Whether you’ve welcomed winter with open arms or you can’t wait for it to be over, it’s important that all road users take extra precautions, to reduce the risk of accidents this season. Unfortunately the harsher weather conditions brought by winter make our roads a more dangerous place to be, yet the demands of modern life still mean we need road access, just as often as we would any other season. Below we have put together a few practical guidelines designed to help keep you and other road users safer this winter.
Give yourself plenty of time for each journey
Even if you’re heading on a journey you’ve done 100 times before it’s still important to give yourself extra time when it’s cold outside. Check the weather forecast to see what the conditions will be like on your journey. Make sure you give yourself enough time to fully de ice your windscreen if the conditions require. You don’t want to set off without having a fully clear view across your entire windscreen.
Keep your windscreen wash topped up and use the correct type
This tip is especially important in wet and snowy conditions. You’ll need to use a windscreen wash formulation that won’t freeze if the temperature drops below 0. Check the label on yopur wash fluid bottle to see if it is suitable for use in winter. Usually the wash will simply be labelled as a ‘winter screenwash’ as well as the temperatures it can be used in. Keeping your windscreen wash topped up is also important to keep a clear view when driving as road spray and windscreen dirt is more apparent in winter conditions.
Keep a safe distance
This is one rule of the road that we may all be guilty of breaking at one time or another. However in it’s important to remember that in wet conditions your breaking distance is doubled and in icy conditions, the breaking distance is 10 times that of a dry road. If you’re driving too close to the vehicle in front, or the vehicle behind you isn’t leaving a safe distance, this puts both you and other road users at risk.
Take it easy
As mentioned above, giving yourself extra time for each journey is an important part of winter driving. Icy and wet road conditions will require you to drive slower than usual. Its important to speed up and slow down with extra caution. Using the brakes and hitting the gas pedal with a heavy foot is likely to result in skidding.
Check your tyres
If there was a perfect time to check your tyre tread depth then winter would certainly be it. You may even want to swap out your tyres for winter tyres depending on how much you will be out on the road and the conditions you are planning to drive in. a tread of at least 3mm is recommended for winter driving, and never less than 2mm. It’s also important to check the
tyre pressure at least once a month. Taking these steps will ensure your tyres are in the safest condition for driving.