Winter Driving: Tips and Advise

Cardiff Met office has issued a warning that there is a chance of chance of at least two severe weather warnings due to rain this week. There hasn't been any particular warning for snow but there could be some freezing rain and snow throughout the week while it is expected to be another heavy winter for Wales. 
As Buy and Go Cars, we do care about the safety of our customers and readers. Hence, we wanted to give you a few basic but essential driving tips as the temperatures plunge.

Packing Your Emergency Breakdown Kit

Severe weather conditions would increase the chances of your car breaking down while you're on the road. Thus, it's important to be prepared rather than facing worse conditions when it happens. First of all, put yourself and your loved ones in mind while packing, before everything else. So don't forget to include a blanket to keep you warm, a visible jacket in case if the breakdown happens during the night and other drivers can see you, quality boots with good grip and most importantly, a first-aid kit. Also, food and drink are essential for worse conditions. Secondly, put things that would make life at least a little easier when it happens, such as a torch, spare batteries and a shovel. And finally, you can go for things to get your car back to life such as empty fuel cans, jumpstart cables and spare batteries.

Driving in Heavy Rain

As expected, we will be facing quite a lot of heavy rains and floods rather than snow this Winter in Wales. Although many drivers are experienced, it is important to b prepared for such conditions on the road. First of all, delay your journey if you can. It's best to keep yourself and your family or friends away from these kinds of situations because you can never know how bad the conditions will be at particular areas you will pass from, only by judging from the forecast. If it's not delayable, be extra cautious than your everyday drives. This starts by reducing your speed. Always use your dipped headlights to make sure other drivers can see you. Be certain of keeping your distance with other vehicles. Keep your AC on to avoid having mist on your windows and be considerate of other drivers and pedestrians when going through water.

Preparing Your Car for Winter

Breakdowns happen in Winter too and it's important to be prepared for them. However, what's even more important is to prevent them from happening by preparing your car for the extremely cold weather conditions. First, you need to check the situation of your screenwash. Screenwash solutions may get frozen under certain temperatures, but it's easy to defrost them; pour some hot (Not boiling) water into your screenwash tank before you hit the road. Wiper blades could also become a problem in terms of freezing and sticking to windscreen during Winter. Top tip to avoid this would be to always check if your wiper blades aren't stuck on the window and placing a piece of cardboard between blades and windscreen.