Described is a wiper system for motor vehicle windows, more particularly motor vehicle windscreens, comprising at least one wiper (1, 2), at least one motor (5, 6) that drives the at least one wiper (1, 2), and a switching device (10) for directly controlling the motor (5, 6), wherein the switching device (10) has one or two switching elements (11, 15, 18, 19, 20) by means of which at least four switching states can be selected, and wherein selecting one of the switching states causes an operating mode of the at least one wiper (1, 2) to change.