Have you ever seen someone trying to drive while looking through a small patch of window they’ve scraped clean of snow and frost? You watch them cautiously trying to drive by touch and you shake your head at the insanity. You want to shake them and tell them to just take the time and clear their windows properly. Not only can they receive a ticket driving that way, they also are at risk of having an accident.

If their semi-blind driving leads to an accident, they may hit a tree or a parked car. Unfortunately, they could also hit your car or a child running to the bus stop in the morning.

Driving with clear, clean windows is a great way to decrease your odds of an accident. It’s also far less frustrating. Certainly, that driver leaning down and squinting through the window isn’t enjoying the process of driving that way. At the very least, that driver will probably wind up with a major headache for the effort.

To ensure your windows are ready, a little preparation is recommended. That includes having the proper equipment and materials and taking some specific actions. Here is a short list of the steps you can take to keep your windows clean in the winter:

• Replace your wiper blades when they’re worn. Bad wiper blades tend to leave streaks and are otherwise ineffective.
• Keep the reservoir for your windshield washer solvent full. Remember that time in the winter when you were driving and you ran out of solvent. A fine mist of snow was mixing with road salt and covering your windshield. Without solvent, the wipers merely spread the gray across your windshield. And make sure you use quality solvent that won’t freeze when the temperature dips below zero.
• Put a quality ice scrapper and snow brush in your car. And don’t just use the brush to clean the snow off the windshield. You want 360-degree visibility when you drive. You also want to clear away snow from the hood that will otherwise fly up on the windshield when you drive. And scrape that frost off your windows, too.
• You may want to use an antifogging solution to make it easier to keep your windows clean. They’re inexpensive and available at all auto-parts stores.
• Warm the car up before you drive so it has heat to blow on the inside of the windshield from the defrosters. How many times have you scrapped the windows clean and started to drive only to find that you have no heat and the windows have fogged over again? If you warm the car before you go, the defrosters will take care of that problem.
• Give yourself a little extra time before you leave. This will allow time for the engine to heat up. It will also allow you time to do your brushing and scrapping of the windows. You can scrape a postage-stamp-sized spot on the windshield and leave in a rush but, if you have an accident or receive a ticket, you won’t save any time in the long run.