Tree falls on couple in car: 'I just remember chaos'

Wrong answer!  There should be no tree so large near ones house that should it fall can land on the house.  The correct answer is to REMOVE such trees immediately if not sooner.  There is no way to tell with any degree of certainty that a tree will not fall... perfectly heathy trees fall all the time, tree roots don't go nearly so deep as folks think and much depends on soil type, the sandier the soil the more likely a tree will topple.  Have a professional remove all large trees near your house, and do NOT attempt this yourself.  There are lots of beautiful trees that can be panted hear houses because they simply don't grow large.  It's relatively inexpensive to have trees removed well before the windy/stormy season when tree removal companys don't have much work, however once a stormy season approaches the tree removers become opportunists and you can't blame them.  There 's so much on the news about storm damage from trees and yet people don't learn, more than half the damage is easily preventable if folks would only remove all large trees that should they fall can damage property... no different from all those folks who build homes in forest fire zones, they build right up to the tree line, they leave no treeless/brushless buffer zone, minimally a buffer zone should be 200'.  And local goverment and utility companies are grossly remiss in not clearing large trees along roadways and utility easements, they steal your money for their personmal pleasures rather than perform vital services.  But still people need to take care of themselves for no one else will... remove those large trees, NOW!  In the NE now is a great time to have trees removed, the trees are leafless, and the weather is colder, it's less laborius to do that strenuous work in cooler weather, and thee isn't much work fo rthe tree removers now, they'd much rather have a job at a much lower rate than for them and all that expensive equpment to sit idle... late fall and late spring is the least expensive time in the NE to have trees removed.