It is so important to completely brush the snow and ice off of your car. I know it’s cold, and you don’t want to, and you’re running late. It is not enough to just clear off a little 6 inch circle in front of your face and say, “Sweet, good to go.”
Visibility is key. You need to be able to use your mirrors, do a proper head check, and use your peripheral vision. You need to clean off all of your windows. It is also illegal to drive with your license plate obscured, and you can get pulled over for that.
Get the car started, turn on the defroster, (often this works best of you also turn on your air conditioner even with hot air to help remove the moisture from the vehicle interior,) rear defroster, and the heater.
Give a good swipe to the snow and ice built up in front of those headlights and tail-lights too. Two inches of snow will make your headlights completely ineffective, and if people don’t see those brake lights you are asking to get rear-ended.
I know the worst seems to be getting up to the roof of those giant SUV’s and mom-vans. You HAVE to. Once your car warms up, the bottom layer of that snow will melt, and one quick stop at a stop sign will bring that whole blanket of snow down over your whole windshield, and likely your wipers will not be string enough to clear that quickly. The bigger issue is that all of that snow and ice will fly off and possibly hit the car behind you. Flying snow has been known to go right through the windshield of other vehicles, as happened in NH this winter.
“Jessica’s Law” requires drivers to remove all snow or ice from their vehicles prior to travel on New Hampshire roads.
Failure to comply with this law is punishable under NH RSA 265:79-b (Negligent Driving) and subject to a penalty fine of $250.00-$500.00 for a first offense with increased penalties for subsequent offenses up to and including loss of license.https://www.lebanonnh.gov/1236/Jessicas-Law