Winter Driving Safety To Avoid Auto Body Damage This Christmas

There certainly are a bunch of things you can expect to encounter this Christmas time. No, I am not speaking about long lines at the store, crazy relatives, and crossing reindeer. I am referring to the dangers of winter driving. As you go over the river and through the woods to Granny’s house this holiday season, you should take the necessary precautions to make sure that you and your loved ones make it there safely. This time of year is not the same as other seasons as far as road conditions are concerned. You must deal with ice, snow, low visibility, traffic, and so much more. The very best thing you can possibly do in advance is to ready your vehicle for the difficult journey you are going to take. Otherwise, you might end up at an auto body shop in Saint Louis, Bridgeton, Oakville, or Chesterfield, MO this Christmas. This info from Car Craft Auto Body in Saint Louis, MO will help you get a good start this holiday season.

If you intend to drive in winter weather, you might not know just what that can possibly do to your battery. Winter tends to deplete the strength of a weak battery. You can head to a lot of auto body shops and auto parts stores to have your battery evaluated. If you do not have your battery evaluated, the winter months might put it through its own rigorous testing. Needless to say, whenever winter tests your batteries, you will not just be out a bit of money. You are going to be stranded in a parking lot somewhere having to either bum a ride from a friend or walk through a winter wonderland all the way to the most adjacent auto body shop.

Visibility is an important part of driving safely in the winter months also. The first thing that you ought to do is head to an auto body shop in Saint Louis, MO for headlight restoration. That will help you clear some of the visibility issues you might have at night. You can also help visibility issues by ensuring that your windshield wipers are in good working order. They were certainly not made to break ice or shove off huge volumes of snow, so make sure that you have an ice scraper and snow brush handy to take care of that before hitting the road. Just start up the car to get it warming up and scrape to your heart’s content. Making sure that you have enough windshield wiper fluid is a must also. That can help you with some of the filth and such that you will deal with on your trip to grandma’s house, whether or not she resides in Saint Louis or the encompassing area.

Windshield wiper fluid is not the only fluid you should be worried about before you hit the road. You need to ensure that all of your fluids are topped off before hitting the road for any long trip. Without a doubt, oil is the biggest one to bear in mind. Even if you have not arrived at that three thousand mile mark yet, have a speedy gander at it to make sure you do not have some oil that dripped or oil that is discolored. If you have oil that is discolored or any other discolored fluid, the best thing you can do is to take it to a mechanic before you take your long trip. Discolored oil places you on the fast lane to total engine failure. Although it is winter, ensure you have enough coolant in your engine too. You should have water mixed in with your antifreeze on a half-and-half ratio.

Your tires are also an integral part of ensuring that your vehicle is roadworthy this Christmas. Whether or not you are traveling in Saint Louis or anyplace else, it is necessary to have tires with adequate pressure and tread. The owner’s manual and the sticker on the interior panel of the driver’s door ought to tell you how much pressure you ought to have inside your tires, generally thirty or thirty-five PSI. Winter makes the air within your tires contract, so it is especially important at this time to check on your tires’ pressure. You can check on your tires’ tread just by sticking a penny between the treads with Abraham Lincoln’s scalp sticking down. If you can see the top of Abe’s head, you will know that your tread is too low. Simply have them replaced and you are going to be a big step closer to being prepared for driving on slippery winter roads.

Regardless of how prepared you think you are, accidents happen to even the very best of us. You ought to take that into consideration beforehand by assembling an emergency kit to keep in your vehicle at all times. Here are a few ideas to get you started putting together a kit to meet your needs.

  • Hat, gloves, and warm coat
  • Blanket
  • Flashlight
  • First aid kit
  • Flares
  • Sand, carpet strips, or something else to give you traction whenever you are stuck
  • Ice scraper
  • Shovel
  • Tire-changing equipment
  • Spare tire
  • Jumper cables

You might have other things which you need to pack that is personal to you, such as additional medication or something like that, but this will give you a good place to start with your preparations.

As you consider that lengthy trip this Christmas, take the needed steps to prepare your automobile so that you can focus on making your holiday merry and bright instead of focusing on “walking in a winter wonderland” to the closest auto body shop. If you are looking for a skilled auto mechanic in Saint Louis, MO, please consider taking your car to Car Craft Auto Body. They can get your car ready to face the challenging conditions of winter driving.