Every winter, many motorists risk a fine that they do not expect.
Cold, rain, snow, fog… Many weather phenomena make it more difficult to drive a vehicle on bad weather days. This is why it is more dangerous to take the road in winter, when the roads are slippery and visibility is less good. Traffic accidents are also on the rise, in France as elsewhere, during the winter period, roughly between November and March. This observation pushes the authorities to be particularly vigilant in respecting the rules during these months of the year.
If you are like the vast majority of motorists, you probably don’t know the Highway Code by heart. However, there are a large number of obligations to respect before getting behind the wheel in winter. That of driving with a perfectly clear windshield is one of them. It is in fact prohibited to drive with snow or frost on it, but also on the rear window and windows of your vehicle. The law provides for sanctions if the driver’s visibility is not ensured. Watching the cars go by with their windows still very opaque on very cold days, many motorists – maybe you? – are therefore outlaws, sometimes without knowing it.
It must be said that some mornings, when the temperatures flirt with 0, it happens, in a hurry, to clear only part of the windshield of your car so as not to waste too much time. Given the need to have peripheral vision to drive safely, this is not always enough. A windshield covered in patches of ice makes it more difficult to perceive other vehicles, road signs, traffic lights and obstacles that may be encountered at any time on the road.
It is for all these reasons that the Highway Code stipulates that driving a vehicle with a blind windshield is an offense. You risk a fixed fine of 68 euros in the event of an inspection by the police, which can be reduced to 45 euros if paid within 15 days. This makes it easier to accept spending a few extra minutes scraping your windshield, even in the cold and with frozen fingertips.