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NH Police: Clear Snow From Your Vehicle Or Face $500 Fine
New Hampshire's "Jessica's Law" prohibits citizens from driving with snow or ice stuck to their vehicles.
CONCORD, NH — As snow fell across New Hampshire Tuesday, police reminded drivers to clear snow from their vehicles or face fines up to $500. "Jessica's Law," passed by state lawmakers in 2001, makes it illegal for citizens to drive snow- or ice-covered vehicles. The law was named after Jessica Smith, a 20-year-old Nashua woman who was killed in 1999 in Peterborough when a chunk of ice flew off a truck and struck a trailing vehicle, leading to a crash involving Smith's car.
Jessica's Law includes penalties of $250 to $500 for a first offense, with stiffer penalties for subsequent offenses — including license suspension. Massachusetts has a similar law on the books.
In 2011, a woman was seriously injured in New Hampshire in Mason after flying ice from another vehicle struck her vehicle.
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Photo: Police in Lowell, Massachusetts, cited the driver of this snow-covered Jeep for failing to clear snow off the vehicle in March 2018. (Credit: Lowell Police Department)
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