Everybody knows you’ve got to take a little more care on the road in wintertime. You’ve also got to do a little extra maintenance when it comes to preparing your car for the colder months. If winter is approaching in your part of the world, take a look at the following list of common causes of highway breakdown. Roadside assistance programs like breakdown cover from the AA, can bring peace of mind to every driver. There are also simple things to check on your car before you ever experience a breakdown. These could keep that from ever happening in the first place. The following are the most common causes for wintertime highway breakdown: dead batteries, collision, blown tires, car systems (electrical, drive, cooling, and mechanical), keys/gas. We’ll go into these a little more below.
Roadside assistance programs report that dead battery is the most common thing they show up to fix. Sometimes these drivers are in their own driveway, but other times they’re far from home. Neither one is a good option, so have your battery checked a couple times a year. Many automotive stores offer this as a free service. You can also check it yourself with voltage detectors made for that purpose. If you have a really old battery, consider replacing it before it dies, if it is near its expiration date.
Simple accidents on the road are the second most frequent cause of breakdown on the road. Accidents are more common in the winter, so take care when on the road. Having your car prepped for winter is a great way to help prevent accidents. Your area may make snow tires appropriate.
Tires tend to blow out more in winter than in warmer times of the year. The temperature, the road conditions, even chemicals used to melt ice, can take a toll on your tires (and other systems). If your tires are very worn enough to replace, or if you should swap them out for a season of snow tires, do so. Note: snow tires wear badly in warm weather. Store these after winter if you’ve got them.
There are many different causes for breakdown within the cooling, electrical, drive, and mechanical systems of your car. Any of these could malfunction in many ways, so it’s best to do your homework or pay someone else to give your systems a once-over. Just have your mechanic take a look next time you’re doing something routine. It’s also not uncommon for roadside assistance programs to be called to help people who have lost their keys or run out of gas. These things are avoidable, but they happen to everyone eventually. There’s not much you can do about it other than have a system and remember it.
Cold and wet conditions combine to cause over 25% of all auto accidents. Some of these are unavoidable, from your point of view. You can’t control how other people drive. But you can prepare your car for the worst elements winter can bring. Taking care of the issues above, will keep you from being one of the thousands of drivers who will find themselves stranded on a chilly day this winter.
