How to drive in winter: Top tips to keep you safe and prepared

Taking some simple steps now could stop you breaking down in the dark and cold

We’re doomed. The coldest winter for 50 years. Wolves hunting stranded motorists in Scotland. Mild snow flurries in Surrey. You know the drill.

The phrase ‘preparation now saves perspiration later’ is exactly the opposite of what’s liable to happen, but taking some simple steps now could stop you breaking down in the dark and cold, or sliding off the road or simply not getting the car started in the first place. Here’s what we suggest you do right now.

First off, check everything. That’s oil level, coolant level, tyre pressures – all of them – and the lights. It’s worth getting the car serviced a bit early if necessary, but definitely do sort out any niggling problems you’re aware of, like something worn or working loose. If you’re doing it yourself, fixing it now while you can see in daylight is better than trying to do it in the dark with numb fingers.

Check your antifreeze levels. Dealers can easily check this or you can buy a simple tester which will give the correct percentage. Make sure all the hoses aren’t cracked or working free.

Batteries don’t work as well in the cold, plus you tend to work them harder, with lights on more, heating turned up, wipers going. Alarms and other electronics can slowly flatten out a battery, so if you’re not using the car very often it might be worth investing in a trickle charger. Whatever, ensure your battery is in tip-top condition for the months ahead.


 Tyres take a pounding on freezing roads and the winter is not the time to remember that they’re near the legal limit.

When it’s wet or snowy or slushy your braking distances are going to increase. Amazingly, this applies to 4x4s too, not that you’d think it when you see some of them charging around in the snow. Make sure your brakes are working well as you don’t want fading or snatching braking when you’re trying to stop the car sliding on an icy road.

Make sure you can see where you are going. Keep the lights clear of muck and salt, and ensure the lenses all work. Keep a spare set if you know how to replace them. You could upgrade to more powerful bulbs if you have an older car but make sure they’re the right ones.

Wipers take a terrible pounding. People fit new ones for the winter, and then one morning turn them on with an icy windscreen. Within minutes they’ve terminally damaged the blade as it scrapes across the icy surface. Fit new blades, ensure the wash-wipe is full and includes plenty of screenwash liquid, and then look after them, scraping the windscreen clear with a hard scraper before turning on the wipers. Inside, have some chamois and other cloths to clear the inside if it fogs up. Make sure any cracks are repaired now since freezing cold water getting into cracks then turning to ice is going to have a predictably bad end result.

Gummi Pflege sounds like an anagram, but it’s good stuff for keeping rubber seals on doors from sticking or going solid. Use a silicone lubricant on hinges and so on, as all these things tend to stick and suffer in the extreme cold of winter. WD40 and Vaseline are not the things to use.

It may sound extreme as you set off for work, but it’s worth packing a survival pack. Even on the M25 in Surrey people have become stuck for the night in snow, and it’s then that it doesn’t seem like an over-reaction to have packed some food like chocolate, some water and some extra warm clothing. Think it through. Make sure you have a phone charger, a torch, a high-vis vest, jump leads and preferably a rope. All of these things could help you get rescued, and you could help rescue someone else.

Tyres take a pounding on freezing roads and the winter is not the time to remember that they’re near the legal limit. Change them now, upgrading to better quality tyres if possible, since every car is working through just a few square centimetres of rubber.

And consider winter tyres. They work, simple as that, better than your normal tyres. If you drive a lot in winter they might prove a good investment, possibly running on a set of old steel rims. European drivers have a much higher take-up of winter tyres than we do in the UK, and there’s little reason for that. Chains or ‘snow socks’ can get you out of a fix, but don’t keep running them once you reach clear road. Consider a set of winter tyres, in all seriousness, they work amazingly well. It’s a small expense when you consider how much the car above them is worth.