WASHINGTON — If you have not yet cleared snow and ice off your car, you are being urged to do it right away.
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That’s because flying ice smashed car windshields in the D.C. area and even left some people hurt on Wednesday.
“We’ve had a number of complaints — particularly around the Capital Beltway and Route 50 — of these pieces of ice striking other vehicles,” said Elena Russo of the Maryland State Police.
As of about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Russo said the agency had received nearly 20 complaint calls related to the problem.
“In three of those separate incidents, drivers suffered some sort of eye injury from spraying glass from these windshields being broken,” she said.
Flying ice can also cause drivers approaching it to swerve or take other evasive actions not expected by nearby motorists, easily contributing to crashes, state police said.
Drivers should be aware that Maryland State Police can pull you over and ticket you for not clearing the remnants of a snowstorm off the roof, hood or back of your car.
“That should also be somewhat of a deterrent,” said Russo.
A tweet from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue indicates they’re having similar problems.
