With the recent cold snap of weather it’s likely you’ve experienced ice or even snow present on your vehicle. It’s sensible to avoid driving with ice on your windscreen as safety is paramount when it comes to driving. Poor visibility when driving can be deemed by the Police as Dangerous Driving with fines and possible jail sentences involved. Here are our top tips on how to avoid ice build up and removing it effectively.
How bad can ice limit your vision on the road?
You may have heard in the news recent incidents where drivers were looking through ‘portholes’ of ice through their windscreen. Police in Livingstone, Scotland stopped a van with so much ice impairing its vision that the force had to stop it and caution the driver, as you can read in the tweet below.
#LivingstonRP stopped this vehicle on Maybury Road this morning, whilst on enquiry in Edinburgh. A pedestrian or cyclist wouldn’t stand a chance of being seen. The driver has been cautioned and charged with Dangerous Driving and has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal. pic.twitter.com/A9BuPLKixs
— Road Policing Scotland (@polscotrpu) February 11, 2021
Clearing ice and snow from your vehicle
Preparing your vehicle to be safe to drive on the roads is vital to protect yourself and other road users. Always make sure your windscreen, all windows, mirrors and lights are free from ice and snow, ensuring you have clear visibility before setting off. Even in very cold temperatures you may find your windscreen freezes up again whilst driving. In this case you should stop where it’s safe and either wait for the ice to melt or scrape it off from the windows before setting off on your journey again.
Some great tips to clear your windscreen when it’s icy are:
- Start your engine which will help heat the car overall
- Scrape off the ice with an ice scraper
- Use windscreen de-icer spray to melt the ice and then easy clear off the excess ice
Some may think applying warm water to your windscreen is a good idea to melt the ice. However this is not advised as it could risk cracking your windows, causing more damage than it’s worth.
Prevention of icy windscreens
Preventing ice forming on the windscreen is another solution to keeping your windscreen clear but requires preparation beforehand. You could get a towel or sheet large enough to cover your vehicle’s windscreen, stopping ice forming on the windscreen glass itself. Then when you need to drive the car, simply remove the towel or sheet and you can get on your way.
Newer electric vehicles are now even providing automatic methods to melt ice and snow from your vehicle before you get outside. Some vehicles will start the battery in the vehicle and heat up the inside of the car before your normal morning journey if you’ve set a timer. Then when you get to your car it’s clear of snow and ice, ready for the journey ahead. This is an innovative technological solution to remedy years of humans dealing with ice scrapers in the cold. It also saves you leaving your engine on with the keys in which could easily be stolen if not attended.
Need a car service and MOT during the winter months?
MCM Garage are available come rain or shine to help service your vehicle all year round. We’ll even get it through it’s MOT, using our MCMOT Centre operation on premises. If you’re local to Bath, Radstock or Midsomer Norton please get in touch for a quote to service or MOT your vehicle. Call us direct on 01761 415 501 or use our online contact form. We can even pick up and return your car during the pandemic, ensuring it’s cleaned safely ready for you to drive away.