ICE......ugggg......bummer.....When we lived back there - I too could NEVER figure out why people couldn't just a few tiny minutes to clean off their vehicle..........lazy.... Sorry to hear about this - glad you weren't hurt - at least it didn't cover your windshield when it hit!!! That would have been fun (not) maneuving on I95....

Donna

 

That blows! Just be glad it didn't come through the windsheild guillotine style.

No ice (or nothing) here today, but I saw 3 idiots who had the right of way, but were trying to be nice by motioning me (and others) to turn. Thanks... but get outta evryone elses way fool!

 

I believe Marina is right, there is a law stating it is illegal to drive with snow/ice on top of your vehicle. Good luck proving it though. :/

Sorry again about your woes Matt... Maybe you should just work from home the rest of winter...

 

yup, there is a law...I just watcched a feature about flying ice on 13.
When I went to Silver Spring tonight, I saw 2 huge sheets of ice come off 18 wheelers. Fortunately, no-one was behind them.
You have a licence plate #? Nail da bastid

 

Sorry to hear that, Matt.

 

It may ordinarily be an act of God, but the fact that there may be an MD law regarding this, that changes things! See, the way I would figure it: if there is a law that states that ice/snow must be cleared from vehicles and the other driver failed to do so, then this becomes negligence on his part, possibly in addition to his violation of the "clear off the ice" law. Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I would want to bring this up with the adjuster because you want to avoid being thrown in the at-fault category for sure! It's definitely not your fault

 

As I just posted over in MiniNurse's thread:

That's always been one of my pet peeves - lazy drivers who don't fully clear their car off (especially tall SUV roofs) before they head out. I'm not sure if there's an existing law against this or not (hazardous vehicle?), but if there isn't, there should be, and it should be enforced!

With the weather the way it is lately, the police should be advertising a "blitz" against it, and actually ticket drivers. Public awareness of how it's dangerous is the first step. Once people actually see other people getting tickets for it, they might take the extra 5 or 10 minutes to do the job properly. (and I don't just mean cops witnessing snow or ice actually flying off... but simply for cars actually driving with a pile of snow on it, even if it's still intact)

If a person can't reach the roof of their vehicle to clear it off, why should that be someone else's problem as you fly down the highway and catapult chunks of ice and snow at their car? You bought the oversized vehicle, you have to accept the responsiblity. Get a longer brush, step ladder, whatever it takes, just CLEAR THE SNOW AND ICE OFF YOUR DAMN CAR!

 

Sorry for your situation, Matt! It takes such little effort to clear it, its inexcusable for these people to not clear off their cars before hitting the road.

I hope the repairs come quickley and easily.

 

Exactly. I spent almost a hour on a ladder getting it all of my vans' roof. NOT a easy task when it's 2-3 inch thick ice. Snow is easy but this was not.

That being said, I think someone's been snowed in too long. Our fearless moderator is developing rage problems!

Sorry for your luck Matt!

 

It won't happen because there is more money in giving out speeding tickets.
Follow the money.

The problem goes way beyond clearing ice.
Next time (in MD), take a close look at people's tires.
You will be surprised, or maybe not, how bald they are.
I was helping my neighbor get out of a spot. They were practically slicks.
The same neighbor uses her e-brake to stop because her brakes aren't working well.

I have not been able to get snow off my 91 convertible roof.
Nor the hood. So if you see a bluish 91 BMW convertible in front of you on I 270, stay away.

 

We just had a news sideline on the very same thing. It seems the cops won't do anything about it as they view it as "highway debris", and therefore is just an act of nature. Such reasoning makes one wonder if they really DO spend all their time at the doughnut shoppe thinking up that crap....

 

it's mixed signals...I heard a blurb on the radio about the state police saying driver's being liable for damages should they not clear the ice and snow, yet they actually need to do something about it if a motorist calls in a plate. The insurance company can't pursue a claim against the culprit without the police report I'd think.

 

Argghh i feel your pain. I hate people who can't bother to care about the safety of others. Thats why I always remove my snow with one of these:



I also help my co workers remove the snow off there vehicles as well.

 

Mandatory annual vehicle inspections. It's not fascism. It's not a racket. It's about public safety. Sorry, that's just me venting.

At our house, my wife insisted on getting a minivan so my wife had to clean the roof off. I confess that I still have a slab of ice on my mini. The 3 mile residential commute doesn't involve enough speed to blow it off. This is the first winter in fourteen years when I've had a light colored (silver) roof. All my other cars would melt the ice just enough to let me slide it off in 10 or 20 seconds worth of work. This slab is frozen around the antenna and down into the sunroof crevices. Yes, lame excuses....I'm about to order one of those SnoPros....I parked in a sunny spot today thinking I'd go out at high noon and see if it loosened.

 

This week's newspaper features a story where a frozen sheet of ice flew off
a tractor trailer and sliced through the windshield of a car in York County, PA, causing damage and minor injuries.

Pennsylvania just got a law enacted in Pennsylvania late last year,
stating that drivers can be criminally responsible for injuries caused by
failure to remove ice from one's vehicle.

 

Spoke with our Claims training folks this morning and here's their take on the ice flying from another car subject:

The other driver IS liable if the insurance company can track him down. What we'll do is pay the damages out of your Comp coverage or your Uninsured Motorist coverage (if you carry it). Then we'll go after the other driver and/or his insurance company to compensate us for the payment.

Definitely NOT a collision loss as you were told by the after-hours person last evening, Matt.

For those of you in other states where it may not be a law regarding cleaning ice and snow from your vehicle: Remember, an act doesn't have to be illegal for there to be a liability. They are two separate issues. A tort is committed when someone has a duty to perform an act for public safety and fails to complete that act, and in turn causes damages due to their negligence.

So, if you are struck by ice from another vehicle and you suffer damages, that other driver is liable, with or without laws in the state dictating they clean off their car.

 

I talked to my agent's office. They said it was definitely covered under comprehensive. Now I need to call up the claim team and explain to them the conversation I had with my agent's office and clear up the collision thing. Hopefully this doesn't get too messy.

 

Need to borrow my swifer wetjet

 

I feel like the caveman on the Geico commercial.

 

Maybe should haven't help her to get out and drive

 

Sorry to hear, Matt. Good luck with the insurance claim.

I'm not sure if it's an actual law or not, but I saw yesterday two cars pulled over with the owners cleaning off their cars.

I had a few semi-close calls over the past two days, but luckily, nothing yet. (knock on wood)


-Paul!

 

Hey! If idiots weren't allowed to drive just think how light traffic would be!

 

Yeah, and I would have to find another j o b.

 

What excatly do you do at you job? Claims dude? Customer service rep? Agent?

 

I'm six weeks into a five month training program to be a Claim Rep, Jeremy. I hope to learn the new position and then move back into management in my new dept within a year (I moved from Underwriting after having spent 5 years in that department).