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Winter Car Care: A Checklist for Safe Driving
Winter weather can pose significant challenges for drivers. From icy roads to reduced visibility, it's essential to prepare your vehicle to ensure safe and reliable journeys. In this post, we'll provide a comprehensive checklist to help you ensure your car is keeping you safe on the road this winter.
Fuel
Whilst this may sound obvious - it’s vital to make sure you have enough fuel for your journey. With temperatures often dropping very low during the winter months, the last thing you need is to be stranded somewhere because you’ve run out of petrol or diesel.
The same goes for electric car drivers, it’s really important you ensure you have enough charge to reach your destination. It’s also a good idea to make a note of charging locations on your route to top if needed - especially because using your heating can deplete your battery percentage slightly quicker than usual.
We would also recommend, in the unfortunate event of a breakdown, keeping a warm blanket in the boot of your car to keep toasty while you await rescue!
Tyres
Your tyres should always take priority during your vehicle checks, as they are the only point of contact between your car and the road. In the winter, this becomes even more paramount due to wet and icy weather.
Also make sure to check each one of your tyres for tears, splits, bulges, punctures, tread depth and tyre pressure. Check in your vehicle handbook what the correct tyre pressure is for your car and ensure they are inflated accordingly. As for tread depth, whilst the minimum legal level for your tyres is 1.6mm, the RAC advises that in the colder period you should have at least 3mm of tread to aid with traction and grip.
Although it's not a requirement by law, we highly recommend switching over from summer tyres to winter tyres, as they are more adept at dealing with the harsher weather conditions.
View our guide to all things tyres here
Lights
With the reduced daylight hours that winter always brings, the lights on your car become more crucial than ever. Not only do you need to see where you’re going, it’s equally as important that other drivers and pedestrians can spot you coming as well.
Regularly make an effort to walk around your car and ensure all your lights are working, and get somebody to help you check your rear lights and brake lights. Alternatively, you can park in front of a reflective surface to take a look at your back lights. It’s also a great idea to clean all the light casings on your car, as these can become covered in dust and other debris from the road.
Screen wash
Roads become covered in grit, dirt and salt in the colder months, and a combination of this can easily build up on your windscreen. This can block your vision as you drive, so it’s vital that you have screen wash readily available to clean this off.
Additionally, some screen wash also has the benefit of anti-freeze properties, which can make defrosting in the cold much quicker than using just your car's heaters.
Your safety is paramount to us. Contact TC Harrison Ford today to book your vehicle in for a free visual health check, to keep you moving even in the winter period.
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