With the summer fast approaching and the weather improving, more of you will be planning your summer road trips and staycations to make the most of the warmer months. To make your journey as pleasurable and hassle free as possible, we’ve put together a list of things to consider before you set off.
Make sure your vehicle is ready
Air Conditioning
When driving in warm weather, fully working air-con is a must. In fact, many of us wonder how we ever lived without it. Ensure that the air-con unit has been re-gassed and your cabin filters get regularly replaced as part of your vehicle service to ensure that your air-con blows ice cold air.
Screen wash
It is always a good idea to keep a spare supply of screen wash, and possibly some water to dilute it. Being caught out on the roads without screen wash can be dangerous, should your windscreen get dirty while driving as you won’t be able to clear your screen and using your wipers dry could smear the dirt across the screen, further affecting visibility.
Oil
Ideally, you should be checking your engine oil levels once a month regardless of your monthly milage. This means that checking before a long journey is even more important, because driving with insufficient levels of oil could seriously harm your engine. To learn how to check on top up your oil, check out this handy guide from the AA.
Fuel
This may seem like an obvious one, but make sure you have enough fuel for your journey, and are aware of where you are able to get fuel should you need to by planning your route. Read our blog for tips on driving economically.
Make sure you are ready
Plan your journey
Planning your journey before setting off will ensure that you know which route you are taking, where services are to use the toilet or buy supplies, and where fuel stations are should you need to fill up.
Phone Battery
Ensure your phone is fully charged, and you have a charging cable to use in your car if it has the facility. The last thing you want is to not be able to make contact should you have an issue such as a breakdown, or medical emergency.
Take breaks
When driving on long journeys, like any other activity it can be easy to lose focus when doing it for a substantial amount of time. Driving while tired can also negatively affect your ability to concentrate and therefore drive safely. Take regular breaks to ensure that you are fresh and alert.