British motorists risk safety and costly damage to cars by winter windscreen faux pas

Impatience and lack of knowledge causing dangerous driving conditions

 

New research shows that British motorists are risking their personal safety and causing costly damage to their vehicles by failing to take the correct measures to clear their car windscreens of frost and ice before setting off on a journey.

 

The research by RAC Auto Windscreens reveals that 42% of drivers confess that impatience means they regularly set off on a journey without having defrosted their windscreens thoroughly.

 

The survey also reveals that icy windscreens are playing havoc with morning schedules causing over a quarter (26%) of commuters delays of up to 20 minutes on their car journeys to work each morning.

 

Many motorists mistakenly use methods that can result in cracked windscreens and broken wipers:

• Nearly a third (29%) of drivers pour hot water on to the windscreen to de-ice it
• Over a quarter (27%) of motorists have used a credit card to scrape ice off the windscreen
• 43% of car-owners have used their wipers to remove ice or snow from the windscreen.

Furthermore, with as many as 54% of motorists admitting to leaving their engines running in the driveway in order to speed up defrosting of their windscreens, the possibility of theft is also cause for concern – not to mention the environmental impact.

 

RAC Auto Windscreens is urging motorists to be properly prepared for the approaching cold snap by highlighting the dangers of driving without clear vision and the risks motorists are taking in being penalised. According to the survey, 39% of people are unaware that driving with "porthole" vision can result in a fine of £1000 and driving licence penalty points. More worrying still is the fact that as many as one in ten accidents on the UK’s roads are caused by vision impairment, which can result from ice and snow on the windscreen.