Ice Chunk Flies Off Semi-Trailer Into Driver's Windshield On I-694

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - It's one thing to keep your eyes on the road, but this time of year and especially around tall vehicles, you might have to also look up.

"I have seen off of trucks the snow or the debris flying off the very top," driver Lori Stiles described.

She's talking about what are sometimes called "ice missiles." It's when snow builds up on the top of a semi-trailer, bus or other vehicles. When temperatures rise, the snow and ice melts and can be easily lifted off when a vehicle it's on is traveling down a road at a high rate of speed.

One driver saw it up close and dangerously personal when a large chunk of ice smashed into her windshield along I-694 Monday. She said it flew off of a FedEx truck that was merging next to her.

After Minnesota State Patrol posted pictures of the incident on Facebook, many people commented that truck drivers should be held responsible for clearing snow and ice. Others came to the defense of truck drivers saying it's difficult to remove.

John Hausladen, president and CEO of the Minnesota Trucking Association, said one of the first difficulties truck drivers encounter is that sometimes they begin their trip in a warm climate and end up in a part of the country where it's snowing and much colder.

"The challenge we have is it's a mobile product," he said. "Sometimes they're in snow, sometimes they're not. Sometimes they're not even our trailers that they're hauling. They're often customer trailers."

Some people commented on the Facebook post saying drivers should climb a ladder and clean off the trailer tops themselves. Hausladen said that's a dangerous idea.

"You're 13 feet off the ground and there are no ladders (on the trailers). There are no hand rails. There are no safety devices," he said. "Even to get up there as a driver is almost impossible but if you did, now you're lugging some device up and you're on a very slippery surface."

Truck driver Harry Burton said he'd never risk climbing onto his truck to clear ice and snow. "Big companies have apparatus that you drive underneath and it'll actually drag off all the snow," he said.

But even though that type of apparatus exists, Hausladen said not every trucking company has one. "And frankly sometimes you can get the snow off and the ice is still there," said Hausladen.

Some states have like Connecticut and Pennsylvania have an "Ice Missile Law," requiring people to clear snow and ice off their vehicles. Minnesota does not have that type of law, but police can ticket a driver if they feel the snow and ice on a vehicle makes it unsafe.

Matthew Murphy is an attorney with Nilan, Johnson and Lewis in Minneapolis. He practices law involving transportation and trucking. He said although there is no specific law for ice missiles in Minnesota, a truck driver or company can be held liable.

In a previous press release he co-wrote, Murphy said they could be liable, "for ordinary negligence if debris from the vehicle causes an accident which a jury later determines was reasonably foreseeable."

Minnesota State Patrol said that FedEx plans to cover the damage costs associated with Monday's incident, however the driver was not cited. State Patrol's message for all drivers is to create more space between yourself and those around you.

"We need to leave a greater following distance, slow down and I think that's the best recipe to keep us all safe on the road," Hausladen said.