Every driver knows that it is their responsibility to keep windscreens clear, which means that they need to be free of major damage, clean and able to quickly remove rain, snow or dust from the windscreen whilst driving.

The Highway Code is clear about this responsibility, and drivers with a damaged windscreen should contact a dedicated replacement or repair service as soon as possible to fix the problem.

Dirt, dust, rain and snow are almost always taken care of by windscreen wipers, which in combination with wiper fluid help to keep the main part of a windscreen clear and ensure drivers have a full view of the road ahead.

Practically every closed-cockpit car uses windscreen wipers, as they are cheap, effective and have been refined over the past century to become highly effective at clearing windscreens.

However, there have been attempts to create wiperless windscreens for over 60 years.

The first patent for a wiperless windscreen was in 1963, credited to Arthur Ludwig. The idea never left the patent stage, but the idea was to use ultrasonic vibrations to shake dust and rain off of the windscreen directly.

There is no evidence that it ever worked, but it was cited in a later 1986 patent that aimed to use ultrasonic waves to push water off of the windscreen rather than a pattern of stationary waves installed at strategic points.

This concept, several patents over several decades later, was researched at the supercar company McLaren, although it does not appear to have ever been fitted to any car that was showcased publicly.

The other potential option in this regard is using nozzles of compressed air, as was seen with an Acura TL concept car, as well as special coatings similar to those used on self-cleaning glass to repel contaminants and keep the windscreen clear. In neither case did they reach the production stage.