Troy Green: After a snow storm it's very important that you properly remove all of the snow and ice from your vehicle and you avoid injuring yourself or damaging your vehicle.

Leaving snow or ice on your hood, roof or trunk of your vehicle can be very dangerous. It can become dislodge and suddenly obstruct your view or another driver's view of the road.

First, let's talk about some common mistakes people make and things you'll want to avoid. Do not pour hot water over the vehicle's windshield or windows. The frozen glass can easily shatter due to the sudden and extreme temperature change.

Do not use a shovel to remove snow from your vehicle. You could potentially hit your vehicle and that could possibly damage the body or scratch the paint job.

Now let's talk about some things you will want to do when removing snow and ice from your vehicle. It will help if you start the vehicle and use a defroster setting to help warm up the windows. But before doing this, you will want to remove all of the snow and ice from your vehicles tailpipe. This could prevent a potentially hazardous build up of carbon monoxide inside of the vehicle.

Remove loose snow from the horizontal surfaces of the vehicle including the roof. Also, make sure the vehicle's headlights, taillights, and turn signals are unobstructed. Use a plastic ice scrapper or soft plastic bristle brush or broom to clean the ice and snow, and be sure to clean the side-view mirrors as well. I hope these tips are helpful. Drive safely and good luck.

1