This time of the year, truckers who do not clear ice from their vehicles pose a very real threat to the safety of other motorists. Automobile safety experts are citing a recent incident involving a driver injured by a large chunk of ice falling from a moving truck as a reason to be concerned about excessive ice buildup on vehicles. The incident occurred on I-78 when an ice chunk came free from the roof of a truck and smashed through a woman’s windshield as she was driving.
The woman involved in the truck accident said that she was terribly frightened and feared the worst when she saw the ice come off the truck and speed towards her windshield. The ice collided with the windshield and hit the top of her Honda.
Some state police officers came to the woman’s aid while others chased down the truck driver, who apparently continued driving following the incident. Although investigations are ongoing, it is currently unclear whether the truck driver immediately realized what had happened.
A state trooper who arrived on the scene said that when vehicles are moving at high rates of speed, only a small amount of wind is required to lift large slabs of ice from the vehicles’ roofs. The relatively large surface area of the roof of a semi truck makes it even more important for truck drivers to check for ice buildup.
The towing company that removed the woman’s car from the scene explained that this case is not rare at all. The woman said that she hopes her unfortunate fate will cause more drivers to be wary of the fact that ice buildup on their own vehicles can cause automobile accidents.
Source: WABC-TV, “Woman injured by ice flying off truck,” 2/5/2011
