Some top tips to make sure your vehicles are ready for the colder months.
When winter comes around, both the road and weather conditions can become more hazardous. As a fleet owner, it’s important to make sure both your drivers and vehicles are prepared for when the temperature drops.
Icy roads and subzero temperatures can increase the chances of your vehicles breaking down or your drivers being involved in an incident. In this post, we’ll take a look at some top tips for preparing your vehicles for the coldest season so that you and your fleet can stay as safe as possible.
Check the tyres
As winter approaches, it’s more important than ever to make sure that the tread depth of your vehicle's tyres is well above the legal minimum of 1.6mm across the central 3/4 of the tyre, around its entire circumference.
If your vehicles are likely to be driving in extremely harsh conditions, it may also be worth considering fitting your vehicles with winter tyres so that they are better equipped to deal with severe weather.
Top up the coolant
Your engine’s coolant should be 50% water and 50% antifreeze, but it can become diluted over time, so it’s important to top it up with antifreeze. If the cooling system in a vehicle isn’t working properly, then its vents won’t be able to produce warm air, which can make your drivers very uncomfortable.
Inspect the windscreen
Before the temperature drops, you should inspect a vehicle’s windscreen for any chips. In cold conditions, chips can very easily turn into cracks, which is both dangerous and more costly to repair.
You should also clean the vehicle’s windscreen inside and out and make sure that your wash fluid levels are topped up.
Check out the battery
In the winter months, your vehicle’s battery will not only suffer from the cold weather, but also from the added strain of powering lights and heating systems. That’s why it’s important to make sure that a vehicle’s battery is in good shape before the cold conditions set in.
Take extra care when driving
To improve the safety of your drivers, there are a number of driving tips you can pass on.
- Make sure you leave extra distance from the vehicle in front of you, as stopping distances are greater on wet, snowy and icy roads
- Turn on your headlights so that you’re more visible to other road users, especially in rainy and foggy conditions
- If the roads are icy, drive in as high a gear as possible
Keep handy items in your vehicles
There are a number of items that it’s worth ensuring are in your vehicles, including:
- Ice scraper
- Blanket
- Shovel
- First aid kit
- Torch and spare batteries
- Jump leads
- Screen wash
At Zego, we offer insurance options that are tailored towards changes in seasonality. With our usage-based Fleet insurance, you’ll pay less when your vehicles aren’t in use, so you always get a fair price for your cover.
For more information, you can visit our Fleet insurance page, or check out the video below.