Planning a drive to a destination with extreme climate conditions? Or just wondering how to keep your car in shape in winter snow and hot summers? Here’s how to prepare your car for severe weather to ensure the wellbeing of you, your vehicle and the road users around you.
Perform maintenance checks
Severe weather can come on suddenly and unexpectedly. To help ensure your safety in these circumstances, perform regular maintenance checks on your car throughout the year. This should include an annual MOT check and professional service as well as DIY tasks such as:
- Assessing tyre pressure and tread depth
- Topping up oil, coolant and screenwash
- Checking the condition of lights, brakes and windscreen wipers
- Ensuring climate control is working
Driving a vehicle in excellent condition gives you a better chance of staying safe in severe weather.
Take out comprehensive insurance
Especially if you live in an area prone to harsh conditions, take out comprehensive insurance for financial protection in the event of weather-related damage.
Upgrade from third-party insurance to a fully comprehensive policy which usually includes cover for damage from falling trees or branches. You might want to consider getting GAP insurance for your car too which covers you for the loss in value if your car is written off.
Protect against hot and cold
Extreme temperatures can have detrimental effects on the health and performance of your car. Prolonged exposure to cold reduces battery capacity and engine efficiency and causes tyre pressure to decrease. Hot weather risks your engine overheating and the evaporation of essential fluids.
Mitigate these problems by doing what you can to keep your car at an optimum temperature. Park in shaded areas on sunny days, and store your vehicle in a sheltered space like a garage in winter to safeguard against freezing and damage from hail.
Monitor the weather forecast
As far as possible, stay ahead of the game by monitoring the weather forecast for days when you expect to drive. The climate can be changeable, especially in the transitional seasons. Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to potentially dangerous conditions like sub-zero temperatures and heavy rainfall that can obscure your vision.
Remind yourself what to do in different emergency weather conditions to reduce your chances of panicking and making the situation more dangerous. For example, when driving in snow and ice you should leave more distance and break gently, and you should carry a survival kit in the boot.