Hey Shepton - Drive Safely Out There, Wrap Up Warm, and Be Prepared!

On Friday, snowflakes started to fall on Shepton Mallet in what feels like the earliest start to Winter for a very long time, and now, all of a sudden, we find ourselves in the grips of a seriously cold snap.  This means that ensuring that your car is safe and prepared for the worst should now be a top priority.  It is also a good time to give a little forethought as to how you should behave on the roads to keep yourself and other road users safe.

THE FIRST RULE: IF YOU DONT NEED TO - DONT!

It might sound obvious, but, really, MUST you go out?  Often people don’t go in to work, but still pop to the shops in the car resulting in anything from minor inconvenience and expense to something far more serious.

Also, don’t be tempted to drive an ‘igloo’!  ‘Igloo’s’ can often be seen on frosty or snowy mornings.  Picture a car with ice or snow on the lights, windows and pretty much everywhere else; The ‘considerate’ driver has invested just about as long as it takes to clear a small viewing hole through the windscreen.  If it is possible for visibility to be more important than usual, it will be on a Winter's morning when the roads are bad and there may by excitable children playing around at the sides.  All joking aside, the results can be tragic.

Speak to your garage:

Your usual garage will be able to confirm whether or not your car is up to date in the servicing department, or whether there are some checks they, or you, can do to make sure you and your car have a trouble-free winter. 

I spoke to Mark at Station Road Garage in Shepton Mallet who had some really helpful suggestions.  Regarding making sure my car is ready, “We have an offer on for a Winter Check at £15 + vat” (£17.63 to you or I).  This includes a range of checks which Mark showed me and includes all the details which we are good at overlooking, including door locks and hinges are lubricated (Ever got frozen out of your car?  I have!), checking your battery, fluid levels, tyre’s, antifreeze protection and a whole host of visual checks including looking for cracks or chips in your Windscreen which could cause some real issues when you are waiting for a recovery truck in a blizzard, but could be painlessly dealt with, often for free as part of your insurance, in advance.

I also asked Mark if he had any other general advice about keeping safe on the roads in winter and being prepared. “The best tool you have is the internet.  If you do a search, you will find that the Highways Agency, the Institute of Advanced Motoring the AA and the RAC all offer good advice that will be constantly updated if need be.”  

Armed with this advice, that is exactly what I did and to save you the effort, here is what I found:

Be Prepared:

The Highways Agency offers some excellent, and obviously commercially impartial advice on getting through winter safely. 

Here are some key points:

• For a smoother journey check your vehicle is ready for winter
• Regularly servicing and checking your vehicle is in good running order before setting out, will reduce your chances of breaking down on the road. It's worth making these checks regularly - and particularly before a long journey:
• Check and replace the anti-freeze in the radiator
• Make sure your lights are clean and check the bulbs
• Ensure your windscreen is clean
• Replace the battery if it's not reliable
• For further information please see the Tyresafe Website

For peace of mind always carry an emergency kit.  Gather a few items and keep them in your car - just in case!

Below are items that should be in your Emergency Kit:

• Ice scraper and de-icer     
• Torch and spare batteries
• Warm clothes and a blanket
• Boots
• First aid kit
• Jump leads
• Food and a warm drink in a thermos
• A shovel
• Reflective warning sign
• Sunglasses - the glare off snow can be dazzling

 

The Institute of Advanced Motoring (IAM) has some good driving-centered advice  and as expected the AA and the RAC also offer excellent all-round suggestions.   

In addition to this, the RAC now offer a Winter Driving Course which is run by Prodrive as do Safety Trailblazers Mercedes Benz both cost £99 and if being the best driver you can is something you are passionate about, this could be something you get a lot from.  

Local Garages:

Here are some links to some local garages in our directory.  Why not write a review of the garage you regularly use?  Trust between you and your garage is essential, so if you have had a good (or dare I say it, bad) experience, share it, so that others can benefit from it.

Station Road Garage

Speedfit

Phillips Tyres  *Currently selling batteries like 'hot cakes, to cold people'!

B Locke

P J Lintern

Fosse Way Garage

If we have missed someone (worse still, YOU) then tell us!

Conclusion:

Last year many of us were caught out by the Weather, and once the fact it was cold and snowy finally wore thin, the TV, Papers and Web became pre-occupied with whether or not we could learn some lessons, and indeed, whether, on a national scale, being prepared for something that ‘might not happen very often’ was something we can afford to indulge in! 

Happily, gritting boxes appeared all around during the long hot days of Summer, when the ‘big freeze’ couldn’t have felt further from us, but now, with no imminent end to the cold weather in sight, it’s a good time to ask the question;  Are you and your car really ready?