WE HAD our first hint of frost last week indicating that the arrival of winter time can be bad news for motorists. Poor light, bad weather and worse roads conspire to make driving tiring, unpleasant, and sometimes even dangerous.

Every journey is an opportunity to prevent the worst from happening. There is a great deal of preventative action that you can undertake yourself.

Before setting off:

• make sure that the car has enough fuel

• let someone know your intended movements

• listen to traffic news and weather forecasts, and wear warm clothing

The need for seasonal preparation also extends to the various systems that run the car, so make sure that the antifreeze in the car is fresh. Insufficient or ‘old’ anti-freeze can cause hose, water pump or other major units to fail leading to overheating. Anti-freeze should be changed every two years due to the deterioration of the corrosion inhibitors, or according to manufacturer recommendations.

Other things to do include:

• make sure battery is in good condition

• on cold mornings use a de-icer on windows, or a scraper – NEVER hot water

• check that the screen wash is not clogged and that the bottle is topped up for use, and make sure that an additive is used to stop it freezing

• check windscreen wipers for wear and replace them if necessary

• make sure that all heaters and ventilation systems are working so that misting is minimised

• give all external lights and mirrors a thorough clean

• headlamps should be correctly aligned

• tyre tread depth should be at least 1.6 mm across the central three-quarters of the breadth of the tread and around the entire circumference, and there should be no cuts or cracks

• spray damp inhibitor into the door locks to prevent seizing up

Before you set off, you need to make sure that the light settings match the driving conditions. As the winter months go on, drivers will find themselves using their lights more and more, but the use of the lights will need to be appropriate for the road conditions. If conditions change during a journey, alter your light settings accordingly.

Fog is still one of the greatest enemies to safe driving. Other culprits include rain, ice, sleet, and snow. All of these elements can lead to dangerous driving conditions, but cannot cause accidents without the assistance of one vital catalyst, usually provided by the driver: speed.

In the winter, speed can be your enemy, so winter driving means steady driving. Stopping distances double in the rain, and when roads are icy they can increase ten times. You should always keep well back from the vehicle in front, but in the winter you should be even further back.

On treacherous roads, even if yours is the only car, you should drive as slowly as possible in the lowest practical gear. Apart from checking your speed, you also need to consider the way you handle the car as a whole. Steering, gears, clutch, and accelerator should all be used more gently than at other times of year.

Essentially, safety in the winter comes down to four things:

• check your car

• be prepared for anything

• be cautious

• monitor your speed

If you try to follow these rules you should find yourself on the road to safe winter driving. To make sure your car is ready for the road in the first place, book your car in for a service. There are many elements within a car that will need the kind of professional attention that only a garage can provide. A service performed by your local garage should help make a car ready for the more unfriendly weather conditions of the winter.

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