Clear your vehicle of ice and snow, northern Ont. police remind residents

Police, including OPP, are warning drivers that ice or snow flying off a vehicle can be deadly, leading to potential careless driving charges.

Spending a few minutes scraping your windows may save drivers more than just fines and tickets.

Police in northern Ontario are reminding motorists that clearing your car of snow and ice could save lives.

“If there is any ice or snow buildup on the roof or the hood of your vehicle as you’re driving down the highway, you know that the wind may dislodge this ice and it could cause an accident and could injure and kill somebody,” said OPP acting Sgt. Martin Thibault.

Fines and tickets will be handed out in less severe cases, Thibault added.

“There are different fines that could apply in those cases,” he said.

“When the view is obstructed is one possible fine. Also, an insecure load. Believe it or not, if there is snow on a vehicle, it becomes a load and it is unsecured if it’s not removed.”

One family took to social media to post what can happen when drivers don’t clean their vehicles of snow and ice. A video showed the impact of an ice chunk flying from a vehicle and breaking their windshield.

Not worth the risk

Thibault said not properly cleaning your car of ice and snow is not worth the risk.

“There may be some more serious offences that apply, such as even potentially careless driving,” he said.

“If you cause an accident as a result of your neglect of clearing the snow or ice, other kinds of charges could apply as well.”

People we talked to said properly clearing vehicles of winter debris is common sense.

“It’s just the safety behind it,” one person said.

“Just trying to stay safe on the roads -- and especially in the north, right? We have a lot of accidents -- the roads get really bad. So just trying to stay safe.”

One man said he helps clear dozens of cars daily as part of his job.

“It’s an ongoing process every day,” he said.

“We have … between 60 and 100 cars on our lots, so plowing and getting snow off cars is something we do every single day.”

Thibault said drivers should carry a snow brush and remove all the ice and snow from their vehicles. That includes lights and licence plates to comply with the Highway Traffic Act.