Ice and snow can pile up anywhere. Tree branches, power lines, street signs... all of these can have snow pile up on top of them.
Of course, that snow and ice will inevitably drop off and could fall right on top of a car or pedestrian.
However, it’s when the snow falls off of a moving vehicle that can spell issues for all parties involved.
If a driver allows snow and/or ice to pile up on top of their car and it causes damage to another car or person, they could be subject to Virginia’s negligence law.
“You have to get the snow off your vehicles because once you start going, that snow and ice is very heavy,” Matt Broughton, an attorney and partner with Gentry Locke, said. “It could go through the windshield of another vehicle, it could hurt someone very very badly and not taking care of that is negligence.”
The negligence law applies to every vehicle on the road, including truckers who are driving 18-wheelers. After all, it is their duty to maintain their trucks, and that includes keeping ice off the top.
“That includes making sure it doesn’t have ice on the windshield that prevents them from seeing out,” Broughton said. “They can’t have ice on top of the trucks because the ice could fly off the truck and hurt somebody. It’s their duty to get it clean and make sure it’s not there.”
Broughton recalled two such instances where ice fell off the top of a truck and hit a windshield. In one such case, the victim ended up getting blinded because of the impact.
A violation of the law could potentially give someone a date in front of a judge.
“You have to keep your windshields - front and back and sides - clear so you can see from them,” Broughton said. “That is one violation you could face and you’d go to basic traffic court for that.”
In the scenario that a driver is worried about being a victim of an event like this, there are ways to preemptively protect themselves.
“You have to have what is called uninsured or underinsured motor coverage. Uninsured means you don’t know who it is, it’s a John Doe or it’s someone who left the scene,” Broughton said. “You actually go to your own insurance company and tell them ‘Look, I’ve been really badly injured, I don’t know who exactly caused it, but I’ve been very badly injured because of that person’s negligence'.”
Braughton says the recommended amount of coverage is about one million dollars to better protect yourself.
