Prepare your car for winter

 14 October 2011

Road safety charity the IAM is offering weekly motoring tips from Britains top advanced driver, Peter Rodger. This week, as forecasters predict a hard winter, he is advising motorists on preparing their cars for the cold season.

IAM chief examiner Peter Rodger said: Now is the time to give your car a health-check before winter conditions take their toll. Bad weather can strike quickly, and more severely than you expect, so its really important to be ready.

Rodger suggests some easy tips to prepare your car for winter:

• In a UK winter you are more likely to encounter wind and rain, so make sure your windscreen wipers are in good condition and that you clean the inside of the windscreen regularly
• Do a proper check of your vehicle  - particularly the tyres - top up your washer fluid and make sure last years ice scraper and 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
• Check all your lights
• Pack an emergency kit, including a warm coat, 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. Remember to store your emergency breakdown number.

Mr Rodger said: Many roads are still pot-holed after last winter so having a well-maintained car, and paying particular attention to your tyres, is going to be extremely important.

To help drivers stay safe this winter, the IAM has launched a new website, drivingadvice.org.uk, with traffic updates, weather forecasts and tips on how to drive safely in winter.

Tips cover rain, snow, ice, fog and wind everything you can expect in a typically unpredictable British winter. Check it out before you travel.

ENDS

 Notes to editors:

1.     drivingadvice.org.uk

2.     Peter Rodger is the IAMs chief examiner

3.     The IAM is the UKs largest independent road safety charity, dedicated to improving standards and safety in driving, motorcycling and cycling. The commercial division of the IAM operates through its occupational driver training company IAM Drive & Survive. The IAM has more than 200 local volunteer groups and over 100,000 members in the UK and Ireland. It is best known for the advanced driving test and the advanced driving, motorcycling and cycling courses. Its policy and research division offers advice and expertise on road safety.

ENDS ALL

 Media contacts:

IAM Press Office 020 8996 9777

press.office@iam.org.uk

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iam.org.uk