What can I do to make sure that my car and I are ready for any icy and snowy roads this winter?
Three things, in order of how often they cause winter call-outs. Battery: have it tested if it is more than four years old; cold is what finishes a tired battery. Tyres: 3mm of tread rather than the legal 1.6mm, and pressures checked monthly. Fluids: screenwash rated to minus 10 or lower, and coolant with enough antifreeze.
On cover, the winter-specific point is that a car that will not start on the driveway is only covered with home start. Roadside-only policies exclude breakdowns within a quarter of a mile of home, which is exactly where cold-morning failures happen. And because every policy has a waiting period, cover bought on the morning the car dies will not cover that morning. Buy or upgrade in the autumn.
Carry a blanket, warm clothes, a torch and a charged phone, and keep the breakdown number written down rather than only in an app. Our winter driving guide has the full checklist, including the cold-weather points for electric cars.
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