Motoring in the Summer
Obviously the summer months are generally kinder when it comes to harsh conditions and cars breaking down. However it is still a huge inconvenience when it happens,even at this time of year, especially if you are against a tight timeframe to get to your destination.
What follows has been written to help you think about problems that may occur to your car and what you should do to be better prepared.
Things to do
- All cars should be regularly serviced at the appropriate time frames and/or mileage levels, make sure that yours is up to date.
- Regularly check your water and oil levels.
- Check the level of electrolyte in your battery, if it is low then top this up with distilled water as necessary. The connectors should be tight and clean. Be careful when handling the battery as you could get a shock and the acid is highly corrosive.
- Walk around the car with someone in the vehicles pressing the brake-pedal, testing the indicators and trying all settings of the headlamps, to make sure that all the lights are working effectively for driving. It is an offence to drive with non-operational lights on a car.
Just because they work, doesn't mean to say they are visible, especially in the lights themselves are dirty, so please ensure that all casings are clean and free from dirt. - Check your tyre pressure and whether there is any strange wearing of the tread, including the depth of the thread which legally needs to be at least 1.6mm deep.
It should be remembered that the reason tread is deeper on a new tyre is to more effectively displace water it drives though to make driving safer. - Make sure that the blades on your windscreen wipers are clean and not ripped, you're your "screen squirters" are angled correctly and that you have a full waterbottle with screenwash in for cleaning the window whilst on a journey.
- It is usually a good idea to be familiar with the tools and procedures to change a tyre should you be unfortunate to get a puncture during a journey. The practicing of this with a family member in a non-stressful situation could also be a useful investment of time.
Your journey
The following is some common sense advice that should be considered when you are embarking upon a journey.
- Give yourself plenty of time for a journey.
- It is always helpful to pre-plan your route, prior to your departure. If the journey is particularly long you may wish to plan some comfort stops along the route at service stations. Driving for long periods of time, especially in the heat of summer can be very tiring, which is not a good situation to find yourself in, especially at motorway speeds.
- If your journey involves the towing of a caravan make sure that your car's tyres are in good condition and the right pressure, you should also check the tyres on the caravan itself as sometimes wheels left for a period of time, with no use, can attain cracks or splits.
- Keep a bottle of water in the car for drinking on a hot day, should get stuck in holiday traffic.
- If you are going to take your car and drive abroad, make sure you have the correct insurance cover to be able to do so.
- Make sure to leave a decent gap between yourself and the car in front, when the car is full of people and suitcases, it will weigh considerably more and the stopping times in case of emergencies will be greater than an empty car.
- If you are going to take your car and drive abroad, make sure you have the correct insurance cover to be able to do so.
You may also wish to carry some jump leads, a tow rope, a first aid kit, torch, spare fuel canister, and maybe even some oil and water should you need to top them up mid-journey.
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