# Those people that just clear a little circle of snow from their windshield **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 17, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546 "2008-12-17T13:04:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/21 "2008-12-17T14:55:26Z")
Windshield wipers are in place to resolve about what, 25% of the problem? Maybe 50% for SUVs, but you’ve still got the sides. I think the point is it would be preferable to prevent an issue and require far less work than trying to rectify one after the fact. As **Winston** notes, apparently RainX _does_ do that. Good to know. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/22 "2008-12-17T14:58:00Z")
I don’t remember the brand name of the product, but the auto parts stores around here all carry spray anti-icing stuff. You spray it on your windshield when you park. Ice and snow can be cleared with a flick of the wipers; the product mainly keeps anything from freezing to the glass. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/23 "2008-12-17T15:00:58Z")
Why haven’t invisible wires been invented yet, that can go in the windshield the way they go in the rear window, but without obscuring the view? ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/24 "2008-12-17T15:09:07Z")
Ughh I hate this! I really do clean my car to the best of my ability before I drive. It’s called “wake the fuck up a bit earlier in the winter and warm your fucking car up so the snow and ice s easier to get off, and spend $12 on a telescoping scraper with a brush!” Yeah it’s not awesomely fun to spend 20 minutes cleaning off your car, but it’s way better than you being the douchebag that ends up hurting someone because the melted then refrozen ice and snow on your car flies off and hits someone else’s car. I really get upset at people doing this. A couple years ago I barely ducked a huge chunk from someone’s van and my cousin got hit, freaked her out bad. And then once the roads were plowed and clean all these asshole’s snow off their cars made the roads messy and icy again. I need to move someone where it never snows… ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/25 "2008-12-17T15:16:18Z")
But I gotta get to work! Those fries aren’t going to make themselves, people. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/26 "2008-12-17T15:17:18Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Ah, is it time for this thread again? > > :: counting down until the first asshole comes in to brag that he never clears his entire car (cuz the snow is just gonna blow off, don’tcha know) and we’re all a bunch of pussies :: Yeah, yeah. I wanted to be first this year. So sue me. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/27 "2008-12-17T15:21:38Z")
How about the guys and gals who don’t clear their brake lights. I’d complain about their headlamps too, but they probably don’t have daytime running lights and probably aren’t smart enough to know that making your car more visible to other cars is a good thing. Slowly dieing in a fiery car wreck is too good for them. Hanging them by their balls smothered in honey above a pit of fire ants is too good for them. They should be torn into little bitsy pieces and buried alive! ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/28 "2008-12-17T15:24:41Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > They should be torn into little bitsy pieces and buried alive! That would be a feat. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/29 "2008-12-17T15:53:12Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > Back in another life I drove trucks for a living. I was on the highway one snowy morning when a gust of wind lifted a HUGE sheet of snow (probably the size of a couple sheets of plywood and several inches thick) off the roof of my truck. I felt it come up and off, and watched in the rear-view (side) mirrors as it rose up and majestically rolled in the air, then came down almost completely in tact and buried the car behind me. I’m surprised the guy didn’t go off the road. > > Anyways, he followed me to my next stop. But that’s another story altogether. Dude, don’t keep us in suspense. What happened next?! ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/30 "2008-12-17T16:08:11Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Why haven’t invisible wires been invented yet, that can go in the windshield the way they go in the rear window, but without obscuring the view? They have and I got 'em:D ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/31 "2008-12-17T16:08:58Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > They say a vinegar solution works well … > [@lieu](#): > > How ironic. It would allow you to see and drive better but actually increase the “douche bag” comments. OK, that actually caused a spit-take. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/32 "2008-12-17T16:10:42Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Dude, don’t keep us in suspense. What happened next?! I figured the guy was fixing to attack me, so I met him at the door of my truck with my bat. He was cussin’ a blue streak all the way up to the door, but stopped short when he saw that I wasn’t going to be bullied or intimidated. It definitely took the wind out of his sails. Anyways. I apologized. He swore at me a little more. I explained the impossible logistics of climbing atop the truck and shoveling snow off. I could afford to be polite and patient, since I was three feet above him, standing in my truck, and wielding a baseball bat - certainly a superior tactical position. He returned to his car, still cussin’. I went about my day. He called the terminal to complain about me, but I got the complaint(s) quashed. The snow thing was force majeure, and the bat was ‘for use to check tire pressure during morning inspection’, and it’s presence was coincidental to the confrontation and not material to the issue at hand. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/33 "2008-12-17T16:10:46Z")
> [@myskepticsight](#): > > Yeah it’s not awesomely fun to spend 20 minutes cleaning off your car, but it’s way better than you being the douchebag that ends up hurting someone because the melted then refrozen ice and snow on your car flies off and hits someone else’s car. 20 Mins? Are you using a toothbrush? I can clear my entire driveway of snow in 20 mins. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/34 "2008-12-17T16:17:55Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > How about the guys and gals who don’t clear their brake lights. I’d complain about their headlamps too, but they probably don’t have daytime running lights and probably aren’t smart enough to know that making your car more visible to other cars is a good thing. Slowly dieing in a fiery car wreck is too good for them. Hanging them by their balls smothered in honey above a pit of fire ants is too good for them. They should be torn into little bitsy pieces and buried alive! Hanover… Whenever my wife laments the lack of snow in North Carolina, I remind her at no snow means no chunks of ice flying off the car in front of her. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/35 "2008-12-17T16:22:25Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > Uh-uh. According to Wikipedia, this phenomenon first manifested in 2001. It wouldn’t be the first time Wikipedia was wrong about something. Seriously, we’ve had automobiles for over a century now. Do you really think it to… …heh heh heh. You got me! I know I could have just not finished this post and you’d be none the wiser but it would be a crime to not share an epic whoosh like this. Kudos, sir, kudos. Odesio ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/36 "2008-12-17T17:19:38Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > They have and I got 'em:D We sell vans made by Mercedes that have them. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/37 "2008-12-17T17:29:32Z")
I never clear any snow off my car. What a bunch of pussies! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/38 "2008-12-17T17:58:28Z")
[ol] [li]Go to a hardware store and buy a tarp (with grommets) about as wide as the width of you car, and two bungee cords.[/li][li]Cut the tarp so you have a grommeted piece as wide as your car and as long as the distance from the wipers to the roofline (and about 12 inches more).[/li][li]Use the bungee cords by wrapping around the side view mirrors on each side of the car and securing each end through a grommet.[/li][li]Tuck the tarp under the wipers at one end.[/li][li]It’s easy to remove and pull any accumulated snow/ice with it. Stored in rolled up in the vehicle.[/li][li]Expect the first time you use it outside of your driveway someone will steal it. :)[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/39 "2008-12-17T17:59:38Z")
> [@Astroboy14](#): > > I never clear any snow off my car. What a bunch of pussies! > > 😃 Asshole!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546/40 "2008-12-17T18:01:19Z")
Finally! I didn’t think anyone was going to step up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-people-that-just-clear-a-little-circle-of-snow-from-their-windshield/477546.md?page=3)