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Simple safety tips for driving in severe winter weather

Road safety and breakdown organisation GEM Motoring Assist is urging motorists to take extra care, with winter weather predicted across most parts of the UK.

Road journeys are more difficult and treacherous when there is ice on roads or a fall of snow, so GEM is encouraging drivers to plan ahead and be ready to postpone journeys if necessary.

This avoids the risk of getting stuck or breaking down, and helps reduce pressure on emergency services and breakdown providers who are likely to be at full stretch in winter weather, says GEM.

If you have to travel, here are some simple safety tips:

Ensure your car is properly equipped for the likely conditions. In particular, ensure the battery is in the best possible shape.
Listen for weather updates and plan your travel accordingly.
Ensure your windscreen and all other windows are completely clear of snow and ice before you set out. Give your lights and number plate a good wipe, too.
Prepare a set of essential items to take with you, including shovel, fully charged mobile phone, torch, ice scraper, food, water, jump leads, first aid kit, warm clothes and a supply of sand or gravel to assist with grip if your wheels are spinning.
In winter conditions, keep your speeds down, leave plenty of space between yourself and the vehicle in front, and be ready for a sudden, rapid deterioration in conditions.
Keep a safe distance behind gritter trucks and snowploughs. Only pass when it’s safe to do so.
Let someone know where you are going and when to expect you home.
Ensure your mobile phone is fully charged before you set off, just in case you need to call for help. Take your charger with you to ensure you don’t run out of charge.
Remember that driving in conditions like this is hard work. You are likely to become tired much more quickly than in less challenging conditions. So ensure you build in breaks on your journeys.

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Simple safety tips for the winter weather

Home / Auto News / Simple safety tips for the winter weather

Gareth Herincx

3 days ago
Auto News

Road safety and breakdown organisation GEM Motoring Assist is urging motorists to take extra care, as more wintry weather hits the UK.

Road journeys are more difficult and treacherous when there is ice on roads, foggy conditions or a fall of snow, so GEM is encouraging drivers to plan ahead and be ready to postpone journeys if necessary.

For those who will need to travel, here are some simple safety tips to reduce the chance of risk, delay and difficulty – and to avoid putting additional strain on the emergency services and breakdown providers who are likely to be at full stretch in winter weather.

Don’t drive if you don’t really need to. The easiest way to avoid trouble from winter conditions is to postpone your journey.
If you do have to travel, ensure your car is properly equipped for the likely conditions. That’s because if you do experience a breakdown, you will most likely have to wait longer until help arrives. So get a winter check-up completed on your car – or at the very least ensure the battery is in the best possible shape.
Listen for weather updates, and plan your travel accordingly.
Ensure your windscreen and all other windows are completely clear of snow and ice before you set out. Give your lights and number plate a good wipe, too.
Prepare a set of essential items to take with you, including shovel, fully charged mobile phone, torch, ice scraper, food, water, jump leads, first aid kit, warm clothes and a supply of sand or gravel to assist with grip if your wheels are spinning.
In winter conditions, keep your speeds down, leave plenty of space between yourself and the vehicle in front, give room to snowploughs and gritter trucks, and be ready for sudden, rapid deteriorations in conditions.
Remember that driving in conditions like this is hard work. You are likely to become tired much more quickly than in less challenging conditions. So ensure you build in breaks on your journeys.

“It makes sense to have a plan in place that means you can postpone a journey, or switch to public transport. Agree to reschedule a meeting or a visit if it’s not vital,” said GEM chief executive Neil Worth.

“In that way, you’re avoiding a lot of potential trouble for yourself, and ensuring you won’t be putting additional strain on emergency and recovery crews, who are sure to be at full stretch in the coming days.”

Tags fog foggy frost GEM GEM motoring assist ice icy roads Snow winter winter weather

Gareth is a versatile journalist, copywriter and digital editor who’s worked across the media in newspapers, magazines, TV, teletext, radio and online. After long stints at the BBC, GMTV and ITV, he now specialises in motoring.

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‘Dual fuel’ owners opt for electric over ICE for most journeys

Home / Auto News / ‘Dual fuel’ owners opt for electric over ICE for most journeys

Gareth Herincx

2 days ago
Auto News

Around a third of electric vehicle drivers run a petrol or diesel vehicle too, according to new research.

What’s more, the research from leading EV charge point mapping service Zap-Map, suggests that electric is chosen for the vast majority of journeys by ‘dual fuel’ drivers.

The type of journey electric is most likely to be favoured for is a local daily trip such as going shopping, the school run or eating out, for which 85% of the time dual fuel drivers will take the EV.

For commutes, 71% these drivers use their EV, and even for journeys of over 100 miles 67% will stick with electric.

Even for UK based holidays, likely to involve long cross-country journeys reliant on the public charging network, a majority of 55% will leave the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) car at home.

The annual Zap-Map EV Charging Survey showed that most EV owners only own electric, with 49% driving just one fully electric vehicle, 8% two or more, while 2% own or regularly use one battery electric and one plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

In addition, 25% drive one battery-electric car and one ICE vehicle, while the remainder drive a mixture of battery electric, plug-in hybrid and/or ICE vehicles.

Satisfaction levels for electric vehicles remain higher than for petrol and diesel. Less than 2% of EV drivers want to return to petrol or diesel compared to 9 out of 10 who would not consider trading for a conventional car.

The report shows 89% satisfaction for battery-electric vehicles and 83% for plug-in hybrid electric — both higher than 71% for petrol and diesel.

‘Our survey has shown for several years now that once you go electric, you don’t go back,” said Melanie Shufflebotham, COO & Co-Founder of Zap-Map.

“This year we’ve gone further to show that drivers who haven’t quite let their conventional car go yet still choose to drive their electric. Even for those long cross-country journeys where a charge stop is likely to be necessary.”

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Give your car an Arctic BLAST check

Home / Auto News / Give your car an Arctic BLAST check

Gareth Herincx

3 days ago
Auto News

Kwik Fit, the UK’s leading automotive servicing and repair company, is urging motorists to be ready for the cold spell with a simple five-point checklist.

The checks spell out the word BLAST and are easy to remember when icy weather is predicted.

Kwik Fit has highlighted the key components which can be vulnerable to cold weather and are vital for ensuring your car can be relied on in winter, especially it has been used less frequently than previously.

Battery. Batteries have to work harder to start a car in cold temperatures with problems sometimes only becoming apparent when it’s too late. If a battery has struggled to start a car in warmer weather, a cold snap may place too big a demand on it
Lights. The importance of working lights is obvious during the shorter hours of daylight, not only to see but to be seen
Antifreeze/coolant. Anti-freeze will protect the engine at low temperatures, but only at the correct level and concentration so the condition of the liquid in the reservoir and system should be checked
Screen. Visibility can be poor in winter weather, so drivers should make sure their screen condition does not comprise it further. Screen wash level and wiper blade condition should be checked, as well as the glass for any chips or cracks. If not repaired, these can become more vulnerable in cold weather. Never use boiling water to clear icy glass as the very sudden temperature change brings a risk of it cracking
Tyres. As the only point of contact with the road, having tyres in good condition is even more important when surfaces are slippery. Drivers should check tread depth, pressures and also sidewall condition. They should also ensure that their spare is ready to use if needed, or if their car has an emergency sealant kit they know how to use it

“The first cold spell of a year always reveals problems with cars which are a surprise to their owners,” said Roger Griggs of Kwik Fit.

“The most common of these is battery failure which can happen with little or no warning. A engine which was starting during warmer autumn months may simply be too much for an old or worn battery when the temperature drops.

“In the case of tyres, drivers may not have noticed excessive or uneven wear until they need maximum grip in slippery conditions – and at that point it may be too late.

“As is always the case in motoring checks and maintenance, prevention is much better than cure, so we urge drivers to carry out winter BLAST checks in advance of any journeys they need to make.”

Tags antifreeze Arctic blast car battery coolant frost frosty ice icy Snow tyres weather windscreen winter

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Winter tyres ‘aren’t a priority’ for UK drivers

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2 days ago
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Just one in five motorists in the UK think it is important to swap their cars onto winter tyres, new research by Audi UK indicates.

The use of winter tyres is mandatory during the winter months in many countries and regions throughout Europe, but there is no legal requirement to fit them in the UK.

However, the study – which coincides with Road Safety Week- revealed that 61% of the UK drivers had no plans to switch to winter tyres this year.

For 44% of survey respondents, the absence of legal obligation was enough to convince them to pass up the added safety and protection winter tyres offer, while the impact on running costs of buying and maintaining an additional set of tyres was the spanner in the works for 40% of respondents.

Additionally, the potential difficulties involved in storing the wheels and/or tyres out-of-season was the main impediment for 22% of participants.

“The safety benefits of winter wheels and tyres are considerable from temperatures below 7°C – regularly seen in the UK as the winter months roll in,“ says Audi UK’s James Allitt.

“Our research highlights misconceptions among UK drivers about their merits, and also understandable concerns about the cost and inconvenience of ownership, and I hope we’ve gone some way towards addressing these misconceptions.

“Fundamentally, though, I firmly believe that any driver able to make the switch to winter tyres won’t ever regret doing so when they feel the difference they can make.”

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