This weekend Xene is heading back to university and it is my turn to drive her back, which is a 10 hour round trip, so I need to make sure the car is in the best condition it can be.
Although both times that Asa has driven Xene back it is me that has had the car trouble at home!
In my head I have a mental checklist that I do before each long journey.
1.Water!
Both in the screenwash and also the engine, we had a nasty experience halfway up a Mountain in Wales when there was not sufficient water in the engine, which caused the car to cut out so that it didn’t overheat, that was NOT a nice experience…
2. Battery
I mentioned that I had car trouble when Asa was last away. I went out in the morning to take the children to school and I had a flat battery, I called out the breakdown and they said it was probably that I had left an overhead light on, so they advised to leave the engine running for at least 20 minutes and it should be fine, however I got to the high school in the afternoon and when I went to drive to the primary school the car didn’t start, so my lovely dad headed off the Kwik-Fit.com to grab me a new one, so definitely make sure your battery is in good order.
3. Windscreen Wipers
As well as making sure there is enough water for the windscreen, its also worth checking that the windscreen wipers are in good condition so that they actually clear the windscreen.
4. Tyres
Not only is it a legal requirement it have good tread on your tyres but it is also a safety one, if there is not enough grip on those tyres and you hit bad weather, it could prove very dangerous, so always check that all four tyres are roadworthy.
5. Extra Clothing and a Shovel
It may sound a little extreme, but living in Norfolk the weather is always pretty mild, but travelling up North can see a drastic change in the weather, after living in Yorkshire during my teenage years and having to dig my car out of a freak snow storm, I always tend to keep some emergency clothing and a small spade in the boot of the car, as you just never know.
6. Fully Charged Mobile Phone
If you do run into any difficulties or you break down, it’s far easier to call someone from a mobile in your car than traipse miles to the nearest emergency phone on the hard shoulder, ensuring it is fully charged will give you the peace of mind, just in case.
So those are my top tips for keeping safe on a long journey, wish me luck on the drive this weekend!
This is a collaborative post
I ran out of screenwash on a recent journey, I had to pull in and use baby wipes until I could get to the next services to fill it up
haha after writing this post, I didn’t heed my own advice and had to steal Neva’s water bottle on our trip back from Hartlepool!