The Oswegonian

The Independent Student Newspaper of Oswego State

DATE

Apr. 25, 2024 

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Opinion

Snow “covered” cars cause fines, crashes

Spending a little more time brushing the snow off your car in the morning could become more beneficial for          all drivers.

Recently, four separate bills have been brought to the attention of lawmakers in New York State. These bills all have the same basic idea: brush your cars off or be fined. One of the bills suggests fining people between $150 and $800 for driving a vehicle that has more than three inches of snow on it. For truckers, the fine would be raised to between $450 and $1,250. Those that are disabled would not be subjected               to fines.

The bills are being put forth to the New York State lawmakers because driving with a snow-covered car is dangerous for the person driving and any motorist following behind them. If a car is covered in snow or ice while driving, it can become hazardous when the snow or ice flies off the car in any direction. Snow can become a flying object and impair a driver’s attention to the road or, in some cases, hit another car and cause damage or even a crash.

These laws are often shot down by lawmakers. Only two other states have implemented similar ideas. When it comes to the safety of the public, laws like this should be established because they are meant to protect people. If a little extra time must be spent cleaning off your car then why not just do it, rather than being fined or causing an accident.

I have seen many people driving down roads with piles of snow on top of their cars and with the snow shifting as they drive. In many of these instances the person I am with moves into another lane because they don’t feel safe. If snow is on your car while it is moving, there is a high possibility that it will slide off or be pushed off by the force of the car and can smack into the windshield of another person’s car.

As much as we might think snow doesn’t have much impact, it can. It can cause people to swerve to avoid impact or it can smack someone’s windshield, blocking their view of the road or breaking the windshield. Any of these instances can lead to deadly accidents.

If you live in New York, it is common sense that it will snow here during the winter. Anyone with a car should care enough to buy a brush and wipe off their vehicles so that all drivers on the road don’t have to worry about flying pieces of snow or ice heading their way when driving. If brushing off your car isn’t a law, then it should definitely be a common courtesy.