Connecticut’s Ice Missile Law About to Go Into Effect

A state law is about to take effect imposing fines on truckers who fail to clear their commercial vehicles of snow.

Three years after the General Assembly and then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell enacted the so-called “ice-missile” legislation, the measure makes truck drivers liable for fines ranging from $75 to $1,250, depending on whether flying ice and snow from their trucks causes damage or injuries.

A legislative compromise had delayed the law’s effective date for commercial vehicles in exchange for passage in the 2010 General Assembly. However, motorists began facing fines in 2011, ranging from $75 to $1,000.

The state’s trucking industry fought 20 years to block the so-called ice-missile legislation. It’s now selling a product that allows drivers to reach up and scrape the tops of their big rigs.