Yes, if you’ve got frost on your windshield, and all you’ve is scrape off a little 2-inch square right in the front to see out of, and you have an accident, you will definitely be at fault. You need to scrape off the whole windshield.
Here in my county (no pun intended), AFAIK, you can be cited for not clearing large amounts of snow off your car roof. It swirls off as you drive and makes it impossible for drivers behind you to see. If it’s icy on top of the snow, it flies off in chunks. Imagine a big chunk of ice flying off the car in front of you, and hitting your windshield.
Dry brushes work wonders on a car’s finish. I’ll clean all my windows and lights, but the rest of the snow stays for Mother Nature to clean. After all, she put it there. Sure, maybe it’s self-centered, but in all honesty, I really can’t say that I care. If it’s bothersome to turn windshield wipers on to clear the dusting from a car in front, then keep your distance.
It’s very cold here in Florida today, but I had no snow or ice when I drove this morning.
When I moved from South Dakota to Florida, a Floridian and I went to lunch in my car. The Floridian picked up an ice scraper from the floor of my car, studied it intently and then asked what it was used for.
Well, I have to appreciate your honesty. We all know there are a lot of assholes on the road, but in threads like this, everyone who posts always makes themselves sound like the second coming of Mother Theresa.
Did you ever think that sometimes it’s not just a dusting? Some of that snow tends to come off in chunks that can do actual damage to the cars behind it. Wipers and windshields don’t stand a chance. It’s never happened to me but I do know people who had their windshields crack because some asshole like you didn’t bother to clean off his car and some snow chunks fell off and hit them. I’ve seen dents in a car due to falling ice and snow due to other people’s laziness. That type of laziness has also caused many an accident. Those chunks of snow and ice can be downright dangerous, like rocks.
I’m sure you’d love to be behind someone that had stuff like that coming off their car. Maybe a few dents and cracks in your car wouldn’t hurt. Sometimes a little extra work isn’t such a bad idea.
It’s not a matter of laziness. It stems from the fact that I am not willing to damage the finish on my car for something that might happen. I’ve driven many times in the snow and it would never have occurred to me that people should clean their whole car. Everything in life boils down to risk management; how much risk you are willing to accept based on your analysis and assessment of the situation. This is a risk I’m willing to take. If that means I’m an asshole, so be it. I’ll wear the title proudly. So, take a breath and cool down. Sorry to work you into such a fit.
2 winters ago we had a storm that was an inch or so of freezing rain immediately followed by a drop in temp and then 6 inches of snow. My car sat in the parking lot at work through the whole thing. I cleared what I could, drove home and parked in our unheated garage. Decided I’d deal with it the next day.
The next day dawned warm(ish) and sunny. I overslept, hopped in the car to go to work, stopped at the PO to get the mail and drop off a few bills on the way. The warm(ish) temps and the sun warmed up the dark finish on my vehicle just enough to loosen the sheet of ice and snow on the roof. The luggage rack on the roof was holding the front half from flying off, but when I started slowing down to stop at a RR crossing (complete with freight train) the whole sheet of ice and snow slid down, caught up on the windshield wipers and neatly covered my entire windshield. I could see nothing, the road was still slick from the storm the day before, I was standing on the brakes and heading for a moving train that I could not see. Thank Og for ABS, or I would have kept sliding into the side of the train, probably sideways or backwards. Scared the living hell out of me.
peritrochoid…when your “risk management analysis” involves saving the finishing on your car vs. the (very real) possibilityly of putting the lives of yourself and others at risk…you choose the car? Really? You could be dead, but your car would still be nice and shiny?
I cleaned my entire car before I went driving in the snow, and I didn’t damage the finish.
Shut up and clean your damn car before you go driving in the snow. There is zero possible benefit to leaving the snow there, and plenty of possible negative outcomes. Take your time and do it right, I promise your car won’t get hurt.
I once saw a car, practically on a highway, which had at least its rear window, roof, passenger side windows, and right half of the windshield covered in thick snow. Thankfully, the moron turned, we didn’t.
Wow, I live in Colorao and I never realized that this was a big deal. My driving instructor warned us about wiping off head lamps, windows, etc. entirely, but never about the entire car.
I have only driven in snow twice. I am well below average height, but I managed to get enough off the roof of my car so that it wasn’t flying in other people’s faces. I also cleaned off ALL the windows, and the lights and the licence plate and everything. Why? Because it was the obvious thing to do. And I haven’t lived in a place where it snows more than every few years since 1982.
A-fuckin-MEN. I can not tell you how many times I’ve had to dodge sheets of snow coming off of cars of people who don’t clean them off properly. It doesn’t snow here much, and that reflects in the drivers’ behaviour. Husband won’t clean off the whole car unless I nag at him.
In Alberta and NWT (perhaps the rest of Canada, I don’t know), if you leave the snow on your vehicle and cause an accident when it hits someone, you can be charged with “Dangerous Driving” or “Driving without Due Care and Attention”. Criminal code (equivalent to felony) conviction.
One event that made me aware of how important it is to clean off your WHOLE car was last year, when this car didn’t clean the whole passenger side of their car, and THEN pulled out in front of me on a slippery road - they couldn’t see me because they were too stupid to clean their window! I had to brake to avoid rearending them, and wound up sliding into the other lane. I’m just glad nothing was coming. I’d like to smack that person!
Well, I DID post before I read the whole thread, so if I pissed anybody off, sorry.
It just seems so obvious. I couldn’t see through all that snow. And since this was in Georgia I knew there were a lot of people who were just as inexperienced driving in the stuff as I was. For just that reason, both times, the only place I went was to the grocery store just down the street on the way home from class. Then I stayed in my apartment for a day or two until it melted. Yeah, it wasn’t much snow by some people’s standards, but it covered my car enough to be a bit nerve-racking for me, the snow novice.
This has to be a troll, I refuse to believe anyone can be this callous about something that takes all of 5mins to do, and can save a life.
But if it is not a troll…I want to clarify a bit. There is no “If”, you are an asshole. Its something to wear proudly, and if you do, not only are you an asshole, but an ignorant one as well.
We had a big snow storm back in '92 that dumped about 2 feet of snow followed by an ice storm. I was sitting at a light a couple days later when a big box truck - like a U-Haul - made a right hand turn from the cross street toward me. The entire slab of snow on top of the truck started to slide off and was flung toward my little tin can Chevy Nova. I remember hoping it was snow, but it wasn’t. It was a 1 foot thick chunk of ice the size of a dining room table - with all the leaves added. It caved the roof in 9 inches and then broke into 3 pieces which then slid down both ends of my car obliterating the hood and trunk. It missed crashing directly through my windshield by 2 inches. So you’ll excuse me if I think you’re an asshole for not cleaning your vehicle off.