Taking care during the winter

After a days hard work at the office many of us feel sleepy and tired, the summer nights make this less of a struggle because the nights are longer and the majority of us will drive back home in daylight. Unfortunately this becomes problematic when the winter nights draw in as the nights grow shorter, colder and icy.

Winter nights are extremely difficult to drive on and present drivers with an array of difficulties that we all must try and combat. Global warming may have heated things up a little but poor wintery weather is expected to arrive very soon. This means ice on the roads and the dreaded black ice which is extremely dangerous as it is hard to see, especially when driving in the dark.

Drivers have to pay attention on the roads during winter as accidents are considerably higher at this time of year as the chances of people skidding off roads are increased. Weather conditions do not help matters at all but it is on the occurrences when there are mixed weather conditions where accidents are prone. Rain and snow is the worst mix as this makes roads extremely slippy and dangerous.

Heavy rain is a common sight during the winter in the UK so preparing your car is important. First you should check your windscreen wipers and replace them if they are looking worn as these will become invaluable to you and if they are not in full working order they will not withstand the rain or speed they will have to go at.

Braking distances are increased in poor weather conditions such as rain so it is advisable to double the distance between you and the car in front to ensure you will be able to stop in time should you need to brake in an emergency. Steering can also become unresponsive when it is wet, if you find that this is the case for you then ease of the accelerator and begin to slow down gradually.

Heavy rain will quickly result in puddles and these can increase very quickly so driving through them is not recommended. You may not realise how deep a puddle is and can soon find yourself in trouble including being stranded. Driving through water at high speeds can seriously affect your car and its brakes so whenever you have been through any water test your brakes as soon as possible (but only when it is safe to do so!)