Frosty days put increased demands on cars and drivers both in terms of driving and preparations before it. There are several specifics associated with this, and one of them can literally save your driver’s license.
The winter weather prevailing in the Czech Republic these days reminds one winter duty of every motorist who does not park under the roof – the necessity to prepare the car for driving by properly cleaning snow and ice.
Wet snow is not enough just to wipe the windshield wipers, it is not enough to remove the ice on a piece of glass in the form of a “tank visor”, with which the driver can only see directly in front of him, but no longer notices the danger approaching from the side. The newly amended Act 361/2000 Coll. on road traffic.
He says that the driver is not allowed “drive a vehicle on which there is dirt, ice or snow that obstructs the view from the driver’s seat to the front, back and sides”, and must not “to drive a vehicle on which there is ice on or in the cargo of which, if released, could endanger the safety of road traffic”namely in § 5 paragraph 2.
Translated into human language, it is necessary to brush the car from snow – including the hood and roof, because the snow will blow from the hood onto your windshield, and from the roof the wind will blow it onto the cars behind you, or the snow will slide onto your windshield when you brake and nothing will happen. you won’t see The windshield and side windows must also be de-iced; from the rear glass, the heating will take care of it.
If you have a spray deicer, just spray it on the windows and wait a while for the chemistry to melt the ice. If you rely on the scraper, the best way is to start the car, turn on the heating to maximum along with blowing the windshield and heating the rear one, or even the front one, if your car is so equipped, and start scratching. Start with the rear side windows to give the blower and heater time to work and help you. Followed by the front side windows, on which the frost is already melted by the wind, and finally scrape off the remains of the still unmelted frost on the windshield.
Never use warm water on the glass, either in the form of pouring it on the glass or, for example, in a bag. A large temperature difference would cause the glass to crack.
Special care must be given to the wipers, which tend to freeze quite significantly. Owners of cars with a heated windshield or at least with heating of the space around the wipers are at a great advantage here, because this does not apply to them. If you are not one of them, know that if you don’t have a spray deicer, don’t tear off the rubber bands – there is a risk of damaging them.
Also, do not turn on the wipers before the wipers are released. This is because there is a risk of damage not only to the wiper rubbers, but also to the motorcycle or their drive mechanism.
Some people recommend waiting for them to loosen on their own, but this can take many kilometers and in winter they are needed almost all the time while driving. A faster way to usable wipers is to carefully cut them off with a scraper and then break and scrape off the attached ice. It is important that pieces of ice or frost do not remain on them, because then they do not wipe well.
Remove the stuck slurry in advance
In addition to frost and snow on top of the car, lumps of stuck and frozen slush appear, especially after a long drive behind the wheels. It’s not that they’re unsightly – if they come loose somewhere on the road while you’re driving, they can be a danger to the driver behind you.
Hitting a lump of ice on the road can damage the car or throw off its stability, after which an unplanned trip to the ditch is not far away, especially on slippery winter roads. That’s why it’s a good idea to remove these deposits as soon as you reach your destination – it’s easier than leaving them to harden overnight.
After you have stopped, you can prepare for the next drive in other ways, e.g. by folding down the wipers. That way they won’t freeze to the windshield.
Unreadable brand? There is a risk of a driving ban
There is one more specific thing about driving in winter – it can easily happen that your car’s license plate is illegible. This is a very severely punishable offense – according to the new points system, the driver faces a fine of up to 10,000 crowns and a 6-18 month driving ban, as well as driving without a license plate.
License plate covered in snow while driving
When driving on a snowy road, especially on the front sign, dirt easily sticks to it, making it illegible. However, in order to be fined for this, the police must prove your fault – in other and simplified words, you must know that you are driving off with an illegible tag.
This means that if you carefully clean the car before driving, including both license plates, and snow and slush stick to them while driving, it is not an offense – the driver is not obliged to stop every few kilometers and check the legibility. However, if you stop for fuel or coffee on the way, for example, and when you get to your car you see that your license plate is illegible, you must clean it before driving, otherwise you are committing an offence.
2024-01-09 17:56:00
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