Tips to Prepare Your Car for Winter Travel

It’s December in St. Louis, and temperatures regularly dip below freezing which can mean icy roads and other adverse weather conditions for drivers. Your car likely needs special maintenance during the winter months. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran St. Louis driver or a rookie, you can benefit from the tips that our personal injury attorneys have provided below.

1. Take your car in for routine maintenance. One crash prevention measure that is often overlooked by drivers is taking your vehicle in for a tune-up. The reason it is so often overlooked is that many people do not realize that anything is wrong with their car until it’s too late. At Goldblatt + Singer, our car and truck accident lawyers in St. Louis encourage drivers to have their vehicles serviced as a preventative measure, rather than just a remediate measure.
2. Make sure you have complete visibility before driving. Your car may have accumulated frost or ice on the windows, which can severely limit a driver’s visibility. Before pulling out, take the time to warm up your car, scrape the windows and turn on the defroster so you can see properly. Experts at AAA also suggest doing this outside, rather than in an enclosed area as sitting in a room full of fumes can be dangerous.
3. Have chains ready for rural or mountain driving. In some areas where much snow has accumulated on the road, you may be required to put chains on your tires. Whether it is mandated or not, being prepared with chains for your tires can be beneficial when driving during the winter months.
4. Fill your car up with windshield fluid. Making sure you have enough windshield fluid, the anti-freeze kind, can be important when you’re driving in snow. Anti-freezing windshield liquid can be used to clear snow from your windshield.
5. Equip your car with an anti-freeze coolant. Coolant can freeze, and when it does, it will expand. This expansion could cause damage to your vehicle. If you are unsure about which coolant you should be using, this is something that can be taken up with your average mechanic.

By taking these measures, you can reduce your chances of being involved in a weather-related collision. Although you can control your own driving, you cannot control what other drivers are going to do. If you are involved in a car accident that was caused by a negligent or careless driver, please do not hesitate to contact a St. Louis car accident attorney at Goldblatt + Singer today to discuss your case.