My first job most mornings seems to be having to scrape the frost from my vehicles. It seems Salisbury just missed out on snow on Thursday, with much of the rest of the country not being so lucky. Winter is definitely here. So I thought it would be helpful to think of key things to check at this time of year.
- Check that you are using a good quality screen wash that won’t freeze.
- Make sure that you have antifreeze in your coolant system.
- Think about how much tread your tyres have.
- How old is your battery? Is it reliable?
The advice always seems to be that if you don’t need to travel, then don’t. However, if you need to, here are a few things to consider having in the car in case things get bad:
- Ice scraper and de-icer
- Water if washer jets freeze to clean windscreen
- Torch and spare batteries
- Blankets and winter boots in case you get stuck
- First aid kit
- Jump start cables
- Food and warm drink in a thermos
- Shovel for the snow
- Reflective warning sign
- Mobile phone with charger
Snowy conditions
- Clear your car roof, windows, lights and number plates of snow before setting off.
- Operate your controls in a smooth and slow fashion when driving in snowy conditions.
- Accelerate gently, use low revs and use the highest gear possible to keep control of your car.
- Higher gears can help your tyres grip on to snow, so consider moving off in second gear.
- Leave bigger gaps between you and other drivers.
- If you skid, steer gently into it and don’t let go of the steering wheel. Don’t hit the brakes and panic.
- Compressed snow is icier than fresh powdery snow, so wheel tracks can be treacherous.
- Sunglasses may be needed for sunny snow glare.
- Don’t try to keep driving if your wheels spin in snow, as this will only dig you in deeper. Move your tyres from side to side to clear a track and use a shovel to dig yourself out.
Icy conditions
- Allow up to 10 minutes to clear your windscreen of ice using a scraper and de-icer, and don’t neglect the other windows in your car either. Don’t use water to de-ice the windscreen, as this will just freeze it over again.
- You can use a lighter to warm up your key if your car locks freeze over.
- Don’t drive off until you have good visibility.
- Higher gears can help your tyres grip on to ice, so consider moving off in second gear.
- Lower your speed, and increase your safe distance.
- If you skid, steer gently into it and don’t let go of the steering wheel. Don’t hit the brakes and panic.
- Turn back if icy conditions become too treacherous.
Hope this is helpful. Be safe.