On Wednesday, November 16th, Rochester residents woke up to a thin layer of snow covering their vehicles. Although it was only a light snow, the City of Rochester wants to remind motorists to clear the snow off their vehicles before hitting the road.

Failing to clear snow and ice off vehicles can be extremely dangerous to other motorists and pedestrians. In fact, it’s required by New Hampshire law.

RSA 265:79-b: Negligent Driving, more commonly known as Jessica’s Law, states that “whoever upon any way drives a vehicle negligently or causes a vehicle to be driven negligently, as defined in RSA 626:2, II(d), or in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger any person or property shall be guilty of a violation and shall be fined not less than $250 nor more than $500 for a first offense and not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 for a second or subsequent offense.”

According to the Rochester Police Department, officers will be enforcing this law and monitoring for compliance during the winter months.

Jessica’s Law was initially passed by the New Hampshire legislature in 2001 in response to the death of Jessica Smith, a 20-year-old woman who was killed when ice flew off the top of a truck and hit a second truck, resulting in a head-on collision with Jessica’s car.