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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Iced-up drivers face scrape with the law


 Cars heading into Spokane Thursday from the north on Ash Street show the effects of a snowstorm. 
 (Christopher Anderson / The Spokesman-Review)

A certain Spokane driver might be having a bad day today.

The motorist is pictured with this article driving after Thursday’s snowstorm with just a small section of his windshield scraped clean. The condition of the rear window is unclear, but the majority of the windshield and side windows are covered with snow.

That’s a big no-no, and the driver in question is almost certainly being ribbed by friends and family.

But that’s not half as bad as his day would have been if he’d been hit with a $101 ticket last week or had gotten into a wreck because he couldn’t see where he was going.

At least the driver wore a seat belt.

Windshields and other windows must be cleared of snow and ice. Laws regulating driver visibility in Washington (RCW 46.37) and Idaho (Statute 49.943) use identical language: “No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any sign, poster, or other non-transparent material upon the front windshield, side wings, or side or rear windows of the vehicle that obstructs the driver’s clear view of the highway or intersecting highway.”

Snow is pretty non-transparent.

When drivers don’t fully clear their windows, “it’s very dangerous,” said Washington State Patrol Trooper Jeff Sevigney.

“Most people are in a hurry. They don’t want to wait for the defroster, or they don’t have the proper equipment. They’re trying to scrape with a credit card,” said Sevigney.

He said he doesn’t hesitate to ticket those who break this law.

Drivers in Idaho face a $52 fine for the same offense.

“We stop a lot of people for it,” said Idaho State Police Lt. Chris Schenck.

And though it’s not illegal, Schenck has another pet peeve: people who don’t clear their vehicle’s roof and hood of snow. What accumulates there eventually blows off and can blind other drivers.

Who gets that much?

Now that it’s 2007, the Internal Revenue Service is allowing a 48.5-cents-per-mile rate for business use of cars, trucks and vans. That’s up from 44.5 cents in 2006.

The IRS bases its rates on an annual study of fixed costs to operate vehicles and variable costs, like those for fuel.

The self-employed can clearly use the rate when preparing taxes, but what about everyone else? Do businesses reimburse employees that much?

Let Getting There know how much your employer pays per mile. Contact information is at the end of this column.

Skating shuttle

When the U.S. Figure Skating Championships get under way Sunday, two Spokane Transit shuttles will make it easier to travel among the venues and downtown hotels.

The blue and red lines run every 10 minutes starting at 5:30 a.m. most days and running as late as 12:35 a.m. on many days.

The cost is 50 cents a ride, $2 for a one-day pass or $10 for an eight-day pass. The passes also work on other STA buses.

Both shuttles will get skating fans to the Spokane Arena and the Spokane Convention Center.

More information is available by calling (509) 328-RIDE or at www.spokanetransit.com.

Gas stations

AAA’s online TripTiks (at www.aaa.com) now offers information about gas stations along routes, including those with the best prices.

Price information comes from the Oil Price Information Service, which updates prices as often as four times a day.

This could be a helpful service on a long trip, but does it show which stations have bathrooms and if they’re clean?