Heading away on road trip this winter? Be prepared with Gippsland Windscreens handy driver tips. Being mindful of driver safety is important to ensure a trouble free journey.
Here’s a few safety tips for driving this winter:
Be prepared, yourself and your car. Get a good night’s sleep before any driving trip this is even more important when you are travelling long distances. It is better to accept it may take a little longer then you expected to reach your destination, take short breaks every 2 hours to improve concentration and have plenty of water to stay refreshed.
- Checking your tyre pressure regularly is important, low tyre pressure can increase the chances of a blow-out dramatically. If blow-outs occur at speed it becomes very hard to keep control of your car and this is a major cause of accidents on our roads.
- Remember stopping distances and leave plenty of room between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you at all times. Weather conditions should always be considered because stopping in wet weather or on frosty roads requires much more time and distance.
- The warning lights on your car’s dashboard are there as a guide to indicate that something is wrong with your car. If a warning light comes on, ignoring it can be a pretty big safety risk. It’s best to take a note of which warning light has come on, stop the car and investigate. Having the cars manual in the glove box to refer to when needed is a great idea. Also remember to take note if your vehicle is making strange noises, vibrating or doing anything that is not normal and have it seen to as soon as possible.
- Many people head off on a journey with so much gear in the vehicle that the windows are blocked. It is wise to keep the view in your rear view mirror clear, and your side mirrors clean. Starting a journey with foggy, or dirty windows also restricts visibility, so if the morning is frosty or damp run the vehicle demister for a few minutes before heading off on the road. Do not use warm water, this can cause your windscreen to crack.
- Prevent things getting worse before you start your journey. If you do have a crack in your windscreen, this can progress without warning to spread across your whole windscreen and seriously compromise your visibility and the vehicles safety. Any sign of a crack should be remedied before it goes too far and requires a costly full windscreen replacement. For fast service and an Australia wide guarantee call Gippsland Windscreens for a quality windscreen repair.
