Rac Windscreens

20% of drivers surveyed were involved in an accident because of icy roads while 63% complained that gritting is not done often enough. And not only in transit that problems occur, 42% said they had been forced to stay indoors as roads were not safe enough to drive on.

Mike Pickard, head of risk and underwriting at Esuri, stressed the importance of safety over convenience: "It is of utmost importance to be aware of road safety during the winter months and to judge carefully when it is safe to drive - if you feel is dangerous ... then leave your car at home and take public transport. "

But the risk of accidents is not the only danger on the roads during the winter. Police across the country indicate a growing number of "frosting" of incidents. It is a form of car crime in which "Jack Frost thieves' steal a vehicle is left unattended due to warm the engine driver. It is a crime far more common that can be imagined with 66 000 victims each year. Joanne Mallon, car insurance manager at Sainsbury's Bank, said: "When it's freezing outside, it may be tempting to run the engine to accelerate the defrosting process while you stifle inward to prepare. But it can have terrible consequences if your car is stolen.

And the car insurance companies are unlikely to be sympathetic either, as leaving the vehicle unattended the driver is deemed to have breached their duty of care. The message spread by the police and insurers is to ensure that keys are never left in the ignition of the car, even when the vehicle is on the access road de-icing of the owner. Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Your car keys are the weakest link in security chain drive to never give the car criminal the chance to steal your keys. Never leave your keys in the car while filling petrol in the car or thawing. "

However, Adrian Webb, communications manager at Esuri, is anxious not to discourage motorists from their windshield defrosting: "If you only reach a small hole to look through the windshield you are more likely to having an accident and cause serious injury or even kill someone. "Once again, any claim due to a poorly defrosted windshield may fall on deaf ears as the pilot failed in their duty to drive with an all-round visibility. Webb also advises against more traditional methods defrost windshield: "Technology of the windscreen has improved in recent years make this less likely, but pouring warm water on a cold windscreen is not the best thing to do."