists recently hit by flying ice and snow after Winter Storm Stella dumped anywhere from a few inches of snow in southern York County to more than a foot in the northern end. Not all involved trucks. Ice came off of a sport utility vehicle and cracked the windshield of a car on I-83 in the York area, according to a state police report.

Three men from Gaithersburg, Md. were taken to the hospital after their car was struck on I-83 near the Queen Street exit. A chunk of ice came off of a tractor-trailer that was heading southbound, according to a state police report. The driver of the tractor-trailer is not known.

Bo Wang, who was riding in the backseat, said his cousin, Junjie Zhang, was driving and tried to slow down. Zhang said he couldn't move to the left or the right. The ice broke the windshield and came into the car.

Zhang said it caused about $20,000 in damage.

"They have a lot they need to fix," he said.

Wang said his cousin did not have a chance to see the name of the company on the truck or to get the tag.

Barbara Zortman, director of the Center for Traffic Safety, said she thinks the violations are under-reported for a number of reasons. One is that it happens suddenly, and it's unexpected.

Another reason is if the driver crashes into a utility pole, for example, after ice hits the vehicle, the crash will be recorded as hitting a fixed object, she said.

Also, the crash might not be considered reportable, for example, if the person can drive away, Zortman said.

READ: Dangerous parts of I-83: What's being done?

Some drivers who have snow or ice fly off their vehicles might not even be aware that they caused a crash.

Cleaning off a vehicle not only will help to protect other motorists, but it also makes your vehicle visible to others.

"If you're not going to do it for the guy behind you, do it for yourself," Zortman said.

Legislation to address prevention

Springettsbury Township Police, which patrols a section of Route 30, receive complaints about the snow and ice flying off vehicles, but the department has not given any drivers a fine for causing serious injuries or death, Lt. Tony Beam said.

"It would be nice if you could do something prior to someone being injured," he said.

Boscola's bill would allow police to warn or fine drivers between $25 and $75 if they have not removed ice and snow from their vehicles.

Boscola had proposed the legislation that became the current law after a constituent was killed because of flying ice. Her original bill called for citing drivers for failure to remove snow and ice, but because of objections by the trucking industry, the language was changed to allow fines only if it caused serious bodily injury or death, Derr said.

READ: Police to target aggressive driving

Boscola said on the Senate floor last week that she has worked with the trucking industry, which has raised concerns, to address the safety issue.

For example, the legislation would give all motorists 24 hours after a storm to clear their vehicles. Truck drivers also would not be fined if they are traveling to facility that has equipment, such as a drive-through scraper, to remove snow and ice.

Addressing the problem with larger vehicles, whether it be a recreational vehicle, utility truck or tractor-trailer, isn't easy, said Dan Murray, a spokesman for the American Transportation Research Institute. It is part of the American Trucking Associations Federation, and it prepared a report about ice and snow accumulation on vehicles nearly a decade ago.

The industry does not want to see truck drivers climbing 13-feet, 6-inches high to try to clean off the top of a trailer, said Kevin Stewart, president of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association. Falls are a concern.

Truck drivers are advised to monitor whether snow and ice are building up on their vehicles, Murray said. They should look for a safe place, such as a public rest stop, to pull over to take a look.

Truck drivers are welcome to use scrapers at trucking companies to remove the ice and snow, but the equipment not widespread.

The industry would like to see scrapers placed at rest stops where truck drivers stop, Murray said. But he noted that rest stops have been closing, too.

There's also no way to prevent ice and snow from accumulating on top of trailers, Stewart said.

"There was no silver bullet, unfortunately," Murray said of solutions.

The Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association is OK with the wording of the latest legislation, Stewart said.

It plans to list facilities where truck drivers can go to clean off their vehicles.