How you're endangering your neighbours by using water to de-ice your car

27 November 2020, 14:33

Are you guilty of using water to de-ice your car? Picture: Getty

By Alice Dear

There are better and safer ways to de-ice your car on these cold mornings.

As we head into the depths of winter, we have the treat of being greeted by icy windscreens every morning.

There are many ways you can get rid of the ice and get moving again, but we would not recommend throwing water over your windscreen as this could endure you, your family or your neighbours.

We're waking up to icy cars more and more as we head into the depths of winter. Picture: Getty

One woman has taken to a Mumsnet forum to complain that she slipped and fell on ice that had formed from her neighbour using water over their windscreen.

The water they had used to de-ice the windscreen had run along the pavement and frozen, causing a huge slip hazard.

The thread was in the 'Am I Being Unreasonable' section of the website, with the title reading "To think pouring water on your icy car is just selfish?".

She wrote on the forum: "Just fell on my face outside a neighbour who must have done this early morning.

"So a stream of ice running across the pavement to the road which I didn't see.

"I fell hard. Am OK but if I were elderly or more fragile I could have bad injuries. At least salt the pavement after!"

The woman warned people you can easily slip on the ice caused by de-icing cars with water. Picture: Getty

Other users of the site agreed with the woman that her neighbour's actions were "selfish".

One person wrote: "I don’t understand how you could make a hazard like that and just leave it."

Another commented: "I hate this as well, it’s always like that on the street to my child’s school, was this morning. Loads of icy lines across the pavements where it’s ran down off their cars."

Others confessed they are guilty of using water as a quick de-ice tactic, but promised to change their ways.

One person promised to never do it again, writing: "Oh no! I hadn't thought of the excess water causing ice, I'm guilty of this. Will amend my ways!"

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