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Sen. Lisa Boscola (D) is attempting to pass a bill that would allow police to fine a tractor-trailer driver $25 – $75 if they fail to remove snow and ice from atop their vehicles.

Though I feel the amount is hardly a deterrent to the problem, as most of these truckers would gladly pay a small fine, instead of spending the time to remove the hazard. Many will risk that the snow/ice on their roofs will quickly come off when they enter onto the highway and not injure or kill someone.

Start hitting them with $250 or more and they’d think twice about hitting the road before cleaning their trailers. Save the $25 fines for owners of smaller vehicles.

While truckers are taking the heat for not cleaning their equipment, the general populace often can be seen without a lick of common sense when it comes to cleaning their cars.

I’m sure you’ve seen them. Cars traveling the roadways, clean of snow from front bumper to back bumper with the exception of their roof. Either they plan on whipping around a corner, hoping it will slide off, or they just wait for it to melt.

Sometimes, just like trucks, it doesn’t. It becomes a large block of ice, especially when sitting atop a vehicle with some type of luggage carrier equipped on the roof, where it becomes caught until breaking loose.

Then there are the simpletons.

After the last snowstorm, I was at the local Giant. A Jeep parked next to mine. It was clean, but with untouched snow covering his soft-top.

Out of simple curiosity (I have a hard-top), I asked if he wasn’t concerned about the snow rotting his cover. He responded it wouldn’t hurt the cover and it was left up there on purpose. “If somebody follows me too closely, I just slap the top from inside. You’d be surprised how fast they back off when they get hit with snow and ice,” he responded with a chuckle.

He is an idiot, but likely not the only one.

How difficult is it to take a few extra minutes to push off snow from your car roof? Those who don’t are just lazy bastards. There are plenty of products available if they fear scratching their paint. Common courtesy just doesn’t exist for some people.

But, back to truckers.

I’ve seen the arguments from them. “I’m not climbing on my trailer and risking injury,” most say.

The fact is that there is something called a snow rake. It’s a long handled scoop of sorts that reaches the top of trailers and is dragged back, pulling snow off as it is pulled.

There is also an opportunity for the state of Pennsylvania to help solve the problem for truckers, while generating additional income.

There are numerous weigh stations throughout Pennsylvania.

Provide snow removal systems at these stations for trucks, tour buses, and other large vehicles to use. They would pay a nominal fee to be cleared of snow from their roofs and State Troopers could be empowered to order them to report to the closest weigh station, if they feel there is a hazard to the public.

A Pennsylvania business has developed exactly what we need to meet the new law and it wouldn’t take long to pay for the equipment, even with a fee of only $10 – $20 for the service.