Tips to Get Your Car Ready for Winter Driving
Driving in winter weather is completely different than driving dry weather. I mean it’s kind of obvious that that’s the case, but a lot of people forget that. When you’re driving in snow you have to be attentive and make sure they’re all distractions are to a minimum if not, no distractions at all, read more about distracted driving here. So once you’re starting to roll around in that winter season, you have to make sure that you prep your vehicle way ahead of time. The last thing that you want, is having your vehicle slide off the road or be driving with an unprepared vehicle during winter. So here is something that you should keep in mind and things you should start doing just as in the winter season starts to roll around. These steps will help you prepare your vehicle for winter driving as well as the winter season overall.
Remember that driving in snowy and winter conditions causes the most accidents on the road. If you want to prepare yourself get some insurance!
Winter Tires: this is an obvious thing. We highly recommend swapping out your current tires for winter tires, in most cases, you can actually get away with using all seasons but we don’t recommend it. Take your car to a local tire shop where they can swap out your tires for you to be ready in the snow. Too many, they may think that winter tires aren’t useful but actually they’re quite beneficial when driving in snow. There are a lot softer than traditional All-Season or even summer Tires, this means that they’re able to grip better provide you with shorter stopping distance and better handling in snow.
Wipers: We highly recommend that you check your wipers, over time they can deteriorate and not seen your windscreen as effectively. Driving in wet weather or even snowy conditions you’ll be needing to have your wipers on at all times. We recommend that you swap out your windshield wipers at least one time a year so that way you’re remaining fresh on your visibility is clear.
Fluids: We highly recommend checking the fluids as well, for example, you should check the coolant levels of your vehicle just to make sure that it’s at optimum temperature. coolant is actually mixed at a 50/50 ratio with water, in extremely cold temperatures, it can actually freeze. So replacing the coolant with different levels of antifreeze can help with that.
Also, you should check the level of your windscreen washer and make sure that’s topped up all times.
Gas: This is something that’s often overlooked, make sure that you have your gas tank filled at all times. We usually recommend that at the half tank you should go to the gas station and start filling up. Having a full gas tank will reduce the amount of moisture in your fuel system and with that, you won’t have any issues going forward. That way you can have the heat running at all times in case you do get stuck and not worry about your car shutting off.
Battery and Safety: Cold temperatures can actually reduce the efficiency of your battery. Before winter Rose around to check the level of your battery to make sure that it’s in a condition where can handle the cold temperatures. adding to that, you should also have a set of jumper cables in case your vehicle doesn’t start as well as a snow shovel in case you do get stuck.
These are just some safety tips to help you get started on the road, we also recommend taking your car to a mechanic to get an oil change and have it ready for winter. But nonetheless, proper driving habits and being attentive on the road will be the most triumphant skill that you have.