Winter driving presents a lot of problems. It seems that once the snow falls, reasonable Ontario drivers (Yes, I believe they exist) throw common sense and caution out the window and drive like complete donkeys. While there may be little you can do to prevent the inevitable f*$k of a driver behind you, it’s always best practice to do all you can to help yourself. One of the sometimes not so easy but always necessary things to do is, make sure all the snow is cleared from your vehicle before you drive off to your destination.
Section 74 of the Highway Traffic Act makes it an offence to drive a motor vehicle on a roadway without having a clear view to the rear and or sides of the vehicle. I can see how it would happen. The mornings are busy and darkness until seemingly 8:00 a.m. doesn’t make it easy to get up and at ’em. After setting up the kids with home school for the day and leaving the oldest in charge, you head out the door already 10 minutes late (Thanks, Dougie). Mother Nature decided to dump a few centimeters earlier in the morning but you just don’t have the time. You hop in the car, turn on the wipers, and thankfully they aren’t stuck to the window. A few passes and the snow is gone. You can see in front of you. The snow on your side windows makes your side mirrors irrelevant, and the back window being covered turns that rearview mirror into nothing more than a place to hang your air freshener. You leave the driveway and are now breaking the law and subject to a traffic stop, an $85 ticket. No demerit points for standard drivers but a commercial driver would take a one-point hit on their CVOR. Depending on how the obstructed view affected your driving the $85 may end up being the least of your concerns.
Don’t like to clean your car, well I hear the weather is great in California. Maybe working from home these days makes that a reality. If a location change isn’t in the cards, then a good snow brush should be. It doesn’t take long and in the end, could save you a ton of grief. We all know the person behind you drives like someone who has never seen snow before, so wouldn’t it be a good idea to be able to see all that is going on around you? The team at CDD Law urges you to do all you can to keep our roads safe this winter but realizes that mistakes are made. We are here to help when your day just isn’t going as planned. If you or anyone you know faces a motor vehicle-related charge, your first call should be to Cake Criminal Defence. We defend!
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