Ice claims one in ten motorists

Jan 25 2010 Malcolm Robertshaw

Ice claims one in ten motorists

NEARLY three million motorists have had a run-in with another vehicle during the Big Freeze, according to research by Continental Tyres.

An unlucky one in 10 drivers have crashed into other road-users in the last month during the snowy and icy weather. And 45% said they had two or more near misses over the cold snap.

The average motorist involved in a prang has done £320 worth of damage - but a third failed to own up to their wrong-doing if the accident was their fault. Another 34% avoided involving their insurance company in order to keep their no claims bonus.

Tim Bailey, safety expert at Continental Tyres, which carried out the poll of 1,000 drivers, said: "This is a shocking number of accidents in a short period and it reveals how many people are unprepared for driving in these conditions.

"We are not necessarily past the worst yet, as further snow and ice could arrive. The stress of driving in bad weather conditions can lead people to make mistakes, such as driving too closely to the vehicle in front in conditions where stopping distances would be increased. This is when accidents can happen as drivers underestimate the time it takes to come to a full stop.

"Motorists should take extra care in the winter, making sure their vehicle is roadworthy, especially the tyres as they have the greatest impact on handling. When the weather is particularly bad drivers should also heed advice to not use the car unless the journey is vital."

It emerged that half of those polled had to dig their car out of the snow, one in five were pushed up a hill and an unfortunate one in 12 had to abandon their car.

Alarmingly, the study found one in three drivers admit taking to the road without being able to see out of their windscreen properly. Motorists claimed to be ''in too much of a rush'' to fully defrost their vehicle before heading off to work.

Men are far worse than women at manoeuvring off the driveway while peering through a tiny spot of clear glass at the road ahead.

It also emerged four out of ten motorists don't bother cleaning mirrors or rear windows before setting off in the winter. And such is the lack of preparation that one in five have reported to using a credit card to clear the windscreen of ice.

Seven out of ten never check tyre tread depth and fail to ensure tyres are roadworthy, and one in two never put anti-freeze in radiators. Four out of ten don't check windscreen washer bottle levels and a similar figure don't bother to check whether their wipers are working properly. 25% don't even bother checking if their lights are working.

Eight in 10 see other motorists on their daily commute who have been too lazy to clear their windscreen, an average of four cars every frosty morning.

Researchers also found one in four drivers admit they are often half asleep when they get behind the wheel in the morning. And they take at least four minutes to properly wake up after getting behind the wheel. Almost four out of ten said they found it harder to stay alert during the winter.

One in five are under the wrong assumption that you're supposed to drive 'out of' a skid when slipping on ice. And a third wrongly choose screen wash without antifreeze to clear a frozen windscreen which won't be of any help at all in sub zero temperatures.

"Drivers might want to consider fitting cold weather tyres on their car to increase handling and safety over the winter months." Mr Bailey added.

"This is something that people are not really aware of in the UK, but is standard in other European countries such as Germany, where drivers are liable to be fined if they are not equipped with the right tyres for the wintry conditions."