How much should you clear off?
I know we’re in a hurry these days, or so it seems. We tend to exaggerate how long things will take us to complete so we cut corners and take chances. The reality is that these chances can affect us and those around us more than we may think. This is certain when it comes to driving.
Clearing the snow and ice from your vehicle is a constant thing we must do as a driver, but we see many drivers cutting the corner and clearing off enough to be able to see out of the windshield. What happened to being able to see around your vehicle? Wouldn’t you want to know if another vehicle is close behind you when you needed to stop so you could adjust your braking pressure? What about being able to see to the sides of your vehicle prior to making a lane change?
Don’t get me wrong, there are many drivers who clear off each window and both outside mirrors so they have the visibility they need to operate their vehicle safely in traffic. What about clearing off your headlights, tail lights and turn signals too? How can other drivers know your intentions if your exterior lights are covered in snow or ice? If you’re going to clear off each window and mirror, why not add the lights as well?
Now to the thing that most drivers forget, don’t think about or could care less about – clearing off the top of your vehicle. Snow and ice on the top of the vehicle can affect both the driver and other drivers near you. Braking hard can cause that snow/ice to fall forward onto your windshield stopping you from seeing ahead of you. Clear off all the snow from the top of your vehicle prior to leaving for your destination.
If the ice has frozen to the roof of your vehicle and can’t be removed, check it again each half hour or so. The heat from the interior can loosen that ice and can be removed more easily at that time. If you forget to do that, the ice can blow off the top of your vehicle and land against the vehicle behind you and cause possible injury to that driver. Also remember when the sun is out or if temperature increases, the ice on your roof can loosen and fly off.
That’s exactly what happened in these two following photos. The driver of this minivan was following a vehicle on the freeway when ice blew off the top of that vehicle and went through their windshield. Luckily, the driver was focused enough to what was happening that they reduce speed and safely exited the freeway. His passenger was able to hold the remaining portion of the windshield away from the driver so he could do just that. If you don’t think the ice on top of your vehicle could affect anyone, think again.
The tricky part with this incident was that the ice was on the top of a transport truck. Drivers of those trucks aren’t able to climb on top of the trailer and remove the ice. There’s no heat from the trailer to melt the under layer of ice, so what can we do? Could this incident have been avoided? That’s hard to say. I’m just glad the driver of the minivan is okay, with only minor cuts and bruises to their face. And, he did a very good job to keep his vehicle under control until he was able to pull over. Not all drivers have that composure.
One of the things that will help us respond to emergencies is time. Time to see, time to think and time to respond. Would a larger following distance behind transport trucks help us in case this happens to us? Would driving in a different lane than the transport truck help us? Would staying ahead of the transport truck help us?
These are all “what ifs” that we have to consider. In the meantime, clear off the top of your vehicle before it’s too late. Before your “being in a hurry” affects someone else and causes injury…or worse.
It is a lame excuse to say truck drivers cannot clean a trailer, how many people have to be injured or die from their negligence. I’ve seen 5 ft high mountains on trucks, and It boggles the mind. They all come from a yard, that yard has a staff, that staff’s job is to make vehicles safe. If they leave the yard covered in snow, they should all be fired. FEDEX is building a facility with a snow clearing station for exactly this purpose. If you need scaffolds and safety harnesses, GET THEM. I’m tired of having my life in danger from the pure stupidity of laziness. LIGHTS ON, SNOW OFF. If you can’t do both, none of them should ever drive again. Snow is not an accessory, its best location is GONE.
I agree wholeheartedly. We need to clear all the snow from all windows and from the top so it doesn’t slide down and block our vision.
Surely you need to clean it all off – the idiots that drive around with a pile of snow on their roof are just tempting fate when they brake… cue a pile of snow tumbling down over the windscreen!
I typically clear all snow off my car, unless it’s a very fine powder that will be blown off as soon as I hit the highway, in a way that won’t come off like chunks. I also ensure that no one is behind me when I let the car do this. But, if there’s any chance of ice chunks, I make sure it is clear before I go.
The type of snow that can break windshields, is the kind that happens when the temperature is well below and the snow has had time to freeze, or after a freezing rain event.
I should also add that the most dangerous kind of snowfall to break into chunks, is when it is around 0 degrees, when it is wet and sticky. That kind of snow is the most likely to freeze into chunks, not to mention your car. The well below zero powder likely won’t stick together right away.
Legacy… I’ve been behind vehicles covered in light powder that will just blow off. The problem is that this creates a localized blizzard for any vehicle following it.
When I drove, I would get up each Winter morning, and after showering and having breakfast, head out and clean my car off totally before driving off. it is courteous thing to do.
I have not driven anything for almost 10 years, although my drive to work back then was about 45 minutes long, then get in to a Cold Tractor, back it under a Trailer, then head anywhere in Ontario.
And I was the one spearheaded our Company to put up a trailer cleaning system, but it was up to each driver to use it if he choose to take the time drive up to set the height and rive through and then get out and raise it back up for the next user.
In all, Just driving truck, I have driven 7.8 Million Miles, this does not included all the miles I have driven in a car. I have safe Driver awards and other awards for things I have done.