Coming soon: clean snow from your car or face a fine

Winter is a frustrating season for commuters, with snow bringing with it the task of scraping off or digging out our cars as well as time-consuming traffic delays, but there’s one highway hazard that none of us should have to deal with: ice and snow that flies off other vehicles.

Several pieces of legislation have recently been introduced in Albany that would require drivers to clean their vehicles’ exteriors thoroughly before they take to the roads, implementing hefty fines for those who don’t. These measures have our snow-weary support.

Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., have already enacted laws to penalize drivers of vehicles that carry a buildup of snow or ice. New York legislators have been hustling to enact a similar law before winter ends.

Assemblyman Mike Spano, a Democrat from Yonkers, recently introduced legislation to ensure that motor vehicles, with certain exceptions, are not operated with an accumulation of snow or ice on their surfaces, and to establish fines for drivers who disregard their fellow motorists’ safety and do the roof-clearing at 50 mph. Spano’s bill, A2346, which was referred to the Assembly’s Transportation Committee on Jan. 18, has a companion bill in the Senate, S1321. Sen. Charles Fuschillo, a Republican from Merrick, chairs the Senate Transportation Committee.

Assemblyman Ed Ra, a Republican from Franklin Square who is co-sponsoring A2346, said that it has attracted a lot of attention in both the Assembly and the Senate, and he is optimistic that the bill will make it through committee and be put to a vote.

There is no question that the measure would make the state’s roadways safer, since flying snow and ice are a problem across New York, especially on highways, where a good-sized snow projectile can land on a following vehicle with an unnerving — and often dangerously view-blocking — thud, and even cause damage. In addition to safety issues, the bill would help answer questions about who is liable for vehicle repairs caused by flying ice and snow.

Those who think the legislation is over-reaching need only consider the testimony of a constituent of Suffolk County Legislator John Cooper, a Democrat from Huntington who recently introduced a flying-snow-and-ice law for Suffolk. While driving, the man was nearly killed when a huge sheet of ice fell onto his car from a vehicle in front of him on the highway, causing his car to spin out of control.

In addition to Spano’s bill, State Sen. Martin Malavé Dilan (D-Brooklyn) and Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun (R-Blooming Grove), have recently introduced similar legislation. Calhoun’s bill was referred to the Transportation Committee on Jan. 20. Assemblyman Michael Montesano (R-Glen Head) said he is planning to introduce a bill “with more bite” this month that would establish strict penalties, including three levels of fines and up to two license points, for those who do not remove all snow and ice from their vehicles before they leave their driveways.

Although there are no definitive statistics on how many accidents, and deaths, result from flying snow and ice each year, we’re sure of one thing: they are preventable. It doesn’t take more than a couple of miles of treacherous driving after a storm to make it obvious that a cleared car should be a matter of common sense and common courtesy, but if it takes legislation to bring the point home to the less sensible and the less courteous among us, we’re all for it.