The Cost of Ice for Motorists

By: Robert Thomson

Harsh Frost and icy windscreens means lots of us have to spend time in the mornings heating up our cars before being able to drive to work. This has led to an opportunistic sin known as ‘Frosting' whereby car crooks steal cars which have been temporarily left unattended while the owner nips back into their house after turning on the engine to roast up the car.

Last year 66,000 motorists reported falling target to this crime, which is often unexpected in quiet residential areas. Naturally insurance companies are not showing much empathy for sufferers of this crime. If a motorist has opted to leave their vehicle unlocked with the engine running while they return inside, the insurance company will often believe there to have been a failure in duty of care to look after the vehicle appropriately. Any accusation made on these grounds will most likely be discarded and the driver will be left to fork out the cash to buy a new car.

Car thieves have been witnessed stalking the streets on chily mornings looking for somebody to leave their car unattended with the engine running. So make sure that you do not fall target to this crime by using alternative methods of de-icing your windscreen. Some people advocate pouring boiling hot water onto the windscreen but you should be careful in using this technique as it could cause the windscreen to break due to the extreme change in temperature. This could lead to another pricey insurance claim if you entire windscreen needs to be replaced, and often warming up the car via the engine is a more useful way of doing the job. Just remember to prevent leaving the car unattended when the engine is running and use an ice scraper to further clear your field of vision.

Do make sure that you can see fully before driving your car. Firgures say that you are more likely to cause any accident on the roads, if you only have a small spot to peer through on the windscreen. And if you do decided to drive in this situation and cause an accident you may find again that your insurer accuses you of breach of duty of care and being guilty of unsafe driving. If this is found to be true your insurer may not pay any for any claim relating to you or your vehicle.

So if you glance out of your bedroom window in the morning and it is clear that Jack Frost has visited once again, please ensure that you keep your car safe as well as yourself and others.

Bruno is the author of Winter Mobility. You can find more information on this subject at Winter Transmission Problems and Winter Car Preparation.

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