More and more jurisdictions are requiring vehicles to be completely cleared of snow and ice before taking to the road. Sometimes however, to accomplish the task required by one rule, you have to break other rules.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration prohibits anyone on the job to climb to such heights required to remove said snow, without proper safeguards.
The issue of snow and ice removal is not a new topic in many states. Rules covering concerns about accumulations atop vehicles are already in place in states that include Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
Rhode Island has a rule to require vehicles to be kept clear of snow or ice, pretty much impossible to comply during a snow storm. Connecticut and New Jersey also allow police to ticket drivers simply for having wintry precipitation atop their vehicles.
In New York and Pennsylvania, concerned lawmakers continue to pursue stiff punishment for failure to keep vehicles clear of snow or ice.
New Your Assemblyman Michael DenDekker, D-Queens, wants to permit police to cite truckers and other drivers for failure to act when traveling on roadways with posted speeds in excess of 40 mph.
A Pennsylvania bill focuses only on trucks weighing at least 48,000 pounds.
State law already allows police to ticket violators between $200 and $1,000 if the wintry mix causes serious injury or death. Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton, is behind a bill that would boost the maximum fine to $1,500, as well as include an additional protection that would allow police to ticket drivers for failure to clear snow or ice before they take to the roads.
Drivers would be excused for snow or ice that accumulates on a vehicle while out on the road.
