Get ready for winter driving

After a long summer and the warmest autumn since records began, there’s now a nip in the air and heavy rain across the UK.

Home workers are fortunate in not having to brave the elements every day, but are often dependent on a car to get to client meetings and events.

Today’s sponsored post from the AA provides some guidelines to get your car in shape for winter driving:

The last thing you want when you rush out to the car on a deadline is to find it won’t start and you have to cancel. Or to leave an event in the dark and wet, and be stranded in an empty car park.

So take a few steps now to get your car ready for winter driving and ensure your car it takes you where you want to go – and home again – whatever the weather:

1. Get your car serviced now if you haven’t had it done lately. It may seem expensive but it’s cheaper in the long run to rectify small faults than have them develop into real problems. The service should include a check of anti-freeze.

2. Regularly clean all the windows and mirrors, not just the windscreen and rear window. It’s harder to see driving in the dusk or when it’s raining, so give yourself the best possible chance of spotting pedestrians and cyclists.

3. At the same time, wash your lights to make sure you can be seen by other drivers.

4. Increase the strength of your screen wash so it doesn’t freeze when it hits the screen!

5. Cover the windscreen on frosty nights so you don’t have to clean it off in the morning. You can buy covers made for the purpose or a thick piece of cardboard will do the trick.

6. Regularly check all your lights and replace bulbs when necessary. The combination of missing brake or indicator lights and wet roads could mean a nasty accident.

7. Winter driving puts more of a strain on the battery as you use your lights, windscreen wipers, blowers and heater more often. Plus if you mainly work at home and only use your car for short trips like the school run and shopping trips, your battery doesn’t get a chance to recharge. Battery faults are the most common cause of breakdown, so if yours is more than five years old consider replacing it.

8. Check your breakdown cover to make sure you have the level of cover you need, whether it’s at your home or close to home, roadside assistance, national recovery, garage and repair bills or transport to your destination, hotel accommodation and so on. The AA have more dedicated patrols than any other UK breakdown service and fix 4 out of 5 cars at the roadside.

A little preparation now for winter driving could save you a lot of time, stress and expense over the next few months. Home workers tend to stay at home more in the winter, and with good reason, so make sure that when you do go out the trip is a safe and pleasant one.

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