Winter Driving - Stay Safe

12th January 2012

With the first "big freeze" of winter approaching, even the best of drivers are pushed to their limits.

At Thomas, Carroll Private Clients we would like to see our customers stay safe this winter. Not preparing a car for winter motoring could increase the risk of an inconvenient upset such as a breakdown. Here are some hints and tips to help you through the winter months.

Prepare your car before you set off on your journey with:

• Antifreeze - keep it topped up
• Oil - check and top up oil and water levels
• Tyres - check their condition, tyre pressure and legal tread depth, including the spare!
• Battery - this is the most common cause of winter breakdowns, check your battery regularly
• Fuel - keep at least a quarter of a tank in case of unexpected delays
• De-icer - avoid using hot water kettle, it pays to have a quality can of de-icer and a windscreen scraper.

Be sure to travel with the following items:

• Mobile - a fully charged mobile phone and in car charger
• Blanket - a blanket and/or warm clothes
• Footwear - sensible footwear is key
• Water /Food - bottled water and energy food
• Torch - a high quality torch with long life/spare batteries
• Shovel - in the boot of your car may come in handy

Accept that you cannot drive:

In poor weather and visibility conditions the best advice would be to stay indoors and only make trips that are absolutely necessary. If you have to drive:

• Where possible use major routes
• In severe conditions, tell someone of your departure time, route and planned destination
• Snow and Ice - allow speed to fall gently when breaking to stop wheels locking
• Flooding - remember to test your breaks on the way out and cross water slowly in the shallowest area
• Slow down, allow more time to brake and accelerate, leave room and finally do try to be patient.

Breakdown:

Breaking down can be extremely inconvenient and upsetting. If you have breakdown cover store the 24/7 helpline number in your mobile now! If you haven't purchased breakdown cover yet, contact your personal account manager or call us on 0800 11 55 66.

Key information to note if you have an accident:

• Car details, including registration number
• Exact location and time
• Driver's name and contact details, including address
• Witness details and passenger information which may prove to be invaluable