As many as a third of British motorists have experienced or come close to a car accident this winter after not fully de-icing their car before driving.

And only a tenth of relevant participants admitted they would ensure their car was fully de-iced in the future. Most of those who did not de-ice their car thoroughly before a journey revealed they did so because they were running late and did not think they could spare the extra time.

The research, by money-saving website www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, surveyed 2,340 qualified drivers with their own cars.

They were asked to reveal if they had experienced a car accident or come close to having one this winter. While almost half (48%) said that they had not, 36% had come close. The remaining 16% had experienced some form of motoring incident this winter.

Those who had experienced a recent accident or been close were then asked to reveal the cause. Researchers gave them a list of possible answers and were asked to select all that applied to them. The top five results were:

1 Lack of visibility – 41%.

2 Poor weather conditions – 37%.

3 Speeding – 24%.

4 Lack of concentration – 19%.

5 Caused by other drivers – 11%.

Then they were asked if there had been snow or ice on their cars on the morning they set off on a journey that proved dangerous – more than half (53%) admitted that there had been. When asked if they had de-iced their car properly that day, one in three (34%) said they had not de-iced their car fully, with 58% saying that they had done so. The remaining 8% said they could not be sure. Of those who said they had not de-iced their car properly, 61% admitted it was as a result of running late and not having enough time to do so, with 22% confessing that they did not have the correct de-icing equipment in their vehicle. Interestingly, only 11% said that they would be ensuring their car was properly de-iced in future.

Have you hit anything or had a near miss because of poor visibility? Email motoring@archant.co.uk