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C'mon, people. You're not done digging out yet. I'm talking about your car. The big snow (of this week, at least) is history and I can only hope the snow that settled on the roof of your car is yesterday's news as well. But some of you -- and I won't mention any names because frankly, I don't know them -- are driving around with mountains of snow on your cars, which can cause potentially hazardous road conditions.
Just yesterday while driving on Route 7 down to Norwalk, a huge piece of snow/ice (think Titanic) flew off the roof of the car ahead of me. Fortunately there was no one in the adjacent lane and I was able to swerve to avoid the flying frozen mass. But it was scary -- and it could've caused a serious accident.
Last year Connecticut lawmakers adopted a measure that could net drivers of trucks and cars $75 fines for not removing snow and ice from their vehicles, as well as fines of as high as $1,250 if ice or snow flies off and causes damage or injury. But the measure doesn't take effect until late 2013, which means we have plenty of snowfall to dig out from under until then.
Following is an excerpt from the bill. "...The operator of any motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1 of the general statutes, shall remove any accumulated ice or snow from such motor vehicle, including the hood, trunk and roof of such motor vehicle, so that any ice or snow accumulated on such vehicle does not pose a threat to persons or property while the vehicle is being operated on any street or highway of this state."
Here's a math question for you. A six-inch snowfall left on an average car adds 225 of weight to the vehicle, and reduces its miles per gallon by some four percent. How much weight did your car gain during the storm? Hopefully, it has shed its blizzard bulk by now. Send me your pictures of snow offenders! Or just your gripes about it, at jcurtis@mainstreetconnect.us. You can leave me a note here, too.
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