April showers… last year, in the last week of April we experienced some serious torrential rain and gale force winds with a number of weather warnings for floods and dangerous driving conditions, particularly in Dublin. So this year we’re making sure we’re prepared for it ahead of time as our weather is known to be quite changeable at the best of times.
Making sure your car is up for handling heavy wind and rain only takes a few minutes looking over your car, and if you find that any of the following need repaired or renewed just pop by one of our depots for a no obligation quote.
WINDSCREEN AND WIPERS
Do your wipers leave streaks, or not keep your windscreen very clear? Then you may need new ones or different windscreen washer fluid. Our guys can check this for you for free and if needed we can replace either of them for you very fast and inexpensively.
CAR LIGHTS
To see and be seen is very important. Check that all your lights are functioning properly (you might need someone to stand at the rear of your car to check the brake lights) and that there are no cracks in the lenses, and they’re not knocked out of place etc. We can also help you with your headlight alignment should you notice it’s off.
TYRES
You should check all your tyres for condition, pressure and tread depth – including the spare. The minimum legal requirement for tyre thread depth is 1.6mm in Ireland, but we recommend replacing a tyre when the thread depth falls below 3mm. Also check your tyre pressure as incorrectly inflated tyres are not only unsafe, they wear out faster and can increase fuel consumption by around 5%, so don’t under any circumstance reduce tyre pressure to get more grip – it doesn’t work, and it actually reduces stability. Check your hand book for the correct pressure for your tyres and remember to take into account your average load use for the car.
Tips for if come across floodwater:
• Don’t drive through water if you’re not sure how deep it is!
• Test you brakes as soon as you can after you’ve past though the water.
• Drive slowly and keep the revs high when driving through standing water.
• Don’t drive fast through any body of water as your tyres can lose contact with the road (aquaplaning) and you can lose control of your car.
• Don’t drive through fast moving water – like at a flooded bridge, your car could easily be swept away or even overturned before you know it!
• Also, driving fast through water can cause damage to your car and be very expensive to fix – even a small amount of water sucked into you engine can cause serious problems..
• Be aware of motorcyclists and pedestrians when passing through water, not only is it not funny to be splashed but it could be a dangerous distraction to them also.
• Lastly, if you’re waiting on breakdown assistance, don’t leave your bonnet open in the rain as wet electrics could hinder fixing what’s actually wrong with you car.