Before setting off on your journey make sure you have performed the crucial checks on your car, especially if kept outdoors and that the vehicle has been recently serviced by experts and deemed safe to drive.
Plan Ahead
• Check the weather forecast, road conditions and consider alternative routes.
• Allow extra time to clear the windows properly and carry some de-icer.
• Ensure that your vehicle is prepared for the journey and has anti-freeze in it.
• Make sure all your lights work and that you use them to see, be seen and be safe.
• Check that all your tyre pressures are correct.
• Make sure you have sufficient windscreen washer fluid in the reservoir.
• Check that your petrol tank is sufficiently full. Carry warm clothing, blankets, a torch, a shovel, a bottle of water and suitable footwear.
Icy Roads
• If you do hit ice and feel the car start to slide take your foot off the accelerator immediately, don’t be tempted to brake (this will increase your risk of spinning) and steer gently into the slide.
• The best way to avoid sliding in the first place is to make sure your speed is right, it may need to be slower than you think, at just 30 mph you are traveling 30 feet every second. To reduce the risk further make sure you are very smooth when you accelerate, brake or turn.
