Driving vehicles without having full visibility out of windscreens is being labelled a ‘stupid' action by Tauranga Police.

As colder temperatures grip the city, many people will be experiencing either fogged up or iced-over windscreens at the front and back of their vehicles.

Sergeant Mike Owen is warning motorists to make sure their windows are clear and not obscured while driving, otherwise they could face a $150 fine.

Sergeant Mike Owen recently stopped a driver with a windscreen fogged up. Instead of issuing a $150 fine, Mike decided to warn the driver.

'My stance was ‘educational' on that occasion, as opposed to writing an infringement notice.

'It's stupid to drive a vehicle without having full visibility out the windows. Why would you do this? You are putting yourself, your passengers and other road users at extreme risk.”

Mike says it only takes a few seconds to hose a vehicle's front and back windscreens down in the morning before driving off.

'Surely safety of themselves and other road users should be paramount.”

The warning comes after an incident in the South Island, where a driver was caught driving with only a small gap in the windscreen to see through.

A woman in her 30s had not bothered to clear her windscreen, which had been iced over in the minus three degree conditions.

As a result, police fined her $150 for the obscured window offence.