At night you may not, in fact you cannot see the cloud until you are in it. If ice checks are not encouraged it may be too late by the time you realise you have any.
I also encourage ice checks with a torch on the Night Rating.
Also of note is, that if you have a small amount of ice on the wing of a Piper single then you will have a significant amount on the tailplane.
Not to teach and encourage obvious safety routines is sheer laziness in my book.
pilotbear
