LEBANON — Police in the Upper Valley are cracking down on a New Hampshire law that requires drivers to clear their cars of snow and ice or face a fine up to $500 — and some departments are already seeing a change.
The state law was passed in 2002 following a fatal crash in Peterborough, N.H., a few years earlier. Dubbed “Jessica’s Law,” it was named after 20-year-old Jessica Smith, who was killed when a piece of ice flew off a tractor-trailer, hitting a box truck that then hit her car.
Ice and snow coming off cars on the highway can distract other drivers and even crack windshields, according to Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello. As recently as 2018, a Plainfield woman saw most of her windshield shattered by ice falling off a vehicle while she was driving down Interstate 89 in Lebanon.
And though it remains a serious problem, police say they have seen an uptick in drivers abiding by the law.
“We’re noticing quite a few cars that have been scraped down now,” Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello said Friday.
The change partly comes from police officers enforcing the law more strictly, especially following winter storms, when Mello said police keep an eye out for any cars that might be covered in snow. Drivers could be subjected to a “negligent driving” citation, which can carry a $300-to-$500 fine for the first offense or a $500-to-$1,000 fine for the second.
But not everyone gets a citation; sometimes police just require drivers to clean their cars before getting back on the road, Mello said.
The same is true in Claremont, where the entire department recently got new “snow brooms” for each cruiser this year. It’s another effort to more strictly enforce the law as well as give drivers the necessary tools to clean their cars, Claremont Police Chief Mark Chase said.
In Hanover, where police say they have also stepped up their enforcement efforts, 71 people were pulled over for violating the law in 2019, during which police issued 68 warnings. In 2020 they’ve already pulled over 51 people, all resulting in warnings, said Hanover Police Lt. Scott Rathburn.
“A lot of times the stops are educational,” he added.
Education contributes to the increase in people following the law, officials said. Police say they try to get the word out via frequent social media posts and radio interviews. Just last week, New Hampshire State Police posted a video on social media reminding drivers about the law, which included images of cars carrying more than three inches of snow, and others with windshields that had been crushed in.
The improvement doesn’t just come from police effort — Mello and Chase both agreed that social media plays a big role in raising awareness about Jessica’s Law.
“I’ll see people calling other people out (on Facebook),” Chase said, adding that he often sees drivers take a picture of a car that’s covered in snow and post it to their page or a local Facebook group. Despite police outreach, social media posts “probably have more of an impact on people,” he said.
The rules across the river in Vermont are a little different.
“Vermont law requires a windshield to be free of obstructions, and although there is no specific law dedicated to the removal of snow off a vehicle, it is a driver’s responsibility to ensure their vehicle is clear of ice and snow,” Vermont State Police spokesman Adam Silverman said in an email Friday. Not removing the snow could result in either an obstruction of windshield citation, with a $76 fine, or an unsecured load citation, with a $134 fine.
An act that would require the removal of snow and ice from vehicles in Vermont was introduced in the House last year and is still in committee.
Even though the laws regarding snow on cars vary between states, Chase said police don’t see a noticeable difference among the numbers of Vermonters, New Hampshire residents and out-of-state drivers who get pulled over for the violation.
But now, thanks to the new push of drivers following the law, anyone who does break the law “really sticks out,” Mello said.
Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or at 603-727-3216.