Wednesday 13 January 2010

Motorist with X-ray vision defies need to clear windscreen

From BBC News 13/01/10:

A motorist who ventured out in Devon with her windscreen virtually covered in thick snow has been spoken to by police about hazardous driving.

The elderly woman, who has not been named, was given an ice scraper too by police after being spotted on Lea Road in Tiverton last week.

Officers have also asked her neighbours to offer her help in the future.

Police are continuing to urge drivers to be sensible and to clear vehicles of ice and snow before driving anywhere.

snow windscreen Wow. I’m not quite sure what you say to this. Bizarrely, the clearest patch is actually on the passenger’s side of the windscreen.  So, at the risk of asking silly questions, what was the deal?  Could she simply not be bothered to clear it, was too batty to notice or really had x-ray vision?

Either way, I would have probably done more than simply present the old dear with an ice scraper.  Rapping her over the head with it would have been a good place to start.

Batty.

5 comments:

  1. It's not how motorists are supposed to roll but clearing ice off a windscreen is hard, physical work in the cold outdoors. I'm not surprised if any particular older person would simply be physically incapable of managing it. The problem is that she never should have driven off if she couldn't manage to clear the windscreen.

    I wonder if she cleared the passenger side more than the driver side because she was parked on a kerb and the passenger side was the one with the pavement? Clearing a windscreen while dodging traffic is terrible even for the young and able.

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  2. Granted, clearing a heavily iced/snowed up windscreen isn't easy (particularly for the elderly) but surely the old dear recognised that doing what she did was very unsafe.

    If she couldnt manage it and nobody did/ or was about to help her, she should have left her car where it was.

    Just my opinion! :-)

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  3. Definitely agreed, if you can't see out of the front of your car you just shouldn't drive about in it.

    It's just that you don't have to be batty to drive like that, it could just be physical frailty combined with what the driver considers to be an essential journey. People often do incredible stuff when they think they have to do it.

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  4. In my opinion, only a permanent driving ban would be a suitable remedy in this instance!

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  5. Maybe a touch OTT, Andro. I think there was room for a light-touch approach - just not that light-touch.

    A good talking to would have been a start - as it was she got presented with a free gift and her neighbours told to 'look out for her'.

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