INDIANA — The worst of last week's winter storm may have passed, but police say dangers on the road remain.
Law enforcement officials across the state are urging the public to clean any remaining snow and ice off their vehicles after they've received several reports of vehicles damaged by ice.
In many cases, the damage is a result of snow or ice sliding off one vehicle and onto another's windshield.
Indiana State Police responded Sunday to two such crashes Sunday — one on Interstate 74 near Batesville, and another on Interstate 65 near Columbus, said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles with ISP's Versailles district.
"A large sheet of ice came off of a vehicle and shattered the window of another vehicle. The vehicle that lost the ice did not stop at the scene," Wheeles wrote in a Facebook post.
Two people inside the damaged vehicle were showered with glass but otherwise uninjured, Wheeles said.
"We're seeing people that haven't taken the time to get that snow removed from their vehicles — and it's causing a real problem on our roadways all across Indiana," Wheeles told WRTV.
Another car's windshield was shattered that way recently on I-65 in Johnson County, Wheeles told WRTV.
The Ohio County Sheriff's Office was notified of at least two of this kind of crash. One happened earlier Monday, according to a Facebook post from the Sheriff's Office.
"It is probably wise to make sure you have your car cleaned off and also maintain more than the normal safe distance between you and (another) vehicle in front of you! Especially while vehicles still have ice on them," the Sheriff's Office wrote.
Wheeles shared similar advice, noting that inadvertently causing a crash by failing to clean snow or ice from one's car can make you liable.
"Having snow on your vehicle in and of itself is not illegal. The problem becomes when that snow falls off your vehicle and it becomes a hazard to other people — and that is where we can conduct enforcement," Wheeles said.
He added that drivers must pay attention and anticipate the possibility of ice or snow falling from other vehicles — especially commercial ones.
"There will be snow coming off of vehicles. We're dealing with commercial vehicles where a lot of times that snow is high, it's hard for the drivers to see (and) it's hard for them to clear that snow," Wheeles said. "At highway speeds, that snow's going to fly quite a bit if it's in big sheets. So it's important that you give extra distance between you and other vehicles."
Wheels also thanked the public for heading officials' warnings ahead of the winter storm and urged continued vigilance.
"Please remember to remove all ice and snow from your vehicle that may fall off and be a hazard to other motorists," Wheeles said.
