How Ready is Your Car for Winter?

The route to Tunbridge Wells along the A267, from Mayfield,

through Mark Cross and Frant to Tunbridge Wells was at a complete standstill

this morning. Local radio station, BBC Sussex had a stream of irate listeners,

stuck in the traffic, ringing up and berating the council for not salting the

road.  Less than five cm of snow and Kent

seems to have ground to a halt.

However, the council had treated the roads, the tailback was

due to some poor soul with a flat tyre, forced to change their wheel in the

freezing snowy conditions.  Not that

anyone, stuck for over an hour, had much sympathy for them.  So, with a fortnight of Siberian style weather

in store, how ready is your car for winter?

In Scandinavia it is mandatory to change your tyres to

winter tyres from 1st December to 31st March. That’s not

chains or studded that’s just grippy, soft, rubber tyres with a minimum of 3mm

tread depth. These tyres aren’t hardwearing and are put away in the summer

months. Every Scandinavian family has four wheels in their garage ready for the

seasonal change. It is part of life in Scandinavia and several other northern

European regions.

So, with the chaos the snow brings every year, shouldn’t we

all start following the Scandinavian example? 

How many of us check our tyres and cars in general before venturing out?

Before the bad weather sets in, we should all make sure we

have considered, at the very least, the following suggestions; Make sure you

have a scraper and de-icer. Has your service centre added anti freeze to the engine

coolant?  Ensure your tyres are correctly

inflated with adequate tread. And if there is any risk you are going to get

stuck make sure you have a fully charged phone, plus car charger, snacks,

water, a spade and that you have plenty of warm clothes and a pair of wellies!  It would also be prudent to have a tow rope

along with a tool kit and a torch if you want to be prepared for all

eventualities.

Of course before venturing out, it is always worth

contemplating the alternative; settle down in front of your computer, with a

steaming mug of coffee and work from home.

Visit the Halfords

site for a full list of precautions

to follow when driving through the snow. 

If you are unfortunate enough to break down, here are two

local car breakdown recovery services;

Reliance

Recovery,  Bookers

Services.

If you are thinking of buying a new set of tyres, Setyres

Fast Fit Centre on Longfield Road supply tyres from all the major

manufacturers. As do Watling

Tyres on Lamberts Road. Visit Watling Tyres’s website to read more

about tyre safety, did you know four illegal tyres could cost you 12 points on

your licence and £2500 each.

If you do have to leave the house, make sure you drive

slowly and you keep your distance. A minor bump may be more irritating than a

day spent working at home.