How to prepare your car for winter

With winter fast appearing on the horizon, now is the ideal time to give your car a health-check before icy conditions take their toll, particularly as a recent survey found that ten out of 11 rural councils still have not managed to complete all the necessary road repairs after last winter’s severe weather!

• The IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) have issued a simple five point plan of action to ensure that your car is ready to face the elements before they deteriorate.
• In a British winter you are more likely to encounter wind and rain so make sure your windscreen wipers are in good condition and you clean the inside of the windscreen regularly.
• Do a proper winter check of your vehicle particularly the tyres, top up your washer fluid and make sure your old ice scraper and cans of de-icer are up to the job.
• The legal minimum for tyre tread in the UK is 1.6mm, but for optimum safety start looking for replacements if the depth is below 3mm (below of which skid resistance begins to decline rapidly).
• Check all lights. While someone observes the lights around the car, switch on each light one-by-one: headlights, sidelights, fog lights, indicators, brake lights, reversing lights, hazard warning lights. If alone, park by a reflective surface such as a garage door, and look for the reflections.
• Pack an emergency kit in the boot. The IAM recommends a warm coat and a high visibility jacket, some food and water, a good pair of boots, de-icer and scraper, a torch, a spade and a mobile phone with a well-charged battery. It’s also a good idea to programme your breakdown provider's emergency number, and your own customer reference number into your phone.