Island man says he 'got lucky' after sheet of ice slams into car

An Island man is asking drivers to make sure they clear all the snow and ice from their cars before hitting the road after a sheet of ice from a passing vehicle slammed into his car while he was driving.

Luke Peters was travelling along the Charlottetown bypass near Upton Road Monday afternoon when he noticed a vehicle approaching in the other direction with a snow-covered roof.

"It caught wind, it flew into the air and it crashed into the front of my car," Peters said. 

Peters said he had just enough time to slam on his brakes before a sheet of ice about two feet long and almost two inches thick crashed into his front bumper. He said the roads were clear and there was no one driving behind him when the incident happened, otherwise the outcome could have been much worse.

"Had I not seen it coming and not been paying attention … it very easily could have tore through the radiator, hit through the windshield or you know caused some very significant damage to the car or even to myself," he said.

Bumper, grill to be replaced

Peters said the entire front bumper and grill of his car need to be replaced and sections of the hood repainted.

He said there doesn't appear to be any damage under the hood, but he still needs to take the car to a mechanic to be assessed and to get an estimate for repairs.

He said he wasn't able to get the licence plate number of the car the ice fell from, as it was travelling in the opposite direction, but he plans to file a police report. He said he will also file an insurance claim to cover the cost of the damage.

Peters said he was shaken, but not physically hurt by the incident. Looking at the damage to his car, he said he just wants others to know what can happen when you don't clear your vehicle.

"I'm just hoping people will take the extra time, you know to clean off their cars," he said.

"For something that could have been very easily avoided had somebody taken the time to properly clean off their car, it's more of an inconvenience for me financially than anything else but I got lucky."

'Complaints on a weekly basis'

Sgt. Craig Eveleigh, operations and non-commission officer with the Queens District RCMP said it's it's not uncommon for police officers to stop people for not completely clearing off their cars. He said it happens too often. 

 "I think we receive complaints on a weekly basis," Eveleigh said. 

"It is quite dangerous, especially when the snow freezes and it becomes ice and hardens, I mean it can crack a windshield and it can do a lot of damage to vehicles if it does come off in a big sheet."

Eveleigh said drivers who don't properly clear their vehicles can be issued tickets under the Highway Traffic Act and fined up to $250.

He said police are asking all Islanders to clean off their vehicles, making sure all windows, mirrors, licence plate and the roof are clear before getting on the road.

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