Posted on 09/15/2005 8:35:32 PM PDT by Westlander
BOSTON -- It's cold, it's snowing, and there's ice and snow on the car. So you hop in and go without clearing off all the winter precipitation.
That might soon be against the law in Massachusetts.
The state Legislature is considering a bill that would mean fines of up to $500 and a six-month stay in jail.
The bill is designed to reduce the danger from chunks of snow and ice flying off car roofs or hoods.
If it passes, Massachusetts could become the first state to require snow- and ice-free cars.
Where do YOU live? Florida? Have you ever SEEN the stuff that can come off a large truck?
I've seen, and avoided, couple-foot-square, several inch thick 'shingles' coming off of trucks and sailing a decent distance. And I've had my windshield cracked by a smaller piece.
Should it happen to you, then you would understand.
It will be fun getting the ice and snow off of my 70 foot tractor trailer rig at 13' 6"".
That usually works, but more than once I have driven through the storm and had additional build-up of frozen stuff.
Say what?
Wonder how a person who uses a wheelchair, has a 'lift' in order to get into their vehicle in the first place, and has limited mobility is expected to scrape their car pristinely clean from ice and snow?
And then there are people who have heart conditions which prohibit exertion such as lifting or shoveling.
And there are the elderly who do not have the strength or stamina.
Guess we should simply move all the elderly, medically infirm, and all those people with disabilities out of the 'snow belt' areas.
No doubt the 'snow belt people' would then be 'safe' except for the fact there are people who are able-bodied, but for whatever reasons, happen to oversleep, happen to run late for work, happen to be too lazy to do so, or simply do not bother to clean off their vehicles before driving. Wonder what the ADA has to do with THEM?
The ADA was enacted to guard against cavalier comments and attitudes such as yours in my opinion.
Feh... what's a little snow. I don't see what the problem is. ;)
"Ice sheets do not "fly through the air" Small chunks of snow do, but the ice tends to fall off the back, or slide off the side when going around a corner."
They do and at times at high velocity and up to several feet in the air. Again, just because you have not experienced it, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen.
You assume alot and express your opinions as fact. Do you have a delivery truck and are you going to quit delivering? That argument is absurd - they deliver or they do not make money. Do you think that Massachussets will no longer get goods and services due to this legislation? You probably do. Also, the legislation would apply to cars.
How do you feel about the removal of stop signs? If you do not like the idea, why not? After all, if you cannot avoid cars lurching in your direction at intersections, perhaps you should remain in bed, too.
"You must not reside in Michigan. (all red except for Detroit and Ann Arbor--which sadly carry the state)
Are you aware Michigan has twice the weight limit on trucks in comparison to any other state? And they do travel on Fed financed interstates. So when you do $1,500 worth of damage to your supension (we call them chuckholes), who is responsible-city-county-state-fed? Is this civil or statutory?"
I will attempt to reply, but your response to my post is very convoluted.
The last I knew we were talking about paperboys and their right to use your property. But I'll bite if I have gotten the meaning of your post.
If there is damage to a suspension of someone's vehicle due to roads for which government is responsible and there is no statute determining a remedy for such damage then it would still be civil. The person would have to file a suit (which he would unfortunately lose in all likelihood) to recover damages. This is not legislation.
Again, you legislate so that an obvious hazard does not create a situation that causes injury or death. Why is this so controversial? Your responses are knee-jerk.
I live in New Hampshire and our roads are very good, but this has nothing to do with ice/snow flying (yes flying) off of vechicles. We receive alot of snow and it is as much of a hazard when some lazy fool doesn't clear his or her vehicle as any drunk on the road. And around here they are both common.
As for the weight limit problems - how about getting the weight limits lowered and they won't wreck their suspensions.
A previous Michigander ! You DO understand.
'I will attempt to reply'. Well, you tried.
Hardly. Coming from a snowy climate, I'd support this one in a heart beat. I can remember many times where a chunk of ice flew off some lazy idiot's car and slammed into mine when I lived in Colorado. Most folks are aware of the hazard and clear the car off when they scrape the windows, but there are always lazy people who don't give others a second thought.
Do you have white sidewall tires on your Yugo?
Was she driving backwards?!
Does direction of travel have any thing to do with this?
Jan 7.9 "
Feb 7.8 "
Mar 5.9 "
Apr 2.8 "
May 0.6 "
Aug 0.1 "
Sep 1.1 "
Oct 8.4 "
Nov 9.3 "
Dec10.6 "
Normal climate around Valdez, Alaska
Based on data reported by main weather stations
May Math may be wrong, but I don't see 600 " . However I may not be reading the chart correctly. I also understand that in Valdez one can not travel fast enough to make blowing snow from cars a problem.
Right. Figure your winter precip times ten (December through March).
Note: One inch of precipitation is equal to ten inches of snow.
Average Annual Precipitation: 64.04 inches
Average Annual Snowfall (in city): 325.6 inches
Average Snowfall in Thompson Pass: over 600 inches
Record Snowfall (in city): 5560.7 inches (1989/90)
Record Snowfall in Thompson Pass: over 900 inches
Record High Temperature: 26 days above 70 degrees (1997)
Nonsense. I've seen slabs of ice fly off 18-wheelers and hit cars on the other side of the highway median. What is the driver going in the opposite direction supposed to do?
What evidence do you have for such a statement? You don't actually believe that speed limits are put in place exclusively to ensure the safe operation of motor vehicles on public roadways, do you?
You ain't exactly free if you need a driver's license to get in the car is the first place, either.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.