Battery, lights and tires are some of the elements to consider when the cold gets worse
Difficult weather conditions and fewer hours of daylight complicate travel during the coldest months of the year. Experts recommend keeping maintenance up to date and planning the route. Despite the fact that mobility indices are much lower during the winter months than in other seasons of the year, the accident rate is high.
This is evident from data from the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT). 31% of deaths correspond to accidents that occurred during winter, and slightly less, 30%, to hospital injuries.
In addition, the first weeks of December have arrived with a significant drop in temperature. The first cold snap of the season will be caused by a break in the polar vortex, as the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) warns.
Low temperatures that are usually the cause of some of the mechanical problems a car experiences, especially those related to the coolant. That’s why it’s essential
good maintenance and check that it has not lost antifreeze properties, because an operation that costs no more than 50 euros can be multiplied to 5,000 euros if the engine breaks down, according to Euromaster.
refrigerant It’s not the only element to review with the arrival of the cold. Lighting is crucial at a time of year when there are fewer hours of sunshine and lighting is on longer. And it is that a light that is too low can reduce the visibility of the road, or if it is too high, it can dazzle the driver who is driving in the opposite direction.
As for the battery, it is a component that suffers from temperature fluctuations. For this reason, it is useful to carry out proper maintenance to avoid getting stuck at any time.
On the other hand,
the bond is not that he suffers in extreme cold, is that with the thermometer already at 8 degrees it starts to lose benefits and is in fact responsible for 30% of incidents at this time of year. For this reason, it is important to choose a winter jacket, that is, with specific advantages for the cold, but also for rain and even snow.
In this sense, the correct maintenance of the rubbers is crucial to ensure safety, with special attention to the depth of the pattern, a key element for the correct drainage of water. And it is that, if the legal limit is 1.6 mm, practice shows that below 4 mm the evacuation is not as correct as it should be.
If the driver chooses this type of tireyou need to go to a workshop to replace the tires you used in the summer.
Another option is to equip our vehicle with “all-weather” tires, which try to balance their performance in different weather conditions and allow us to travel to the coast in summer or to mountain areas in winter without Chains.
The All Seasons are
suitable for any circumstance but maximum safety always comes from winter and summer specific ones. In addition, all-season tires increase fuel consumption and maintain high mileage slightly worse.
But the benefits are inferior to those of summer tires at high temperatures (dry and wet) and winter tires when the road is cold and slippery.
On paper, All Season tires simplify use compared to using different sets of tires depending on the time of year. But the all-season tires
have less grip and they require more meters to stop the vehicle in the event of an emergency stop than summer tires when the temperature is above ten degrees Celsius, on both dry and wet ground.
Below that temperature, the use of winter tires is recommended, they show something
much higher benefits on slippery surfaces compared to all-season tires.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
