PSA: Look out for large chunks of snow/ice coming off of big trucks

[grskier]

They'll put a hole in your radiator

[gravitylover]

A couple of years ago on one of the highways I commuted on every day I sat in a traffic jam for almost five hours because the road was closed due to a kid getting killed by flying ice. Apparently a sheet came off a car at about 70mph and went through the windshield and sliced his head off. The cops were walking backwards giving tickets to every car that had any snow or ice on them for hours after that.

[hikesalot]

The big joke in my husband's family is to watch out for flying hubcaps because way back when his mom had a windshield broken from one! If you pay attention you'd be surprised how many hubcaps are on the side of the road.

[hawkgt]

pisses me off seeing assholes driving with deep snow on the cars and no de-ice/fog the windows. lazy fucks

[neufox47]

A couple of years ago on one of the highways I commuted on every day I sat in a traffic jam for almost five hours because the road was closed due to a kid getting killed by flying ice. Apparently a sheet came off a car at about 70mph and went through the windshield and sliced his head off. The cops were walking backwards giving tickets to every car that had any snow or ice on them for hours after that.

Damn, that must have been thick ice to make it through the windshield.

I remember a guy killed a pedestrian a few years ago driving a van that had about a 10" view cleared on the windshield.

[shroom]

similar - I got a hole in my AC Condenser once.

made by my power drill.

[SkiBall]

pisses me off seeing assholes driving with deep snow on the cars and no de-ice/fog the windows. lazy fucks

It's early and I am late for work.

[iceman]

It's early and I am late for work.

[grskier]

Size of a soccer ball. I swerved around one and didn't even see the second. Lifted the whole front end up. Ended up busting through the plastic skid plate and jammed one Cooler (? Tranny fluid radiator) into the main radiator. I was near the office, pulled in and one of the mechanics and I pulled a chunk of ice out the size of a nerf football

[old goat]

Women was killed some years ago on 267 near Truckee by snow coming off the roof of a car--I don't remember if it went through the windshield or if it caused her to lose control and crash. Shovel off your goddman car.

[mtngirl79]

What scares me are the big snow boulders that are full of gravel that come from the underside of truck trailers and their landing gear. That crap will make it all they way up here when it's snowing somewhere.

There really isn't a lot the drivers can do about it, either.

[SkiBall]

And then I meant to turn on the dome light and opened the sunroof. That was a bad morning.

[lerxst]

My wife had a very close call a few weeks back. Huge hunk of ice came off a truck and obliterated the hood and windshield. Showered with glass but not injured. Needless to say she couldn't get the plate. Watch out on bridges and overpasses. That's when they bust loose.

[gravitylover]

Yesterday we got a couple of inches and nobody bothered cleaning their cars, they all must have figured it would just slide/melt off quickly. I watched a load slide forward off a car as it went over some bumps and the driver stood on the brakes because she couldn't see and the three cars behind her all piled into each other. Four cars wrecked because of one lazy moron and one of them was a mom with two kids in car seats.

[mtngirl79]

My wife had a very close call a few weeks back. Huge hunk of ice came off a truck and obliterated the hood and windshield. Showered with glass but not injured. Needless to say she couldn't get the plate. Watch out on bridges and overpasses. That's when they bust loose.

Increase following distance. I know rocks kicked up by trucks are considered road hazards and the truck is not responsible. I bet snow and ice collected while driving (different than huge amounts of snow left on cars) would also be called a road hazard...

[Iowagriz]

Pic of a friend's car after ice came off a semi outside of Chicago last month.

[mtngirl79]

He was following way too close.

[Todd Zander]

He was following way too close.

In CT thats the fault of the tractor trailer operator.

[PB]

Ice, shmice, you should drive in the central valley during tomato harvesting …….

[gravitylover]

People that say things like 'following too close' have no idea what it's like in a lot of places. Around here, and most of the EC suburban commute corridors, it's what I call boxcar traffic all of the time. You CAN'T leave a reasonable distance between you and the car in front because three cars will jump into that space shutting it right back down. Morning rush traffic on the 55mph parkways here averages 60 in the right lane and 80-90 in the left with people floating between the lanes to gain a couple of extra inches and bouncing through potholes etc. as they do it dislodging all of the shit built up on their cars. If an ice chunk comes off a car the next three or four in line might miss it as it flies over them and then lands squarely in the middle of the windshield of the car 50+ feet back.

[gravitylover]

In CT thats the fault of the tractor trailer operator.

NY too but that doesn't stop anybody from doing it.

[mtngirl79]

There are not safe ways for drivers to remove snow and ice from the tops of trailers. This COULD be provided, but it would need to be at truck stops, rest areas, shippers, recievers.. anywhere trucks and trailers sit.

The snow and ice that builds up under the trailer can happen so fast that to keep it clear would basically stop the truck until the storm is over. Bad economics.

[mtngirl79]

In CT thats the fault of the tractor trailer operator.

Do you know how this incident was ruled on or are you just talking out your ass?

[t-the-east]

We had a huge chunk of ice come off a semi last year and busted out both headlights and destroyed the grill on our brand new grand Cherokee. Scared the shit out of my wife and two kids who were sleeping. If I didn't slam on the brakes it would have easily gone through the window and killed us. Insurance covered it all. But having no headlights on a road trip was not too fun. I have no point to my story, just bored at work. Carry on.

[mtngirl79]

Your insurance covered it as a road hazard or the truck's insurance covered it?

The reason I'm asking is I drove trucks for a lot of years, always a company driver and a safe way to remove snow for the top of trailers was NEVER provided. Anywhere that I encountered. It would take more than what would be reasonable for a driver to carry on their own.

Many times, I have done things that OSHA would not approve of and put myself at risk because that's just what you have to do but it kinda makes me a little mad to hear truck drivers blamed for not clearing snow when their companies aren't providing safe ways and training to get it done.

Truck drivers are mostly paid by the mile. Most don't get paid more when it snows... they get pushed harder, are required to take more risks, and paid less for their time when it snows.