Motorists Advised To Scrape Envelope-Sized Amount Of Ice From Windscreen Before Travelling

PEOPLE intending to travel by car during the current cold weather conditions have been advised by the Motoring Safety Authority (MSA) to scrape a view-hole in their frosted windshields, and make it at least the size of a regular envelope.

The advice comes following reports that people were attempting to drive on open roads with their view completely obscured by frost, posing a grave danger to themselves and other road users.

A spokesperson for the MSA stated that motorists should at least look like they tried to give themselves a view of the road, and seeing as it was unreasonable to ask people to take the time to either fill a saucepan with hot water and throw it on the windscreen or scrape clear the entire coating of frost from the windscreen, scraping an 8″ x 4″ square with a credit card would have to do.

“A little square of clear windscreen is grand for people travelling at 60kph on a public road,” said Jim Kennedy, speaking at an MSA conference this morning.

“We appreciate that people are in a hurry to get places, so they don’t have time to clear the entire windscreen and ensure that they’re driving with a full, safe view of the road; a wee square roughly at eye level isn’t too much to ask”.

Kennedy went on to state that the practice of turning your heat on “full whack” when you start your car doesn’t really clear your windscreen because it takes about 5 minutes of driving for the air to actually heat up, but people that do this get praise for at least looking like they’re trying.