With more than a month of winter still to go, it's important for drivers to ensure that their vehicle is fit for the road.
Especially since snow and heavy rain are forecast in Glasgow next week, leading to potentially treacherous conditions.
Car accidents occur more frequently during the colder months, and research has indicated that they are significantly more common in Glasgow than Edinburgh.
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Simple checks such as checking your battery and cleaning your lights could potentially prevent you from getting into serious bother out on the road.
Fortunately, experts at vehicle insurance company Go Shorty have compiled a list of six winter checks that every driver should carry out on their car.
Here are the steps you should take to ensure your vehicle is fit for the road this winter.
1. Check your battery
When the weather is cold, you need to make sure that your battery is in top condition. Check that you don’t have any leaking on your battery.
Equally, you can have your battery checked by a professional. You don’t want to run the risk of being stuck with a car that won’t start in the winter.
2. Keep an eye on your coolant
If you live in an area that gets particularly cold, you need to make sure that you don’t let your engine freeze over.
Using a 50/50 mixture of water and antifreeze as your engine coolant is an effective way of preventing your engine from being damaged by the worse weather.
3. Check the tread on your tyres
Reduced adhesion to the road is common in rain, snow and ice, which will make slipping and sliding much more common.
Making sure that you have enough tyre tread depth is essential in the winter. While the usual minimum depth is 1.6mm, 3mm is advisable in the winter.
4. Clean your lights
You need to check whether your lights are clear and clean. Make sure that your bulbs are all in working order, and that your headlights are properly aligned.
Visibility is low in the winter and giving your lights a check will increase your visibility.
5. Check windscreen for chips and scratches
Chips in a windscreen can seem unimportant but adverse weather conditions can take your windscreen chip into a crack.
Check over your windscreen for knicks and scratches, as well as the wiper blades. It would also be worthwhile to top up your windscreen fluid with antifreeze.
6. Book in for a winter service
There is only so much that you can check on your own car. If you are taking a long journey, or you are planning to do a lot of travelling during the winter, then it can be a good idea to have a professional check over your car for you.
A winter check-up is often inexpensive and can cover a range of procedures and checks you would not likely be able to do yourself.
