A cleaned car is essential for good view and is required by the law not only in the Czech Republic, 26/2/2018|Press releasesCleaning the car from snow and ice is the basic prerequisite for safe driving in winter. The removal of dirt, which prevents the driver from seeing well to the front, to the sides and to the back, is also required under the road traffic act. The law amendment which stipulated this obligation came into effect two years ago. The driver is obliged to remove pieces of ice and snow, which might get loose during the drive, from the car before starting driving. This means in practice that we have to clean all glasses on the vehicle before driving, including rear windows and back mirrors, the roof, trailer or semi-trailer and the snow cap on the bonnet shall also be considered. If a driver fails to clean the vehicle properly, he/she is subject to a fine of up to CZK 2000 and to a sanction of up to CZK 2500 in the administrative proceeding. The surrounding countries also remember that the driver must see well from the vehicle and set quite strict sanctions for driving in an uncleaned car. "The majority of drivers learnt to clean their vehicle from snow or ice properly and make their cars ready for driving. Some drivers are however still using only wipers for cleaning the wind shield, which, in winter conditions, does not guarantee sufficient view and threatens other road users," said Tomáš Neřold, the authorised head of the BESIP department of the Ministry of Transport. How is it behind the borders? In Germany the first warning fine is EUR 25 (CZK 635) which the police officer can give to a driver who is driving with snow on the car body. If the car, covered in snow, however threatens other road users, then the amount is increased to EUR 80 (CZK 2030) and the police officer will forbid further driving until the snow has been removed. Another frequent winter destination for Czech drivers, Austria, is well aware of this risk and the police makes no compromises in fining drivers driving a car covered in snow. If an accident happens due to an unclean car and persons are injured or the traffic blocked, the sanction can be up to EUR 5,000 (CZK 126,800). The local legislation speaks about cleaning all windows, the bonnet, roof and even the licence plate. Another Alpine country, Switzerland, is even stricter in this respect. Here, only a vehicle on which the roof, windows, the bonnet, lights and side mirrors are cleaned from snow is considered as a clean vehicle. Breaching this obligation may lead to a fine of up to CHF 200 (CZK 4390). The regulations in Slovakia and the Czech Republic are similar. The sanction is EUR 60 (CZK 1520). What does the Czech law say? The driver must not: i) drive a vehicle on which there is dirt, ice or snow preventing the driver from seeing to the front, to the back and to the sides, j) drive a vehicle with ice on it or on its load, which – if released – might threaten safe driving on the roads