Dew…and do not
I’ve often said how important visibility is to drivers. Without good visibility, you may miss important information while driving. Has that ever happened to you? As I’ll say to my students I’m teaching at Young Drivers of Canada, you drive with your eyes and your hands and feet are tools for your eyes. Part of the problem about having poor driving visibility comes from our lack of attention and part comes from poor vehicle maintenance. Do you suffer from either or both of these at times?
With the cooler evenings recently I’ve noticed morning dew on the west side of my vehicle. It happens often during this time of the year and I’ve noticed other drivers driving along with their windows mostly covered in this moisture. Don’t they want to see the other drivers next to them before they do a lane change? Couldn’t cyclists or pedestrians hide in this area of poor visibility before the driver makes a turn? Wouldn’t it make it more difficult to use your side mirrors when your windows are covered in moisture?
The easiest solution that most drivers do is to roll down their windows. That clears off the first layer of morning dew, but it doesn’t really do the job that needed. The quickest and easiest solution is to use a squeegee to clear the windows. I’ve bought a squeegee many years ago and it does the trick. It only takes me less than a minute to clear off the windows that are covered in that dreaded morning dew so it’s a pretty good investment of my time.
I’ve seen drivers with good intentions as they pull into the gas station and use the gas station’s squeegee to clear the morning dew off their windows. The only problem is they had to drive there partially “blind” with some windows covered up in order to use the squeegee. Wasn’t that a bit risky?
Take the time to become a proactive driver and a safe driver. The tools that you may need to purchase aren’t always that expensive and can last many years. It does help improve your sense of visibility and thus your piece of mind. I hope you can see what I mean.
I keep an old shirt as a rag in the garage and wipe dew off every morning it shows up, all windows, mirrors, and headlights. It’s perhaps not as clean as a squeegee, but it is better than not wiping. If it’s not clear, don’t put it in gear. My neighbour is a notoriously lazy motorist, never clears dew, or frost, or snow, all of which are Impairment as much as alcohol or phones can be. Vision is key to safety.