Snow load on a soft top

[DanW]

Not

11 to 12 inches on mine. Not an issue. I did not bother to brush it off.

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[TheBirdie72]

Just like any other vehicle… please clean the snow off before you drive it anywhere? On behalf of all of us that may end up driving behind you, thank you!

 

[DanW]

Just like any other vehicle… please clean the snow off before you drive it anywhere? On behalf of all of us that may end up driving behind you, thank you!

Well......it tends to ward off tailgaters! LOL

 

[Heimkehr]

Just like any other vehicle… please clean the snow off before you drive it anywhere? On behalf of all of us that may end up driving behind you, thank you!

Yep. E.g., in 2022, PA passed "Christine's Law.". It allows an aggrieved driver (i.e., someone who's vehicle was damaged by uncleared snow and/or ice coming off of the vehicle in front of him) to file a claim against the offending owner.

A driver can be fined $50 just for having uncleared snow and/or ice on his vehicle. If dislodged snow or ice causes injury, the fine increases from $200 to $1,500 per incident.

The law is named after the woman who lost her life when dislodged ice caused a fatal accident.

 

[DanW]

Yep. E.g., in 2022, PA passed "Christine's Law.". It allows an aggrieved driver (i.e., someone who's vehicle was damaged by uncleared snow and/or ice coming off of the vehicle in front of him) to file a claim against the offending owner.

A driver can be fined $50 just for having uncleared snow and/or ice on his vehicle. If dislodged snow or ice causes injury, the fine increases from $200 to $1,500 per incident.

The law is named after the woman who lost her life when dislodged ice caused a fatal accident.

Way to kill the buzz.

That´s a sad situation and I feel badly for Christine. I am sure that damage to cars may happen occasionally with it coming off large vehicles, like commercial trucks. but it is also not a common way to buy the farm.

Soft tops don´t tend to shed it like painted surfaces, either. It typically blows off as powder with sometimes small chunks that are not solid ice. The bottom tends to ultimately melt off.

None of the 11+ inches on my soft top came off in a way that would have caused any problem for anyone. The bottom layer of ice, in some spots, is still there and is frozen to the twill material. It ain´t goin´ anywhere until it melts.

 

[3TV]

Yep. E.g., in 2022, PA passed "Christine's Law.". It allows an aggrieved driver (i.e., someone who's vehicle was damaged by uncleared snow and/or ice coming off of the vehicle in front of him) to file a claim against the offending owner.

A driver can be fined $50 just for having uncleared snow and/or ice on his vehicle. If dislodged snow or ice causes injury, the fine increases from $200 to $1,500 per incident.

The law is named after the woman who lost her life when dislodged ice caused a fatal accident.

Isn't there some responsibility on the driver following said vehicle to maintain a safe following distance?

 

[Heimkehr]

Isn't there some responsibility on the driver following said vehicle to maintain a safe following distance?

Perhaps, but from first hand experience, a large sheet of detached frozen snow or chunked ice can linger in the air longer than you'd guess, and descend at an erratic rate and in an unanticipated direction, e.g., due to wind conditions at the time. In practical terms, that means a safe following distance is no guarantee that one's vehicle won't be damaged.

Know also that ambient temperatures and thus road conditions may be such that evasive maneuvers may not be able to be executed with the same speed or effectiveness as warmer and dryer conditions would allow.

The aforementioned Christine's Law was long overdue in this state. But for my time on active duty, I've lived here all of my life, and have seen flying chunks of snow and ice detaching spontaneously from uncleaned/uncleared vehicles since childhood. There's no "buzz" about it.

Folks: think of others, not just yourselves. Clean the snow and ice off of your vehicles before departure. Not doing so may literally cost you.

 

[DanW]

Perhaps, but from first hand experience, a large sheet of detached frozen snow or chunked ice can linger in the air longer than you'd guess, and descend at an erratic rate and in an unanticipated direction, e.g., due to wind conditions at the time. In practical terms, that means a safe following distance is no guarantee that one's vehicle won't be damaged.

Know also that ambient temperatures and thus road conditions may be such that evasive maneuvers may not be able to be executed with the same speed or effectiveness as warmer and dryer conditions would allow.

The aforementioned Christine's Law was long overdue in this state. But for my time on active duty, I've lived here all of my life, and have seen flying chunks of snow and ice detaching spontaneously from uncleaned/uncleared vehicles since childhood. There's no "buzz" about it.

Folks: think of others, not just yourselves. Clean the snow and ice off of your vehicles before departure. Not doing so may literally cost you.

I don´t disagree....except I´ve never seen it happen from any of my 3 soft top Jeeps. Besides that, under all but unusually cold conditions, they melt off very quickly. I could see it on a painted top vehicle. But enough to kill someone? I´d want to see some examples if it came off a passenger car.

I have seen big sheets of snow/ice come off semi trailers, though. I could see that happening.

But now I´m wondering how semi truck drivers who are on the road...say they spend the night at a Flying J, it snows, then they have to drive the next morning......how exactly are they supposed to clear the top of their trailers? Do truck stops provide that service, and if they do, how are they going to do the dozens upon dozens of trucks that would be lined up to have it done? If they somehow climb up there to do it themselves, I´d wager a hefty amount that they´d have a bigger risk of injury getting up there and pushing the snow off than someone driving behind them. Especially if it was ice.

I am just not sure how it would be practical to clear large commercial vehicles.

Was Christine killed by ice coming off a commercial vehicle? Or did it come off a passenger vehicle?

I tried to get ice off the back of my Gladiator´s toneau cover tonight after reading this thread. It has a cloth covering. It will NOT come off. It would have to be in a heated garage for awhile to get it to melt enough to get it off.

 

[Heimkehr]

I have seen big sheets of snow/ice come off semi trailers, though. I could see that happening.

But now I´m wondering how semi truck drivers who are on the road...say they spend the night at a Flying J, it snows, then they have to drive the next morning......how exactly are they supposed to clear the top of their trailers?

I am just not sure how it would be practical to clear large commercial vehicles.

Was Christine killed by ice coming off a commercial vehicle? Or did it come off a passenger vehicle?

Semi trailers are the primary offenders, for certain. I'd agree that compliance can be challenging. That said, there are multiple solutions available as pictured below. I've seen them at work (a local truck stop has a scale that I used when I needed a weight ticket to register an out-of-state motorcycle trailer purchase.)

I think you and I'd agree, though, that most companies would just wait for a damage claim from another motorist and deal with it as the circumstances warrant. That's just an acknowledgement of reality.

Christine Lambert was killed when a sheet of ice flew off of a truck and went through her windscreen.

 

[DanW]

Semi trailers are the primary offenders, for certain. I'd agree that compliance can be challenging. That said, there are multiple solutions available as pictured below. I've seen them at work (a local truck stop has a scale that I used when I needed a weight ticket to register an out-of-state motorcycle trailer purchase.)

I think you and I'd agree, though, that most companies would just wait for a damage claim from another motorist and deal with it as the circumstances warrant. That's just an acknowledgement of reality.

Christine Lambert was killed when a sheet of ice flew off of a truck and went through her windscreen.

Again, very sad to hear about that lady´s fate. RIP.

Pretty cool tech there. I´ve never seen it before.

 

[Soggybottomboy]

All good points about clearing the snow so as to not damage the vehicle behind you. It snows so infrequently here, that never crossed my mind.

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