Personal injury news

Car accidents might be caused by old windscreen wipers

Recent research by the Kwik-Fit company has discovered that 20% of the British motorists surveyed, are potentially at risk of having a car accident due to poor visibility through their windscreen.

According to the findings, 56% of drivers (one in three) do not check and maintain their windscreen wipers. As a result, 16% of those behind the wheel in Britain have wiper blades which leave behind smears on the windscreen, making it more difficult to see the road.

A further 3% of drivers complained that their wipers did not clear water off the front window effectively, and 1%, which accounts for about 200,000 of UK drivers, said that their wipers scratch the windscreen.

An obscured view of the road could cause a severe personal injury to the driver, another road user, or a pedestrian during a car accident.

Replacing windscreen wipers does not take long, is cheap and getting new wipers could potentially save a life by stopping a car accident from occurring. With this in mind, starting 2011 with some new windscreen wipers might be a good way for a driver to improve their road safety and avoid having to make a personal injury claim.