During a recent drive into work this winter, I noticed something interesting. There were a lot of people driving down the road with frost built up on their windows to the point where you couldn’t see the driver. Wouldn’t it stand to reason that if you can’t see into the vehicle through the frost, the person behind the wheel can’t see out?

This can’t be good for anyone.

The Credit Card Scrape

There was one car that I passed–traveling 10 mph under the speed limit with a line of traffic behind it akin to a funeral procession–where the driver decided to make a single scrape across the windshield rather than scrape the entire windshield. Think reverse blind fold.

We’ve all seen it, a strategically placed scrape across the windshield precisely at eye level. This is usually a desperation move resulting from the driver not having an ice scraper. They “MacGyver” it with a credit card or another little object that clears just enough area to provide limited vision of the road directly in front of them. Good luck seeing any low flying aircraft above or the pot holes below that have grown to the size of a small bay on Lake Minnetonka.

The NASCAR Scrape

Rather than scraping the entire windshield and side windows, these drivers only scrape the windshield and driver side, completely ignoring the passenger window. This half effort is perfectly sufficient–as long as the driver takes a NASCAR track into work and never has to make a right turn.

The Peep Hole

My personal favorite, however, is the slouched-over peep hole. This one is completely ridiculous. It begins with the decision not to scrape at all, relying instead on the defroster to do the work. Or not. This is the slow-moving car straddling two lanes of traffic while the driver is hunched over the dash like an overserved blackjack player. The only point of vision is through a half moon of partially defrosted windshield about the size of a half-eaten omelet. Laser-focused and deftly intent on navigating rush hour traffic through this tiny peep hole, this driver is part James Bond and part submarine captain, peering through his scope as he surfaces from the depths of the sea.

All of this left me thinking about these little things, so easy to do yet ignored by so many; ultimately leaving everyone on the road frustrated and in danger. There’s an old saying that goes “Anything worth doing, is worth doing well.” This is true regardless of how large or little the task, whether it’s scraping the windows of your car before work or the job you do once you arrive. People notice a job well done, and, just as importantly, they notice when things are left to chance.

Especially when you are stuck in rush hour.