Clear your vehicle of snow properly…then you can drive away
As written for The Insurance Hunters. Please visit their blog.
After every snowfall I see the same problem on many vehicles – not enough snow and ice cleared from the vehicle. For many people, their excuse is it’s too cold outside to do the entire vehicle, I only have to do enough to see and the ever popular; it’ll blow off as I drive. Do you use any of these excuses or do you clear off your vehicle properly? It’s time to take a reality check.
If more drivers took a proactive look to preparation, things would become a lot safer on our roads during winter. During the winter season, check the next day’s weather forecast each night. Know if you’ll need to dig out in the morning ahead of time. This allows you to set your alarm to wake up sooner. Even if there’s no snow in the immediate forecast, if it’s very cold that night, your windows will frost up. You’ll need time to clear those as well.
If the windows are covered in frost, ensure you clear off the entire portion of each window. How many times have you seen drivers clear off only a small part of the windshield just so they can see ahead but all of their other windows are still frosted or iced over? To make it easier to clear your windshield if there’s a coating of ice on it lift up your windshield wipers each night so they won’t interfere with your ice scraper. If there is ice, the wipers can get stuck to the glass and as you use your scraper, it can damage your wipers and essentially make them useless to you.
As far as snow goes, here’s what you need to do to ensure your vehicle is ready to be driven. Start at the roof of your vehicle and start to clear the snow off. Any snow that ends up on the windows you’ll get later. Start at the front of the vehicle and work to the rear. Once the roof’s done on that side, clear off the side windows, side mirror and the sides of the vehicle. Now work to the rear window and clear that off and then the trunk. Once you get to the rear of the vehicle it’s time to clear off all of the lights and licence plate. You need to ensure the drivers behind know your intentions to stop or change direction.
Now do the same on the other side of the vehicle. Start at the roof and work toward the front on the vehicle. Get it all off. Don’t forget the headlights as well. Many people already know this, but fail to do a proper job. As an added thought, use the squeegee from the service centre to clean the glass of your headlights and tail lights. The slush on the roads often makes the lenses very difficult to shine brightly. This will help drivers see you and for you to see what’s up the road. Ok, now you’re ready to drive.
then**Note** Winter driving is more than driving on snow and ice. http://thesafedriver.ca/2012/11/30/winter-driving-is-so-mental/
This is a pet peeve of mine. Back when I was living in the Sault, where 15-30cm snowfalls occur regularly, it was common to see people just swipe a hand over the drivers side of the windshield, and clear what I call a “porthole” in the snow. Certainly not enough for good visibility when driving.
The “it will blow off” is certainly true in most cases, but where does it go? Snow blowing off your hood obscures your vision as it blows up and over the windshield, across the roof, and then creates a mini-snowstorm for the driver behind you. Gee, thanks.
I was on a lesson with a student, once, when we witnessed a car approaching from the opposite direction that had snow at least 30 cm deep on the roof. As this car came to a stop at the traffic light, the entire mound of snow slid off the roof and down the windshield, burying the wipers under a large pile of snow. The driver peered over the mound to drive through the intersection, pulled to the shoulder, and got out and dug out his windshield.