The research was commissioned to announce a national promotion with Bosch, which will gift a free pair of wiper blades with front windscreen repairs and replacements booked by 17th November 2014 (see details here).

Neil Atherton, sales and marketing director at Autoglass, said: ‘Visibility on the road ahead is paramount for safe driving – and at this time of year, when the clocks have changed, it’s more important than ever. So we’re delighted to offer our customers a free set of wipers as part of our promotion to help keep windscreens clean, clear and free of smears which can distort your view of the road ahead.’

Wiper blades should be replaced every six to 12 months in order for them to keep functioning as they should. However two in three drivers (67%) fail to do this; despite the fact that nearly all of those polled (90%) admitted to knowing that driving with a dirty windscreen is dangerous.

It seems that the main causes for driving with a compromised line of sight are the weather and forgetfulness. Over two-fifths of UK drivers have driven with a dirty windscreen or driven in rain so heavy it impaired their vision (41% and 43%), and nearly half (48%) have forgotten to replace their windscreen washer fluid before hitting the road.

And younger drivers are much less aware of the risks involved with driving with a dirty windscreen. Just 28% of 18-24s recognised the dangers of driving in this state compared to nearly half (47%) of over 55s.

Richard Coteau, senior corporate fundraiser at Brake, the road safety charity, said: ‘All drivers have a responsibility to ensure that their vehicles are roadworthy and well-maintained. Vehicle defects contributed 2,000 crashes in 2013, 42 of them causing deaths. We hope that this campaign will raise awareness about the need for regular wiper maintenance checks and reduce the amount of crashes this winter.’