Tragedy that led to NJ law on removing snow/ice from your car

On a list of driving tips for winter weather on nj.gov you’ll find things like “turn on your headlights, using low beams when traveling in snow,” and “increase your following distance. In winter weather, travel at least eight to 10 seconds behind the car in front of you.”

There’s something else that all drivers need to do, and it isn’t just advice. It's the law.

This is important to know as New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow is forecasting snow and ice this weekend across New Jersey.

Snow removal law for vehicles in New Jersey

That is clearing snow and ice from your car before driving, especially the windows, roof, and hood. Cleaning the windows can save your own visibility. So can clearing the hood of a slab of snow, which could shift up and onto your windshield once moving.

At higher speeds, that same snow/ ice could slide off your hood, and your windshield can launch it straight up and over your car at a vehicle behind you. Snow or ice coming off your vehicle’s roof can do the same thing to another driver.

The penalty for leaving snow an ice on your vehicle

Failure to clear ice and snow can earn you a $25 to $75 fine, but if it results in property damage or injury to another driver, you can be fined up to $1,000. For commercial vehicles, it's $1,500.

Ever wonder how this law came about?

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Tragedy behind the law

A gentleman by the name of Michael Eastman was driving home to Ridgefield in early February of 1996. There had been a storm.

It was on Route 17 in Paramus that a tractor-trailer was out in front of his car, and the unthinkable happened.

A huge sheet of ice lifted off the top of the trailer and sailed straight through Eastman's windshield, striking him in the head and showering him in broken glass. He held on in a hospital for several days but died on February 9, 1996, of brain damage. He was only 46 years old.

His wife, Cathy Eastman, worked tirelessly, pushing for a law. It got the attention of Bill Pascrell, who at the time was an assemblyman. It took years, but it eventually passed.

As the legislation was debated, many argued that such a common-sense thing shouldn't be codified and that a tragedy didn't happen often enough to justify it. Cathy Eastman had something to say about that.

“I hope to God it never happens to you because then you'll be singing a different tune."

Cathy said back in 2014 that her daughter, planning a wedding at that time, didn't "have her dad to give her away." When a grandchild came, Cathy lamented that Michael never got to see his own grandchild.

So if you’re grousing and muttering under your breath when stretching across your SUV’s roof to reach that last bit of snow and ice, remember the reason behind the law. It might make it feel less of a burden.