What must I clear from my car before driving in snow in Northern Ireland?

Before driving in snow, clear enough snow and ice to see properly through the windows, and make sure lights, mirrors and number plates are clear.

The NI Highway Code also tells drivers to remove snow that might fall into the path of other road users.

For “What must I clear from my car before driving in snow in Northern Ireland?”, the wider Northern Ireland context is this: Northern Ireland winter driving is especially sensitive to changing road-surface temperature, rain, ice, flooding and exposed routes. Official advice is to drive for the conditions actually in front of you, not for the posted speed limit or the fact that a road was treated earlier. TrafficWatchNI and current weather warnings are the right live sources when conditions are deteriorating.

For this exact question — “What must I clear from my car before driving in snow in Northern Ireland?” — the practical point is: Do the whole vehicle before moving off, not just a small viewing slot in the windscreen. The answer should be applied to the actual signs, conditions, licence wording or parking rules in force at the time, because temporary restrictions and individual DVA decisions can change the ordinary position.

This Northern Ireland-specific page on “What must I clear from my car before driving in snow in Northern Ireland?” was checked against the attached official sources before publication, with nidirect/DVA and the Northern Ireland Highway Code used ahead of generic UK motoring articles. If the rule, road layout or personal licence condition changes, those primary sources are the ones to re-check.