September marks the start of Autumn and while the weather’s remarkably mild at the moment, the nights have definitely started drawing in and it’s starting to get a little cooler outside during the day. The change of the seasons brings with it a change in driving conditions and as we progress closer and closer to the winter, more care must be taken when driving to take prevailing road conditions into account. Whether you’re driving one of our rental vehicles or your own, it’s always worth bearing the following in mind in order to stay safe during the change of the seasons.
Keep your windscreen clean
One of the hazards of Autumn driving is glare from the sun. During the Autumn, the sun is lower in the sky both in the morning and in the evening, meaning that it could be in your direct field of vision when you’re driving, leaving you dazzled an unable to clearly see the road ahead. Any windscreen that isn’t perfectly clean could also be rendered practically opaque if the low lying sun catches it. For this reason it’s essential to keep your windscreen as clean as you can (don’t forget to clean the inside) and make sure your wipers are in good condition with your screenwash topped up. Make use of your sun visor and make sure you keep sunglasses in the car. Similarly, shorter days means more night time driving, with oncoming headlights just as likely to dazzle you and make dirty windscreens hard to see through.
Drive According to the Conditions
The long dry days of the summer have given us some truly spectacular driving conditions, but Autumn driving requires more caution. Cooler, wetter weather reduces the traction of road surfaces, which means that your tyres don’t grip as well. If it’s raining, the ground is wet, there’s a covering of fallen leaves, or there’s a little ice in the air, make sure you reduce your distance between yourself and the vehicle in front and also reduce your speed to take into account the increased stopping distance. Corners should also be taken more slowly and both the accelerator and brake peddles applied more gently.
Visibility is reduced in heavy rain and fog, so slow down, don’t forget to turn on your dipped headlights and where appropriate your fog lights too. Remember to switch your fog lights off when you no longer need them to avoid dazzling other road users.
Autumn Driving – Get your car ready for the Winter
The long warm summer will no doubt have meant long days of happy motoring, however, with the nights drawing in, the temperature getting cooler and the weather getting wetter, now is the time to make sure your car is ready for the months ahead.
- Consider getting a pre-winter check-up or service.
- Check your tyres, the law says the tread depth must be a minim of 1.6mm across three quarters of the tyre’s surface, however, for winter 3mm is recommended.
- Check your antifreeze – During the summer, Antifeeze helps keep your car cool, but in the winter is prevents the cold from damaging your car.
- Consider renewing your older battery – Batteries have a limited life and if yours is five or more years old, or showing signs of struggling to delivery the power needed to start your car, then there’s a chance it’ll let you down during winter – cold weather is hard on batteries.
- Check your bulbs – As the nights get darker, you’ll be relying on your headlights more, check yours are all working, check that you have spares and also make sure that you know how to change them.
- If you don’t already have a scraper and de-icer in your car, now’s the time to buy them