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Not again: West Virginia bill would mandate snow-free vehicles

Concern about being struck by flying snow and ice from atop vehicles has spurred a West Virginia lawmaker to pursue legislation that would follow in the footsteps of a recent New Jersey law.

West Virginia Delegate Sharon Spencer, D-Kanawha, has introduced a bill that would get tough with drivers in the state who fail to clear wintry precipitation off their vehicles. As is the case in the Garden State, the rule would apply to commercial and non-commercial vehicles.

The decision by New Jersey lawmakers last summer to endorse the legislation angered the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and countless truck drivers who have long opposed what they say is legislation that sets truckers up to fail. The rule is slated to take effect this October.

Spencer’s bill is very similar. HB4526 would permit police to pull over drivers whose vehicles were not cleared of snow and ice. Drivers would be responsible for making “all reasonable efforts to remove accumulated ice or snow” from the hood, trunk and roof of the motor vehicle, truck cab, trailer or intermodal freight container.

Spencer said her bill is intended to target people who get behind the wheel knowing perfectly well that their vehicles have an excessive amount of snow or ice built up over a few days.

“This bill targets situations where snow and ice has built up for several days and the person knew it was very dangerous but they just ignored that,” Spencer told Land Line.

Despite her assurances, the bill leaves the final determination about who gets a ticket up to the discretion of law enforcement.

Violators would face fines between $25 and $75. No points would be assessed against the driver’s license.

OOIDA says such rules are nearly impossible to comply with. They also cite concerns about people feeling compelled to climb atop large vehicles to remove snow or ice.

Joe Rajkovacz, OOIDA’s regulatory affairs specialist, said the bill sets drivers up to fail.

“This is the type of effort where drivers are screwed into failure with the only benefit being law enforcement writing them a ticket and stealing their hard-earned money,” Rajkovacz said.

Drivers would not be liable for snow or ice that accumulates on a vehicle while out on the road if they are traveling to a location with snow and ice removal equipment or technology, provided they have not already passed such a location before being stopped.

Unlike the New Jersey law that Spencer’s bill was patterned after there is nothing in HB4526 about providing incentives to encourage private companies to install snow and ice removal facilities.

Spencer said she feels there isn’t much of a need in West Virginia to build snow and ice removal facilities.

“We rarely have bad weather. So it really wouldn’t be cost effective for anybody to have ice and snow removal as a business,” she said.

The bill does specify that drivers would not be responsible for snow or ice accumulated while the vehicle, trailer, or container was not in their possession.

However, the provision raises more concerns about how law enforcement would interpret such bizarre rules.

“How is a cop going to tell the difference between something accumulating while it’s out in operation versus sitting?” questioned Rajkovacz. “I understand the roof will pile up if it’s sitting. But that doesn’t mean snow and ice can’t accumulate on the roof going down the road. The cop still gets to decide when the snow accumulated.”

Spencer is convinced that there is no need to worry.

“It’s very clear in the legislation anything that’s happened that day you’re exempt from. No one is expected to stop and clean the snow off their vehicle in the middle of a snowstorm,” she said.

Some truckers say there are certain locations around the state that can be found to scrape snow and ice from atop trailers, but there are nowhere near enough locations to accommodate the demand that would be created if the bill becomes law.

“The only places that I know of you can have anything like that done is at a truck wash,” truck driver and OOIDA Life Member Randy Tomblin of Huntington, WV, told Land Line. “There just aren’t truck washes in West Virginia. I only know of one.”

Spencer said she is open to discussion to improve the bill “so it just affects those who are the worst offenders while protecting those who aren’t.”

HB4526 is in the House Roads and Transportation Committee. OOIDA issued a Call to Action to West Virginia members Friday, Feb. 19, encouraging them to contact committee members about the bill.

To view other legislative activities of interest for West Virginia in 2010, click here .

Editor’s Note: Please share your thoughts with us about the legislation included in this story. Comments may be sent to [email protected] .

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