Watery deaths can be avoided

Chris Northover PHOTO/FILE

It was a dark and stormy night. Not to mention the rain and hail. Driving along Somme Pde, the car coming the other way was weaving from side to side - just about hitting the parked cars - then coming on towards me like an unguided missile. When it passed me I realised that it was just that - unguided. The driver couldn't see through the windscreen - and weighing about a tonne, it was a missile all right. I slowed and pulled to the left to let it pass perilously by on its way to have a head-on "accident" with some other less lucky person.

A hand furiously wiping the windscreen explaining the weaving - and the losing fight the driver was having with the misted-up windows explained the difficulty I had looking into the car to identify the suicidal sociopath doing their best to kill me. As the car drove away all I could see was the 'baby on board' sign swinging in the rear window as the car lurched on to its fate. We are no longer blessed with Motoring with Robbie on Saturday mornings, so this week's column will be "Motoring with Chris". It could be my life I save!

I wonder how many accidents are caused because people are driving while not being able to see out the windscreen.

Many newer cars have a demist button on the dash that turns the air conditioning on to hot as well as selects the demister - so that the air conditioner dries out the air and blows hot dry air on the windscreen to dry out the mist. The mist is caused because the upholstery in a car sucks up moisture like a sponge. Someone once estimated that a double mattress can hold as much as seventeen litres of water - meaning that unless you frequently dry out your bed you may get a very cold and miserable night's sleep - before you get warm you have to warm up all of the water that is in the bed and water takes a lot more heat to heat up than air does.

Cars are the same - they soak up water by the litre in the conditions such as we have now.

When we get in and drive off with the heater on, the water in the seats and carpet evaporates into the surrounding air, then condenses onto the windows. It is simple physics, really, but it can kill us through poor vision when we need it most but only because we don't dry out our cars when we have the opportunity - well, those of us with older cars that don't have air conditioning anyway.

You could do what I do - on a sunny day in winter just leave your car out in the sun with the windows down and boot open. The sun heats up the car like a glass house and the wind takes away the moisture that makes its way into the air. We get plenty of warm, dry days even in winter, so it is best to use them to dry out your car. If you are concerned about thieves leave your windows down only about thirty millimetres and lock the car. Although air conditioning does cost more in fuel when you use it - lots more - if you don't use it frequently the seals will dry up and ruin it - so a good practice is to use it in winter to dry out the insides of your car.

The other side of this coin is that dirty windows mist up sooner. Not only do they attract mist, but smoke and other smells condense on the insides of your windows and your car will never smell fresh. You need to clean your windows every month or so - and there are a number of good - often alcohol-based - cleaners on the market which make it easy. If you can't afford that, use a mix of white vinegar and water with a tiny bit of dish washing liquid. Happy motoring!