Anti-freeze is your car engine’s first line of defence against low temperatures. Don’t leave it to

chance. To be sure of maximum protection, ensure your anti-freeze is checked each year, regardless of mileage.

Batteries can be subjected to severe stress in winter, in part because of the need to run lights

and heaters. Battery maintenance might be a thing of the past, but it pays to get the voltage checked now, especially if you mostly do short journeys in your car.

Corners shaded from the sun can be lethal in cold weather, along with sheltered bends and bridges.

It’s in these places, when temperatures plunge, that black ice could well catch you out if you’re not expecting it. A tell-tale sign that you’re on black ice is the total absence of any tyre noise.

De-icing may be a pain, but you must ensure you have 100% all-round visibility before setting off.

If you leave your car out overnight, then cover the windscreen; a sheet of cardboard works well.

Electronic safety and stability systems can provide vital assistance if you hit a slippery surface, as

they can take over and reduce or redistribute power and activate the braking to help maximise grip.

Fog is a common hazard in winter. Consider using fog lights when visibility is seriously reduced, but

be sure you switch them off again when conditions improve. Make sure you know where to switch them on and off - and where the warning lights are.

Grip is something you can’t have enough of in wintry conditions. Don’t be happy with the

minimum tyre tread depth of 1.6mm. Experts have shown that a tyre with this little tread displaces just15% of the water a new tyre can displace.

Hoar frost is made up of tiny ice crystals and forms like dew, except during freezing

temperatures. Frost can look different depending on whether the surface temperature reaches freezing point before or after dew begins to form on it.

Icy and snowy conditions require you to keep a much greater distance from the vehicle in front.

Wintersafety

12 www.motoringassist.com

Reckon on needing up to 10 times the distance you’d expect on a dry surface with good grip.

Jump leads can be very useful if you can’t get started in winter. Assuming you have a negative earth

car (and most are), connect both positive terminals first, using the red cable. Then use the black cable to connect the negative terminal of the ‘donor’ battery to a suitable earthing point on the engine or chassis of the other car.

Keep a flask of hot drink in the car for journeys in winter. Then, if you have the misfortune to be

delayed or stuck, the drink can help you to stay warm. Consider buying a single-use chemical heating pouch that can warm your hands in case of emergency.

Leaflets from GEM, such as the Winter Driving publication (pictured), offer common sense advice

to help keep you safe. Download a copy today from the GEM website, motoringassist.com.

Manual cars will move off more effectively on snowy surfaces if you use second gear and

accelerate gently. If you have an automatic car, select ‘2’ on snowy surfaces as this limits the gear changes and makes you less dependent on the brakes.

Night-time journeys offer fewer clues of danger ahead, while heavy rain or snow reduces the

effectiveness of your car headlights. One key piece of advice is to be able to stop within the distance illuminated ahead by your headlights.

Oversteer can lead to a loss of control on any surface, but particularly in winter. A simple

definition of oversteer is where the back of the car breaks loose and tries to overtake the front. You’re likely to spin if you don’t take immediate action.

Ploughs and gritters do a vital job, so give them plenty of room to do their work. Overtaking them,

unless there is plenty of space on a motorway, is a thoughtless act, creating a road environment that’s far more dangerous than that caused by the ice and snow they are attempting to clear away for you.

Queues are more frequent during winter. Some car engines shut down automatically when you’re

Martin Cooke’s

of winter on the roadA to Z

The British winter is notoriously unpredictable, and it’s pretty well impossible to know exactly what – if any – adverse weather we may experience, and the extent of any disruption it may cause. We hope our winter guide will serve as a useful and interesting reference. Martin Cooke is the Chairman of the GEM Motoring Assist Road Safety Charity.

Wintersafety

www.motoringassist.com

stationary. Modern engines generally save fuel when switched off even for a few short minutes, and fears that they won’t start again are generally unfounded.

Rear vision is vitally important on winter journeys. Don’t set off until the heated rear screen has done

its job. Check before setting off that the windscreen wipers (front and rear) are not frozen to the glass.

Snow or sleet is observed to fall on just two days per year on average in the Isles of Scilly, 12 days

in central London, 16 in Manchester, 20 in Edinburgh, 35 in Aberdeen, more than 50 at Aviemore and Braemar, and 170 days on the summit of Ben Nevis, according to meteorologist Philip Eden.

Temperatures plunge in winter. According to the Met Office, the lowest recorded minimum

temperature in the UK was -27.2 Celsius, on 30 December 1995 at Altnaharra.

Understeer occurs when the front wheels lose traction while you are negotiating a corner. Put

simply, with understeer you will see what you are going to hit, whereas with oversteer, you will not see because you are spinning.

There are more pressures on road safety budgets than ever before - and official figures show that the number of people killed and seriously injured on the UK’s roads is increasing. Could you help GEM’s Road Safety Charity in its work of funding vital road safety initiatives? Donations of any size are very welcome. Just use the form on this page and send it to us. Thank you very much.

”

Video on winter driving: GEM has some excellent footage, and there’s advice for staying safe on

wintry roads. Visit motoringassist.com/winter.

Winter tyres: are they worth the investment? Yes. It’s not just when it snows that winter

tyres make sense. They improve safety whenever the temperature drops below 7C (45F) by increasing traction and reducing stopping distances.

Xenon headlights, or any other vehicle lights, need to be kept clean, so check them before every

journey. Sometimes, when the weather’s really bad, it pays to give them a wipe during a journey break.

You: are you ready for a winter journey? Are you fit to drive? Have you slept well? Are you taking

any medication(s) that could make it unsafe for you to drive? Make sure you’re fit before you set off.

Zero degree Celsius - or 32 degrees Fahrenheit - is the freezing point of water. However, you

can expect the outside temperature display to warn of ice at four degrees. This is because it measures air temperature, and road temperature is usually around four degrees lower.

We are hugely grateful for any donations, however small.Please complete the details below and return to:

GEM Motoring Assist Road Safety Charity, Station Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, RH18 5EN.

We would be very pleased to acknowledge any significant donations to the Charity by publishing the donor’s name in future editions of Good Motoring. Are you happy that we acknowledge your donation in this way? Yes ■ No ■

You may be willing to include a donation to the Charity in your will. If this is the case, please tick HERE ■ and we will arrange to contact you.

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