It’s a familiar scene across the country on cold winter days. You leave the house, it’s freezing outside, and you just want to jump in your car and get going, but the windows are covered in ice.
What do you do? Clear a little peephole and get going, or brave the cold and fully clear your windscreen?
Well, 45% of people admit to driving without full visibility in icy conditions, according to research by Green Flag. But, not only could that be dangerous, it could get you in trouble.
Stay on the right side of the law
Driving without a clear view of the road could land you a £1,000 fine and three penalty points on your licence. So, it’s worth taking that extra bit of time to clear your windscreen and keep yourself and other road users safe.
Almost 10% of people have been involved in an accident because they hadn’t de-iced properly, and that rises to 17% if you include near misses.
Our research uncovered a range of excuses for not de-icing properly, including not having enough time, thinking it’s fine if you can’t see most of the road, and poor visibility not being an issue at all.
Stay safe in cold weather
Taking a few extra minutes to make sure you can see the road properly will help keep the roads safe for everyone (even if it means getting up a bit earlier).
Here are our top tips for getting your car ready to go quickly in freezing weather.
- Get a de-icing spray – a quick blast will have your windows clear in no time.
- Turn your car engine and the heater up to full blast – this will help the ice melt faster and make scraping it off easier. Remember not to leave your car unattended with the keys in and the engine running.
- Pour warm water over your windscreen to melt the ice – last night’s hot water bottle should do the trick. Never use boiling water though, it could crack the windscreen.
- If you can’t be bothered with any of that, invest in a windscreen cover, whip it off in the morning, and you’re ready to go.
- When you’re on the road, make sure you have the heating on and pointing at the windscreen to stop it steaming up and making it difficult to see.
Always make sure you have a clear view of the road before you set off and drive according to the weather conditions.
Good advice from Green Flag — better safe than sorry when visibility’s compromised in the cold.
Thanks for the good tips but I’m 80yrs and couldn’t possibly change a tyre, no strength , but I do defrost properly like you advise.
Great advice thank you
Thank you for this advice—-Common Sense is not in my DNA —I have got the equipment including a windscreen cover
Best to get a cover. Alot less fus and there not too expensive to buy.
Just give yourself that extra 5 mins before departure – both winter or summer, so you are either “clear ahead” or not rushing to work.
It is not a good idea to put hot water on a frozen windows it can crack them and it can also freeze int thick ice and also freeze the wiper arms and when you put the wipers because they are frozen it can blow the fuse or worse burn out the wiper motor .
Good advice
I will not go any where until the whole car is snow free.
Thank you always need to hear good advice for winter driving!
What about the rear window? While it isn’t as crucial as the windscreen it augments the rear visibility provided by wing mirrors, particularly if these are not positioned well (can easily get knocked in car parks and you may not notice until driving – which could be too late).
I don’t recommend pouring even luke-warm water on a cold windscreen, in very cold conditions it can quickly freeze and make things worse.
And when clearing the windscreen, don’t forget the side windows and rear screen.
Nothing warms me better than a vigorous ice-scraping on a cold morning! I scrape every window and the lights. If snow has fallen, I quickly brush that way too so that it doesn’t fall onto my clear screen.
Good advice for us all. Whether we will adhere to this advice is another matter. You didn’t mention scraper which is good for minor bouts of frost and ice. I’m hoping you have more vehicles now. Thank you Green Flag.
Air-conditioning used on hot is very effective for deicing especially on recycled air but once cleared open the vents to fresh air otherwise it will steam up inside!
Many people think AC is just for cooling.
Defrost your car – visibility is a priority – safe driving can save lives !!
We leave rainwater in used milk containers on one of our radiators for those icy mornings. Works a treat and occasionally put one in the car for a late return journey wrapped up in an old towell.
It is not just the ice you can see. If the hoses which you have to wash the freezing mud which comes from other vehicles in front of you are still frozen, no screen wash comes through and you not see. Make sure you have free flowing screen wash before setting out. Once on the motorway is too late to find out as I discovered when I couldn’t clear the screen as no wash would come through. Very frightening.
I don’t have a flash car but I do have a heated windscreen which is so useful. My windscreen is clearing while I scrape the side windows if necessary. Why don’t all manufacturers do this? All cars seem to have rear window heating but surely the windscreen is more important.
Keep a rag inside the car within easy reach for wiping off condensation – don’t be tempted to wipe the window with your hand as this just leaves a film of grease on the glass which makes visibility worse the next time you drive.
Thanks for your suggestions.
With the car warm inside and the cold outside temperature, the windows will steam up quickly. Put your Air Con on, especially for the windscreen and it will keep your windows clear.
Great, sensible advice.
Good idea, using last night’s hot water bottle.
My meriva windscreen mists up inside and is difficult to keep smear free. Any hints on what I can use to clean the inside of the windscreen?