Police pull over drivers who haven't cleared snow from their cars

Before you drive off anywhere after a snowstorm, you better wipe off any snow still on your car.

Some local police departments are cracking down and pulling over drivers they see on the road who have not yet cleared off their cars.

You see it all the time when driving after a bad snow storm and snow or ice from the car or truck in front of you flies off and hits your windshield.

It drives plenty of people crazy, and it can cause an accident.

"Something like that hits, it stuns you and you know my heart skipped a beat and you could absolutely lose control," Merrilee DeMuth of Bethel Township explained.

Wednesday's nor'easter dumped a foot of snow or more in places, and Thursday, car after car hit the roads with snow piled on their roofs and windows.

Bethel Township Police noticed the trend and began stopping drivers, and warning them to get the snow off of their cars.

"You basically have a white parachute of snow coming out behind you," Officer Patrick Tiefel of Bethel Township Police explained.

"Gave them a gentle reminder, clean off your vehicles and if they didn't have a snow brush, gave them one in the vehicle so they could clean off their vehicle," Officer Tiefel added.

You can be pulled over for driving without cleaning your windshield and fined a mere $25.

However, it'll cost you big, as much as a $1,000 fine, if you don't clear your roof and hood, and flying snow causes an accident, injury, or worse.

"People have Died. You'll see the videos especially on the trucks where huge chunks of ice come off the windshield and kill people, so it's a serious problem," Chief Thomas Sharp explained.

Police Chief Thomas Sharp says some people don't realize they have a lethal weapon on top of their vehicle.

Others are just lazy.