Is it Illegal to Shovel Your Driveway Snow Onto the Road in Maine?

The winter that a lot of Mainer's were wondering if we were going to get has arrived and is in full swing, and at this point, your driveway probably feels like a never-ending snow factory. But before you fire up the snowblower and launch an avalanche onto the street, here’s a fun fact: it's illegal.

According to Maine law 29-A § 2396, you cannot, under any circumstances, dump your extra snow onto public roads or sidewalks. That means no sneaky shoveling onto the street and definitely no launching snowbanks into oncoming traffic or road snowmen.

According to News Center Maine, this has been an issue in Rockland and officials have been particularly fed up with it lately, and honestly, you can't blame them. Every time someone decides to offload their personal blizzard onto a public way, it makes things worse for plow drivers, pedestrians, and basically everyone trying to survive the Maine winter. If you get caught, you could be looking at a $500 fine, a suspended license, or both. A friendly reminder that wherever you are, there's a good chance that you're on camera, even in rural Maine communities.

News Center Maine also shared a Facebook post from Hope (the town, not the emotion) from back in December to remind people to stop treating public roads like their personal snow dump.

So, unless you’re looking to make a generous donation to the state in the form of a fine, keep your snow in your own yard. All of this said.... is it spring yet?