The following are snow and ice removal questions to ask your driver manager so that you can stay compliant with laws about snow/ice removal from the tops of trailers and yet stay safe.
Certain states and/or jurisdictions have laws about snow/ice removal from vehicles, for which the drivers will be held responsible.
If you haven’t yet talked about this with your driver manager, now is the time.
What’s The Need for Removing Snow And Ice From My Truck?
According to a November 17, 2022, article:
A new law in Pennsylvania that requires drivers to remove snow and ice from their vehicles, including big rigs, has gone into effect.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed the law, known as Christines Law, into law in July 2022. The law states that before traveling, all snow and ice must be removed from hoods, rooftops and trunks within 24 hours after a winter storm.
And this is just one example of a snow and ice removal law.
Other states may have similar frozen precipitation removal requirements in place.
While we are not driver managers, trucking company executives, or legal advisors, we are trucker consumer advocates who want to help you save money and time.
While the majority of these snow and ice removal questions are geared for trailers, other places on a Commercial Motor Vehicle may need to be cleared as well.
Feel free to ask snow and ice removal questions like these:
- Do you have a list of approved stationary snow removal devices that can be used by all truckers?
- What if I need to remove snow and ice from the top of my trailer, but I’m nowhere near a stationary snow removal device?
- What company-approved advice do you give me about clearing snow/ice off the top of my trailer?
- How do you suggest that I get up on the roof of my trailer to remove snow/ice?
- What kind of security system will the company provide to keep me from falling off the roof of my trailer?
- In addition to the weight of the snow/ice, how much weight can the roofs of the trailers support?
- After I get up on a trailer roof to remove snow/ice, what kind of device should I use for removal?
- What happens if I accidentally fall through the roof into the trailer?
- What happens if I accidentally fall off the trailer roof onto the ground?
- Will the company provide me with a ladder to climb up on the trailer roof?
- Where should I securely store the ladder on my tractor so that I’ll always have it with me no matter which trailer I’m hauling?
- Does the company have the right kind of insurance to cover this kind of action from drivers?
- What if I tried using a “roof rake” from the ground to remove snow/ice from my trailer, but it didn’t remove everything?
- What does the company’s preferred health insurance company advise about snow and ice removal from the tops of trailers?
- If I’m injured in the course of clearing snow/ice off the top of a trailer, will the company continue to pay me a weekly wage until I am healed and able to return to work?
- Is the company looking at using technology to keep snow/ice from accumulating on trailer roofs or easily clearing them once snow/ice is in place?
- If a snow/ice removal device is installed on top of the trailer, will it cause the height of the trailer to be taller than 13’6″ high?
- Will the company cover tickets for me if ever I can’t get any or all of the snow/ice off the top of my trailer?
- Will getting a ticket for failure to remove snow/ice from my trailer’s ticket go on my MVR or affect my CSA score?
- What does the company’s attorney have to say about removing snow and ice from the tops of company trailers?
If you ask any of these or related questions of your driver manager, we would appreciate it if you would provide his/her response.
Other pages on our website that are related to this include:
- Big Rig Rake Answers Questions About Their Snow Removal Tool
- Roof Rake
- Trailer Roof Top Snow Clearing Horizontal Life Line Systems
- No Snow Roof – A Solution for Eliminating Snow and Ice on Trailer Roofs
If you have questions, a comment, or feedback about this topic, please contact us.
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