Why You Should Not Drive Before Making These 3 Checks

When the sun is out it is easy to make last-minute travel plans, to hop into the car and to hit the open road. Stop! Just for a moment consider whether or not your car is ready to make a longer than usual journey in blazing conditions. The higher temperatures found in a heatwave mean that all vehicles can suffer when they are being driven. Before you embark on any car journey you should always take steps to ensure that your vehicle is safe to drive. In the summer's heat, this is even more important. What quick checks should you be making to ensure your car's occupants are safeguarded from potential problems on the road? 

Tyre Inspections 

Tyres don't take long to check over yourself. Firstly, it is child's play to look up the recommended pressure level for each tyre and to pump them up at the petrol station accordingly. Under-inflated tyres don't offer sufficient grip on the road and you can easily lose control when you approach a corner at speed unless they are correctly pressurised. Take a moment or two to check the sides of your tyres, as well. If you see things that look like semi-circular scratches in the sidewalls of any of your tyres, then it usually means that they have been exposed to ultraviolet light damage. UV light is more abundant during the long summer days and it can cause your tyres' rubber compound to come apart from itself. Replace any tyres that show this sort of degradation before you think about getting on the open road. Finally, use the rim of a twenty pence coin to check your tyres have enough tread. If the tread depth is sufficient, then the rim of the coin should disappear inside. Remember to do this all the way around the tyre to make sure they are street legal over their entire circumference. 

Confirm Your Air Conditioning Works 

You might not have used your air conditioning since last summer or the last time you took the car out in hot conditions. If so, then you might find that it has stopped working as well as it used to. This is perfectly normal in most cars because the gases inside the system tend to leak out over time. All that is needed is for the air conditioning system to be re-pressurised if you notice it is not coming through. Wakefield customers can now book car servicing from here* which will include a re-pressurisation of the air conditioning system if appropriate. The last thing you need as a driver is a car full of hot passengers which means it becomes incredibly difficult to concentrate on the road ahead. 

Check Your Oil 

Too many drivers wait until their warning light comes on before topping up with motor oil. Remember that this fluid keeps your engine cool and it will need to do its job on a long car journey in the heat. You should use your dipstick to confirm there is sufficient oil in the engine but only when the car's motor has not been running for a while and has cooled down. If you do it after you pull up, then you won't know if there is enough oil in the system.

Do you know how to check your car?