Summer Driving Advice
Summer driving advice: the high temperatures can cause breakdowns as well as your stress levels to rise.
The summer sun can make it extremely hot in the car
Your car’s air-con can be a blessing on a hot day make sure it is working before you travel.
Never leave a dog alone in a car on a warm day! A car can become a death trap for your pet very quickly, even when it doesn’t feel that warm.
Overheating
Hot weather can affect your car’s cooling system. Low coolant level, leaking hoses or a broken cooling fan can all cause overheating and expensive damage.
Check your fluid levels
Check all your fluid levels: your oil, transmission, coolant, brake, power steering and windscreen fluids.
Make sure your tyres have the correct pressure
Check your tyres excessive warm weather can cause heat to build up within tyres and makes them much more susceptible to suffering from a rapid deflation.
When packing for a trip, don’t overload your car
Every vehicle has its maximum safe payload capacity (the weight of all passengers and cargo it can safely carry).
The pressure in your tyres may need adjusting for the additional loading.
Caution near road-construction projects
Summertime is the time for road construction work. Be cautious, obey signs, and beware of pedestrians and work vehicles.
Hey did you know?
Roads can melt!
Roads, mostly being dark in colour absorb vast amounts of heat during the day. Even temperatures of around 20c during the day will be enough to heat the road surface to around 50c, which is where asphalt will start to soften. Throw in even higher summer temperatures and things start to get sticky!
Road resurfacing
Road surfacing is widespread in the summer. It involves laying tar covered with loose chippings.
These chippings can cause cracked headlights and windscreens as well as chipped paintwork.
Sun glare
Sun glare can cause accidents, especially under clear skies and at dawn and dusk.
It is a good idea to keep a pair of sunglasses in the car, as these will help block out strong sunlight.
Keep a clean windscreen
A dirty windscreen will catch sunlight and impair vision.
Renew wiper blades
Worn or damaged wiper blades will impair vision.
Tractors
Pay particular attention to country roads where tractor traffic is very active.
When you are following a tractor be sure to leave sufficient distance to stop and make sure you have plenty of room to get past before overtaking.
Warning!
You should be checking your tyre pressures.
Low tyre pressure results in too much of the tyre surface area being in contact with the road surface. This means more friction than the tyre is designed to absorb, which in turn leads to overheating.
Overheating means significantly more wear, blowouts and tread separation. Takes 5 minutes to check your tyre pressure. Be a sensible driver…..