I drove down to Kemptville this morning for the baptism of my friends’ baby. The weather wasn’t the greatest, with various forms of frozen precipitation in Ottawa progressing to freezing rain somewhere between Barrhaven and Manotick and then rain around Kars. But the highway was clear so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. On the way home in the afternoon, I noticed an alarming number of vehicles shedding huge slabs of ice and snow from their roofs as they drove along. The chunks flew up in the air to an impressive height before shattering on the ground.

Fortunately, as far as I know, none of them landed on the other cars, but if they had the results could have been disasterous. At highway speeds, ice and snow flying off cars and trucks case easily smash a windshield. If the driver is lucky, they won’t be injured and they’ll be able to stop safely. But if they’re not so lucky, they could be cut by broken glass, lose control, or worse.

Last January, for example, there was a driver whose car was hit by a chunk of ice that shattered their windshield. Fortunately, she got off with little more than a few shards of glass in her hands, but it could have been much worse.

So, remember to clear the snow off the roof of your car before you head out. It could save someone’s life.