The weather can play havoc with driving conditions. Wind and rain can cause flash flooding and deluges of mud to fill our roads. The winter brings ice and snow, and can often make roads impassable. When you’ve got places to be, this can be a huge inconvenience, especially if you’re livelihood depends on it.
Quite often in life, you need to go somewhere come hell or high water. But unless you’ve got a lot of money to upgrade to a four-wheel drive, you might be stuck with the vehicle that you’ve got. Public transport may not be an option in severe weather either, as it can become unreliable or services may even be cancelled.
Get The Right Tires
Find the best all-terrain tires. You will need to consider getting tires that will act well on mud, rain, snow and ice. You will want a well-reinforced casing that can withstand damage. It needs to work well in all conditions, and not just severe weather. A deep tread will assist its grip on slippery conditions. Look at how fuel-efficient a tire is, as your car grips the road, it can cause the engine to labour more. Many tires are able to clear stones and debris from inside the grooves to allow for continued optimal performance.
Get Your Car Serviced
During the winter months, in particular, it is essential to keep on top of maintaining your vehicle. Regular servicing should include oil change, replacing oil filters, filling up coolant, checking tire pressures, replacing wipers and filling up screen wash. All of these things will improve the overall safety and handling of your vehicle.
Carry An Emergency Kit
Having a few essentials in your car at all times will help you out if the worst happens. You should carry a high vis jacket, a first aid kit, a shovel, antifreeze, an ice scraper, water, screenwash and some blankets. It is useful always to carry some extra warm clothes in the car too. Sunglasses are also very handy during the winter for dealing with low sun and glare off the snow.
Carry A Map
You may well rely on sat navs or apps on your phone to find your way around these days, but when technology lets us down, having a map can save your life. Often, lousy weather takes on routes that we would not usually take, and having a map will help you navigate your way to safety.
Check The Weather Forecast
Always check out the weather for the day, and particularly around your journeys. If you can leave earlier, or later, to avoid a storm, do so. Similarly, listen to travel bulletins while driving to find out about any road closures, or severe weather advice affecting your route. Many car entertainment systems have an option to automatically switch to any travel updates on any radio station whenever they come on. In poor weather conditions, always make sure that you have this turned on to keep you up to date.
