The nights are drawing in, leaves are on the ground and the Christmas lights are going on earlier and earlier. It can only mean one thing! Winter is on its way!

Whilst the cold crisp mornings and the prospect of the festive season is always something to look forward to. It is incredibly important that all drivers are extremely vigilint both on the road and ensure that they keep their car fully maintained throughout the cold winter months. This is especially true for those taking driving lessons and those who have just passed their driving test. So if you just take note of the following hints and tips (preferably before the snow hits the ground) you should be able to drive all winter long. The change of seasons is a great time to go through some once-a-year or twice-a-year car maintenance tasks.

Before we start anything though, you must always ensure that when one the road during winter you take it slow, have your lights on and only drive if you feel comfortable.

Anti-Freeze: The first thing to start with is to fill up on anti-freeze (to stop the water that goes into your radiator from freezing). Most new cars come with this already pre mixed but some older cars will not have it in. Therefore it is essential to keep this topped up and regularly check it to make sure you are not running down. You can but anti-freeze from any super market or online here. If your car hasn’t been serviced in a while it might be worth performing a radiator flush.

Inspect your tyres: if there is one thing you take from this list. It is to make sure you check your tyres. In winter, tyres are your best friend and are the difference between staying on the road and ending up in a ditch. The legal limit for minimum depth of the tread on your tyres is 1.6 millimetres, across the central ¾ of the tread around the complete circumference of the tyre. Just because this is the limit do not let them get like this. Check them every week and before every big journey, you can purchase a depth gauge from here and by additional tyre gripper here. If you are unsure either consult a mechanic or take the car to Halfords and they will help. If you are still taking driving lessons ask your driving instructor to show you how to check the tyre depth. We would also recommend that you check your tyre pressure on a weekly basis and keep them pumped up because as it gets colder, the tyres lose a little pressure.

Replace your wipers: Whilst you may think that your car is relatively new and that this will only apply to older cars but this is something that those with a brand new car should check right away. With the amount of salt, ice and dirt on the roads you can easily ruin your wiper blades very quickly. Therefore it is important to keep them clean and replace them as soon as you start getting smears, or they aren’t flush. A great way to clean them is with a strip of vinegar as it doesn’t leave streaks and gets all the salt off.

Change Your Washer Fluid: An obvious one really, with the amount of dirt and salt that will get kicked up onto your windscreen it is a no-brainer to keep your washer fluid topped up (make sure you use washer fluid and not fairly liquid as this may freeze and doesn’t do as nearly good a job).

If you follow these four handy hints and make sure that you have a safe, secure and well driven winter.