Take the time, spend the money, use a scraper

I was on my way to work after Calgary’s first of many unpredictable torrid dumps of frosty glory last Monday and had a moment of nostalgia in the conversely predictable traffic jam jarring 9th Avenue around 8:15 a.m.

I pulled up to a red light, goose-necked left, leaned forward and saw a man in a Honda Civic frantically scraping the inside of his windshield, causing a small scale rime-storm inside his car; a consequential effect of not having the time to warm up his car, no doubt.

He would hunker down and dodge around like he was avoiding punches in an attempt get the best view possible. He seemed content with his visibility and continued to negotiate rush hour traffic using his four-by-four-inch windshield clearance.

I had to giggle. I have a friend who drove a 1966 Chevrolet Impala in high school, and I remember cruising around in the dead of Saskatchewan winter after winter, watching and helping him perpetually scrape the inside of his windshield with the approved tool of choice — the container of a cassette tape.

Yes, a cassette tape: Archaic and apparently diverse.

Granted, a ’66 Impala isn’t as equipped with today’s auto efficiencies, but after the wistfulness of observing this mad scraper wore off,  I couldn’t help but think of the imposed danger — especially in Calgary.

Not to beget any philosophical undertones and please excuse what may seem like reaching, but failure to properly clear your window, or wait for your car to warm up, could be a significant comment on the rat race culture of Cowtown.

Or, to skip the profundity, maybe it was just pure laziness.

But it is worth asking:  Is our deadline-oriented culture of time equals money worth battling it out on the Deerfoot with a dinner-plate sized view of the barrelling traffic and perpetual spraying of slush and snow barraging your car?

There is a charging section for driving a motor vehicle while unsafe due to obscured view through windshield/windows. In 2008 to date, there have been 165 tickets issued according to city police records. So, while not a big chunk of the traffic section’s total summonses issued, it is used but probably not enough.

But this responsibility of simple winter safety falls on us, the citizen driver.
Spend three bucks on a scraper and use it.