Car Care in Extreme Climates
Often when on the road weather conditions can suddenly change for the worse and when this happens you must drive carefully for the sake of everyone's safety to avoid having to rely on roadside car assistance. One always applicable bit of advice is to check the local weather conditions before you head out onto the road. By doing this you can prepare yourself for the road conditions whilst you are driving. So if the weather forecasts predict a cold and frosty day you will know you should take out a de-icer and ice scraper in case your windscreen freezes up for example. This kind of forward thinking can sometimes be the difference between life and death for someone.
Snow and Ice
Heavy snow fall can cause pandemonium on the roads, it is harder to see what's going on and the combination of cold water and ice means your steering and braking go all over the place. To help yourself in this situation if you are told it might snow check your tyre pressure before you get in the car, put on some suitable footwear which you can walk around in snow with and be sure to pack a shovel in the trunk of your car in case you get trapped in some snow.
An even more lethal development that can occur in extremely cold weather conditions is black ice. Black ice is a thin layer of ice that has frozen over the road and remains transparent, this means that it appears black like the road and is very difficult to see. If you hit some of it you can slide right off the road or into another car. What is worse is that your natural reaction to put your foot on the brake makes you skid and can increase a chance of a crash. Instead what you should do is take your foot off the accelerator and try and keep the steering wheel straight until you regain control.
After a lot of heavy rain, roads can become flooded, if you have to drive through a flooded road you have to be very careful that do not get water into your exhaust pipe which will cause your engine to die. Before you start to go through the water see what the other drivers around are doing, if they are not going for it, it's probably too deep and should be avoided. If it is safe to drive across do it slowly and steadily whilst in a low gear and revving your engine. Once you get to the other side you should dry your brakes by pushing them on and off gently until you feel the natural grip of the brakes return.
Driving in fog can be extremely dangerous because you do not know what is going on a few metres ahead of you. When you are driving in these conditions put your dipped fog lights on and drive cautiously. As soon as visibility returns you should turn your fog lights off so you don't dazzle other drivers.
Driving in Heat
When you are driving in the summer time you should keep a good flow of air in your car to stop you from feeling sleepy. Often in these conditions the road becomes soft because of the baking heat, if this happens and it starts to rain suddenly the road can get really slippery. In these circumstances you need to slow down way before a turning starts and generally just drive at a slower pace. These tips for car care in extreme climates may seem like common sense, but you would be surprised how many people do not follow these simple steps.