Truckers To Review Remedies For ‘Ice Missles’

By Stephanie Reitz Associated Press Writer

HARTFORD — The country’s leading trucking industry group says it will seek new ways to help truckers in Connecticut and nationwide remove ice and snow from atop their rigs without endangering themselves.

The American Trucking Associations said in a letter to Governor M. Jodi Rell last week that big-rig drivers share her concerns about dangers that airborne snow and ice pose to other drivers.

Former Kansas Governor Bill Graves, head of the Virginia-based ATA, said it is asking the American Transportation Research Institute to study the issue, and to suggest new technology or equipment that helps truckers clear their roofs without the dangers of slipping off.

The move comes as Connecticut legislators consider penalties for drivers who cause crashes or injuries specifically because they neglected to clear their vehicles’ roofs.

The result can be what Rell calls “ice missiles,” large sheets of snow and ice that fly into traffic and can break windshields or cause other damage to nearby vehicles.

The tighter rules would apply to all types of vehicles. However, supporters of the penalties have specifically mentioned tractor-trailers, box trucks, and other large commercial vehicles as frequent culprits.

National and state trucking advocates have said for years that it is difficult and unsafe for drivers to climb atop big rigs to shovel off snow or chip away ice.

The lightweight material in many of the roofs becomes dangerously slippery and could break under the workers’ weight, and the trucking company owners risk violating worker-safety laws if they push the issue.

“[Our] members have struggled to find practical approaches to resolving the problem,” Graves wrote in his letter to Rell, which also was delivered Friday to state lawmakers.

Michael Riley, president of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, said the ATA’s letter puts the concerns in a national light and might prompt solutions that benefit all sides.

The Connecticut legislature’s Transportation Committee on Friday approved a measure that would prompt fines of $200 to $1,000 for drivers who leave snow and ice on their vehicles, causing a crash or injury when it dislodges and flies off.

It would not apply if a car is parked and the accumulation flies off because of heavy winds or other factors. Nor would it require people to pull over and clear their roofs if the snow and ice builds as they are driving through a storm.

The bill, which next goes to the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, would go into effect June 1, 2009, if approved by the General Assembly. Realistically, that means it would not be enforced until the weather turns poor in fall or winter 2009.