A Nova Scotia woman is sharing her experience with a dangerous encounter that resulted from a piece of flying ice that wasn’t properly cleared off another vehicle.
“More people need to clue in and clean the ice off their vehicles before they go out,” Jodi DeLong said.
DeLong was travelling toward Berwick, N.S., when she said she was caught off guard by an object suddenly flying towards her.
“This enormous thing flew towards me, and I didn’t even have time to slow down,” she said.
By the time she pulled over and processed what had happened, she realized she’d been struck by a chunk of ice that had flown off a vehicle.
She concluded that the driver was likely travelling on the opposite side of the highway and wasn’t even aware of the damage they had caused.
“The front end of the car on the driver side was just completely smashed, the lights are gone, you can see right into the engine compartment,” DeLong said.
She contacted Nova Scotia RCMP to document the incident, along with her insurance company.
While she was waiting for her vehicle to be towed, she says she was further disheartened by what she observed.
“I counted at least 50 vehicles that were uncleaned on the road while I was sitting there over the span of an hour,” she said.
CAA Atlantic says it’s important that drivers remember to adhere to the laws under the provincial Motor Vehicle Act at all times.
“Winter is the most treacherous season for driving, we know that. It’s absolutely critical that drivers remove snow and ice built up on their vehicle before hitting the road. In fact, securing load and removing debris is the law,” said Steve Olmstead, the public affairs director for CAA Atlantic.
DeLong hopes that sharing her experience makes others think twice before getting behind their wheel without fully clearing their vehicle off.
“It’s illegal to drive with your vehicle uncleaned like that,” she said.