Legislation aims to help truckers remove snow and ice from rooftops

In an effort to promote trucking safety and to keep motorists secure, operators are urging their fellow drivers to keep 200 feet back in case snow falls from the roof of their tractor-trailers, The News of Cumberland County reports.

This warning comes after many truck stops in New Jersey are not eager to install snow removal machines because of liability issues, leaving the driver to operate with little choice but to continue their route despite the potential hazard.

"If the machine does not get all of the snow off, and a piece of ice falls and injures somebody, we as the trucking company could say we paid you to remove the snow, so why was it still up there?" Lee Robledo, who oversees all safety precautions for National Freight Industries, told the news source.

Lawmakers currently seek to pass a bill that would impose harsher fines for drivers who do not remove snow from their vehicles. As part of the proposal, the state's Department of Transportation may install or work with private contractors to build snow removal equipment at weigh and rest stations.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, more than 74,000 people were injured in a motor vehicle accident that involved a large truck in 2009, which is a decrease of nearly 16,000 from 2008.

By Mark Priest

Legislation aims to help truckers remove snow and ice from rooftops

Friday, March 25th, 2011