A major study has found that fleet drivers are failing to prepare porperly for winter driving.

Nearly 75% of fleet drivers admit to driving without being able to see out of their windscreen properly.

The study of 4,000 drrivers by Continental Tyres found that fleet drivers fare worse at winter driving than everyday drivers, where one in three respondents said they drive without full visibility.

One-in-five drivers have reported to using a credit card to clear the windscreen of ice, this increased to nearly half of fleet drivers questioned.

One-in-three fleet drivers never check tyre tread depth and fail to ensure tyres are roadworthy, and 50% never put anti-freeze in radiators.

One-in-three don't check windscreen washer bottle levels and a similar figure don't bother to check whether their wipers are working properly.

One-in-three don’t even check if their lights are working.

It also emerged men are worse than women at pulling off the driveway while peering through a tiny spot of clear glass at the road ahead.

Tim Bailey safety expert at Continental Tyres, said: "An astonishing 52% of people know it is wrong to drive without a fully clear windscreen but fail to do anything about it.

“It is particularly worrying that fleet drivers came up worse than other drivers in terms of poor visibility and awareness of winter driving safety as they spend a significant amount of time on the road.”

Researchers also found that more than half the fleet drivers questioned admit they are often half asleep when they get behind the wheel in the morning – significantly more than the one in four everyday motorists.

One-in-four fleet drivers are under the wrong assumption that you’re supposed to drive ‘out of’ a skid when slipping on ice.

And a third wrongly choose screen wash without antifreeze to clear a frozen windscreen which won’t be of any help at all in sub-zero temperatures.