Winter Driving Safety in Ontario: Why Clearing Snow from Your Vehicle Can Prevent Serious Accidents

Snow-covered vehicles are more than a winter nuisance in Ontario - they are a real safety hazard and can expose drivers to fines and liability if a collision occurs. Clearing your entire vehicle before you drive is one of the simplest ways to prevent serious accidents, protect others on the road, and reduce your risk of a personal injury claim.

Why driving with snow-covered vehicles is so dangerous

When snow and ice cover your car, it reduces visibility drastically, and creates sudden hazards for you and other drivers. A sheet of snow sliding off your roof onto your windshield or blowing onto the car behind you can turn a routine trip into an emergency in seconds dodging the ice chunks flying off the large trucks on the highway is dangerous to you and everyone around you. Being hit by a chunk of ice can cause catastrophic accident.

Snow and ice also hide critical safety features, like brake lights, turn signals and headlights, making it harder for others to see you or anticipate your movements in poor weather. On highways, chunks of ice or packed snow flying off cars and transport trucks can act like projectiles, potentially cracking windshields or causing abrupt braking and chain‑reaction collisions.

Legal obligations: clearing your car is not optional

In Ontario, driving with blocked or snow‑covered windows can result in a fine for having an obstructed view, with typical penalties up to $500. Driving with dangerous amounts of snow on your vehicle – especially where it could fly off and obstruct or endanger others - can lead to higher fines of up to $500 for private vehicles, and up to $1,000 for commercial vehicles.

For commercial drivers, heavy snow or ice left on trailers and roofs may be treated as an “insecure load,” which can attract enforcement and fines if it causes or risks causing an obstruction or collision. While these are provincial offence fines, evidence of failing to clear your vehicle may also be raised in a civil personal injury claim as part of proving negligence after a crash.

Winter risks in Ontario

Ontario sees a significant spike in collisions during the first major snowfalls of the season, when drivers are still adjusting to winter conditions. National data show that close to 30 per cent of collisions occur on wet, snowy or icy roads, with many crashes clustered between November and February.

Accidents include rear‑end collisions, loss‑of‑control crashes, and single‑vehicle impacts caused by poor visibility, slippery roads, and drivers not adapting speed or following distance to the conditions. Snow left on vehicles only adds to these risks by further limiting sightlines and sending snow and ice into the path of other traffic.

Safety checklist: how to clear your vehicle properly

Before you pull out of the driveway, take a few extra minutes to clear your vehicle from top to bottom.

Key steps include:

• Remove snow and ice from all windows, mirrors and cameras so you have a full field of view.

• Clear headlights, taillights, brake lights, licence plates and sensors so others can see you and your safety systems work properly.

• Sweep and scrape the entire roof, hood and trunk so packed snow cannot blow off while you drive.

• Brush off wheel wells and around tires to reduce packed snow that can affect steering and braking.

From a personal injury perspective, documenting that you consistently take these precautions can help demonstrate that you are a careful, responsible driver if liability is ever disputed after a collision.

Practical tips to avoid winter accidents

Proactive winter driving habits are just as important as clearing your vehicle. Consider these practices:

• Leave early so you have time to warm up and fully clear your vehicle, instead of rushing and cutting corners

• Slow down and increase following distance on snowy or icy roads, especially near intersections and ramps where sudden stops are common.

• Install proper winter tires and ensure your brakes, wipers, and defrosters are in good working order.

• Avoid sudden lane changes, hard braking and aggressive acceleration, which can lead to loss of control on slick surfaces.

If conditions are extremely poor and visibility is heavily reduced, the safest choice may be to delay or cancel non‑essential travel. From a legal standpoint, choosing not to drive in dangerous conditions can be a powerful example of reasonable, prudent behaviour.

How a personal injury lawyer can help after a winter collision

If you are injured in a crash where another driver failed to clear snow from their vehicle, that conduct may be part of proving they did not meet the standard of care expected of a reasonable driver in Ontario. Evidence such as photos of the other vehicle, dash cam footage, witness statements and police notes can all be important in establishing what each driver did – or did not do – to stay safe in winter conditions.

A personal injury law firm can:

• Assess whether another driver’s failure to clear snow and adapt to conditions amounts to negligence in your case

• Help you navigate insurance claims and accident benefits

• Pursue compensation for medical expenses, income loss and pain and suffering where the law allows

Clearing your vehicle completely and driving cautiously in winter are simple steps that protect everyone on the road – and they may also be your best defence against both injury and legal liability when Ontario’s weather turns harsh.