Snow-Laden Truck Creates Frosty Explosion

"Christ what an asshole."

This could have easily ended very badly.

Well, if the time stamp of this guy's footage is matched up with shipping schedule and identification of the truck and owner, then hopefully somebody is about to lose their licence or at least slapped with a heavy fine.

Yeah, because it is like totally super easy to get up on top of a trailer and shovel snow.
By that rational - we should pull the license of every car driver that drives looking through a "porthole" in their windshield, because they were lazy about clearing their window of frost and snow. And pull the license of every car driver that does not brush off the tops of their cars.

Yes it could have ended badly. But being aware that this kind of thing can happen, should put some of the effort on the auto driver, to avoid some accidents. Do they not teach these things in driver's ed anymore? I remember learning that driving behind tractor trailers after snow or ice storms can be dangerous for that reason.

Yeah, because it is like totally super easy to get up on top of a trailer and shovel snow...........ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?! I can't believe someone could actually defend this kind of negligence. I don't care if it took all day to clean off this truck, it would be worth it if it saved just one life. This trucker should be fined and have his license ripped away from his lazy ass. How you can compare a frosty window to several cubic feet of icy snow (which by the way will be flying off the truck at over 55 mph) is beyond me. Oh and by the way, the driver is NOT driving behind the truck, he is completely in the other lane. And what about the cars he passes? They are not "driving behind" him until it is too late. Truckers who do this should never be able to drive a truck again, because I'm sure if this guy is lazy enough to do this once he's gonna do it again real soon.

There are ways to get snow down without shoveling...couldn't they just take a hose to it and melt it? Frau, there are laws against driving an "unsafe" vehicle to protect others on the road. If someone is doing something unsafe, it's their fault, not their victims. It's not the responsibility of the guy walking his dog down the sidewalk to "avoid" the drunk-driver that runs them down on prom night. I don't care how many HOURS this guy spends taking the snow off his truck. Those are hours you can't get back for the people they end up killing.

lol. Stephanie obviously comes from a warm climate, where water "melts" stuff.

@Frau: This is exactly like someone who can't see out their window. Both are incredibly dangerous and irresponsible, and people do get charged with not clearing snow off their car and with no visibility. It's not common, but it happens, and rightfully so.

"It was too hard to clear the snow off my truck"? Tell that to the people whose families you just killed.

Truck washes do it all the time. Yes, it's illegal to leave it there. I love how every posting of this brings out new "experts" to comment on it.

Man, we live in a "would-a-could-a" society...There are laws against this, but laws don't prevent anything, they're only good after the fact.
The idiot driver knew he was unsafe, that's why there is a word to describe this behavior: negligence.
The other drivers could plainly see the dangerous negligence, therefore no reasonable person would've been caught by this, only the inattentive, and we need (not just desire) a lot fewer of these folks. They learn when they get hurt, and the negligent are made to pay.
The trucker took a risk, as did the person recording this, and everyone else behind them. They all could've pulled over. Continuing to drive after such a dangerous condition was observed would also be negligent.
However, all went well. Can't we appreciate the beautiful explosion of snow now???
You people are the one's that ruin all the "Hey, watch this" moments in life.

Truck Driver was dangerously negligent, there really is no argument about that.

Dangerous or not.... it looked pretty cool

Frau, you're part of the problem. Get a clue.

I hope someone arrests this douche of a truck driver.

LOL -get a clue? I work in the industry. What are your credentials?

There are laws in three states in regards to snow on top of a trailer. They are rarely enforced. There are truck washes that provide this service. But they get backed up and cost money.

If it takes the truck driver all day to clear the snow from their trailer, that will increases prices for the things you get delivered by truck.
Time is money to truck drivers, and to consumers. The more it costs to do something, the more it will end up costing you to pay for it.

Now OSHA steps in. If it is a company truck, OSHA says "No, that driver cannot be allowed up there, at 18 feet off the ground."
The company probably also has insurance. Their insurance probably dictates, that the driver cannot be on top of the trailer. I know that our company insurance does not even allow us to open the hood of the truck.

Independent owner operators are not going to get up there, because if they fall and get hurt, they have essentially lost their job. Due to a broken leg, collarbone, or even death.

@ Snowless Car Driver - You kind of missed that other part about drivers who do not clear off the three feet of snow on the roofs of their own vehicles, but I will address the "porthole " driver, because that is what you read. I drive a big yellow school bus, and have been hit by a "porthole"driver. What do you think did they told the police officer when they were cited for driving in an unsafe manner?
"I did not see the bus.". They could not see a big yellow thirty five foot bus. Because they had a "porthole" no bigger than one square foot, scraped out on their windshield.

@ Stephanie - hot water hose really does not work as well as it does on paper. You have to take into account the size of the trailer, how much snow and ice may be on top of it. Now remember the trailer has been sitting outside in a snowstorm where temps may be below 32f. trying to hose down the roof of the railed will make it a big slushy icy puddle which would be even worse than snow. Because that puddle will freeze back up. then you will have a giant thick sheet of ice.

And getting back to the time is money thing- Some drivers drive for their maximum hours by law. This may mean that they started out in a warmer climate and stopped in a cold climate for their mandatory downtime and sometimes there is a freak snowstorm, they forget and then they travel on. Drivers can travel through three states in a day. They may have started in California, but by the time they have gotten to New Mexico, they have driven through three blizzards.

As I mentioned, there are snow removal systems. There is also a product which grips the ice, but does not keep the ice from forming.
The snow scraper system available > http://www.scrapersystems.com/index.htm That would be great at a truck stop. But eventually all of that snow removed has to go somewhere. The truck stop will end up contracting a company for snow removal. Where are they gonna get the money to fund that? Increase the rate they charge. The truck driver pays for it. If it is an I/O/O they are probably not going to use that service, because that cuts into their living wage.
If a company pays for it, they are going to pass that charge onto the consumer.

Ice Grip http://www.page-8.com/toolbox/ice_grip/build/index.php. - a product. That does not remove snowIt just gives the trailer roof a texture for the ice to stick to.

this happened in front of me once this year...the semi behind the guy almost went sideways and people were afraid to pass him thus causing a traffic jam on the road.