The winter months in the Mid-Atlantic area, including South Carolina, bring a number of different issues to the state, including the onset of a number of semi-trucks and vehicles, that fail to remove ice and snow accumulation. In fact, many states throughout the U.S., including South Carolina, are actively seeking to implement “ice-missile” legislation, by which to impose fines, fees, and other penalties to both truck and vehicle drivers for failing to adequately remove accumulated ice and snow. Such “ice-missile” legislation typically sets forth that drivers “shall remove any accumulated ice or snow from such motor vehicle, including the hood, trunk and roof of such motor vehicle, so that any ice or snow accumulated on such vehicle does not pose a threat to persons or property while the vehicle is being operated on any street or highway of this state.” In other words, such “ice-missile” legislation makes it mandatory, as a requisite to drive any automobile, to remove ice or snow, that make pose some health, safety, or other public risk to other drivers.
Legal Consequences of Failing to Remove Ice from a Vehicle
Although actual “ice-missile” legislation is still pending in South Carolina, there are many significant legal presumptions related to semi-trucks that may fail to adequately removal ice, snow, and other accumulation from their vehicles. For instance, from an insurance liability perspective or even a civil liability perspective, if a semi-truck driver is determined to have accumulated ice or snow, any falling snow that may harm or impact other drivers is categorized in South Carolina as a “loose load” and thus, a truck driver in South Carolina can be fined, punished, and otherwise held legally liable in this regard. Additionally, falling accumulated snow or ice from a semi-truck in South Carolina is similarly considered and viewed as a “load securement” issue, and as such, can be subject to fine, penalties and other legal civil liability as a result. In particular, truck drivers in South Carolina need to be aware that drivers may have a viable insurance claim against them under these categories of liability for failure to address accumulated ice and now.
The significance of this is that although there may not be per se “ice-missile” legislation as of yet in South Carolina, truck drivers and drivers in the state still need to be very conscientious of the legal consequences in failing to remove accumulated ice and snow. This understands that South Carolina clearly allows for fines, punishment, and other liability under the categories of loose load and load securement, wherein these represent two forms by which injured parties may seek recourse against truck drivers.
Contact Our South Carolina Attorneys for Help
If you have recently been involved in car accident involving accumulated falling ice or snow and as a result have suffered a significant injury, a personal injury lawyer at the Solomon Law Group will be able to provide you with the guidance that you need to prepare a strong personal injury claim. Personal injury claims, especially accumulated snow and ice cases can be complex without the assistance of an experienced personal injury lawyer. Reach out to us today for a consultation on your case.
