Tips When Driving In Winter

Tips When Driving In Winter

Tip#1: Drive a car with heated glass technology and fully working indicators

What is heated glass technology?

Hate those mornings when it’s bitterly cold and your front windscreen is covered in ice or sleet as you go out to the car to go to work?

Sick of having to try to fish out a can of de-icer which has fallen under one of the seats or have to go back inside and get a kettle of water to put over the windscreen?

Well, heated glass technology may be what you need!

Heated glass technology is where a glass window such as a windscreen or your wing mirrors are coated with a mess of thin wires that are able to heat up to high temperatures which melt any ice, frost or sleet and can even evaporate any rain. The heated glass technology is powered by the car’s battery and you simply press a button on your car’s dashboard to switch it on.

Why is heated glass helpful for driving in winter?

The first and obvious point of having a heated windscreen means you don’t have to ensure you’ve always got a can of de-icer in the car during the winter months.

The heated glass technology works fast and usually melts any ice on your car within five minutes. Whilst this is working, you can simply sit in the car and keep warm.

  What car manufacturers use heated glass technology (i.e. heated windscreens and wing mirrors) in their cars?

● Ford Motor Company
● Land/Range Rover
● Jaguar
● Volkswagen
● Vauxhall
● Aston Martin
● Skoda
● Mini
● Nissan
● SEAT

Due to this technology being optional, some manufacturers have, however, reserved it for more expensive models in their range of vehicles.

This technology uses a special metallic coating on the surface of the glass invisible to the naked human eye.

It produces heat energy which radiates from the glass. It is the same technology used in many modern architectural projects where the mess is completely translucent.

The wires sit inside the screen and are surrounded by a silver/zinc oxide coating embedded between two layers of glass. When you switch the heated windscreen on it starts to heat the wires up to a high enough temperature that will melt ice on the window within minutes. The heated windscreens can be installed on both the front and rear windows, as well as behind your side rearview mirrors (i.e. wing mirrors). The car needs to be turned on as it draws a significant amount of power from the battery.

Why is it so important to have fully working indicators?

Well, where to begin with this question.

We all take indicators for granted, don’t we? Have you ever been behind a BMW driver and they HAVEN’T used their indicators properly and courteously?

It’s then that you realise just how important fully working and used indicators are!

First and foremost, indicators provide a warning to other road users (not just drivers but cyclists, horse riders and even pedestrians) that a vehicle is planning to move in a certain direction.

Giving sufficient warning AT the correct time that you intend to move in a certain direction AND correctly interpreting what another driver is planning to do via his or her signalling are the basics of good safety for all road users.

Indicators or signals allow us all to ‘read the road’.

Fully working and the use of indicators help to notify other road users when you are planning to change lanes on a dual carriageway or motorway; when you want to manoeuvre a roundabout as well as simply turn right or left at any junction.

An active indicator simply reduces the likelihood of accidents.

Learning when to use your indicators is all part of the skill of driving safely as it’s vital to judge the correct time and distance to start to indicate to avoid confusion amongst other road users of your intentions. For example, it’s advised to indicate at 300 yards when leaving a motorway (the sign which shows 3 lines prior to the slip road). In other residential locations, it’s advised to indicate at 30 metres before any turning.

Other times when you need to have fully working indicators and use them:
● When you wish to park your vehicle.
Indicating left to park on your nearside alerts other road users to your intentions and allows them to adjust their speed and direction accordingly.
● When you wish to overtake a cyclist or other vehicle.
Again, this may alert any vehicles behind you that there is a cycle or other vehicle in front of you which they may have not even seen.
● When you are pulling away from a stationary position.
This lets traffic behind you know that you are moving out into traffic and again allows them to slow down if appropriate.
● When passing parked cars, it is not normally necessary to indicate.

However, if you think it may help other road users, then do so. That’s the advice according to the Highway Code.

Interestingly, although there’s no specific offence for failing to signal, if your actions are deemed ‘careless driving’ or ‘dangerous driving’ you can face heavy fines and even imprisonment.

The Highway Code states: “signals warn and inform other road users, including pedestrians, of your intended actions.”

Knowing when to indicate (or signal) is so critical.

Good, timely and courteous indicating is something which people learn through years of experience.

Take the following scenario: you are parked but see another vehicle rapidly approaching you from behind and you decide to indicate that you are moving into the traffic but are planning to wait for the vehicle to pass you. This may cause confusion to the driver in the vehicle and lead to the car suddenly slowing down or making a sudden manoeuvre to try to avoid hitting your car. Judging the distance between you and the approaching vehicle is vital to avoid any misunderstandings and a possible accident. Sometimes, it is better to wait for the vehicle to pass and when there is a bigger distance before the next car approaches you - before you signal.

As a general rule, you should indicate if you feel another road user will benefit from your signal.

If there are no other road users in sight, it is okay NOT to signal but each scenario has to be assessed individually.

Look out for more blogs and tips when driving in winter.

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