AUTO XTREME CAR

Following recent winters in which winter weather seems to have caught many people "napping" when it comes to being prepared, it is important to take a number of points into consideration such as having the right equipment in the car, the way we drive and equally as important as being vigilant as to the way other people drive.

Be Prepared

Make sure your car has adequate levels of antifreeze, ideally get it checked in October, don't wait for it to get cold!

1) Have a blanket or warm clothing in the car just in case you are stranded, this is particularly important if you are planning to travel long distances, it is even recommended that you have some food and a warm drink in your vehicle just in case.

2) Even though not compulsory, however, a sensible suggestion is to carry a set of warning triangles like they do in the continent, if you happen to break down, it is always a good idea to warn people that your stranded vehicle may be posing a hazard ahead.

3) Tow rope, this is an important bit of kit if you happen to become stranded and you need to be assisted by a third party vehicle.

4) Other suggestions are to carry a fire extinguisher, first aid kit and a spare set of bulbs. Many of these items are compulsory whilst driving in the continent and when you stop to think about it, it makes a lot of sense, just because it is not law, it does not mean we can't use our own initiative.

5) Having a set of jump leads in the car makes a lot of sense too, in very cold temperatures and particularly older vehicles, batteries tend to struggle, a set of jump leads will help avoid expensive call outs or having to wait for a rescue vehicle to come.

Driving on snow

Driving on snow is not rocket science, it takes a little more thought and concentration, remember that you MUST increase your braking distance as well as the distance from any car ahead of you, stopping distance can be up to TEN times longer than on dry roads.

Try and keep momentum going, especially if you are driving up hill, as soon as you lose momentum, you will find it very hard to get started again.

Remember to exercise extreme caution first thing in the morning if it's been a very cold night, snow will more than likely have turned into ice, now ice is a totally different problem and is much trickier than driving on snow.

Rule 229 of the highway Code: Before you set off, make sure that your car is clear of all snow and ice and that you have full visibility out of all windows in your vehicle, this includes your mirrors too, also, make sure that your number place is legible and that you clear any snow on the roof of your car which may come off onto other road users.

Always remember to exercise extreme caution, under extreme weather, if your journey is not strictly necessary, stay home!

Simply Driving Lessons is a leading Surrey driving school offering some of the most competitive driving lessons rates in Surrey and impressive pass rates and have fully qualified ADI driving instructors, also including female driving instructors.

Simply Driving Lessons specialise in a range of driving courses and lessons including intensive driving courses, Check Test training, Pass Plus driving lessons, driving theory test preparation, hazard perception test preparation, Show Me Tell Me preparation as well as standard driving lessons for all learner drivers, no matter what their age.

For high quality Surrey driving lessons make sure you choose a reputable driving school like the Simply Driving Lessons Driving School in Surrey.

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By now, all drivers ought to be aware of the dangers of drink driving, and even drug driving has recently become a commonly used term. We know that both drinking, or using inappropriate (whether illegal or over the counter) drugs while driving delays your reactions, but did you know that texting, checking your emails, or checking your social networking sites can delay your reactions even more?
When mobile phones first started to become so popular that almost everyone had one, the phone related danger in the news was making telephone calls while driving. This resulted in the advent of hands free equipment in cars, and these days, this is often a standard feature. Even so, making a hands free phone call while driving will delay your reactions by 26 per cent. As texting increased in popularity, it was discovered that reactions are slowed by 37 per cent while texting.
Texting has been in the news a few times lately as the cause of a crash, but with the advent of smartphones that can access the internet as easily as they can make a phone call, there is a new danger on the horizon.
The Transport Research Laboratory has been conducting a study on behalf of the RAC, and almost a quarter of motorists aged between 17 and 24 have admitted to checking both email and social networking sites while driving. Shockingly the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has discovered that this practice can delay the driver's reaction times by a massive 38 per cent. This makes it the most dangerous use of a mobile phone in the car. And yet, people are doing it.
To put this in perspective, a driver who chooses to drive while at the UK alcohol drink-drive limit will have their reactions slowed by a 'mere' 12 per cent. The safest thing to do, really is to switch your mobile phone off while you drive.
It is difficult to ascertain the exact numbers of road accidents caused by mobile phone use due to the impossibility of determining the exact time (to the nearest second) of the accident to compare it to the times on the phone's log. It is all too easy for the driver to argue that they used their phone immediately after the crash, rather than immediately before it.
Despite that difficulty, government figures have attributed 1690 road accidents leading to an injury to mobile phone use between 2006 and 2010 (which figure includes 110 fatal accidents). As it is likely that there are many more accidents where the police simply can't prove that mobile phone use is to blame, this figure is probably just the tip of the iceberg.
Stopping your car takes more than well-maintained brake pads and car tyre treads - the first step in the chain is the driver's reaction, so drive sensibly; put that phone away.
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