Winter and Your Car

This past Sunday was a little rough for me. After I got out of church, I had several errands to run. We just had a pretty bad snow storm and the roads were really bad, but I had to go to the mall, the grocery store, and the library. I was on my way to the library. It was my last stop before heading home, and had I not had overdue books, I would have skipped it all together. Anyway, I was almost there when the car in front of me braked suddenly. I was quite a distance behind her, but with all the snow on the roads, I still slid. I almost hit her when my car slid into the second lane, barely missing another car. Praise the Lord, there wasn't an accident at all!!

So, this incident got me thinking about winterizing your vehicles. My dad is a mechanic and he is always telling me all these things I need to do with my car and he gets upset when people don't take care of their cars. So, here is what needs to be done to get your car ready for the winter months ahead.

Tires - Get some good winter tires. At the very least, make sure the the tires you have on your vehicle have the right amount of air in them. Also, be sure that your spare tire in in good condition and also has the right amount of air in it!

Battery - Have your battery checked or replaced if needed

Fluids - Have your oil checked and/or changed. Also, have the antifreeze, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and power steering fluid checked.

Wiper Blades - Purchase a new set of wiper blades. If you can't see clearly, you could get in a serious accident that was completely avoidable!

Gas - Make sure that your vehicle's gas tank is full. There is nothing worse than running out of gas in the middle of winter...Trust me, I have had it happen! 

Put together an emergency kit in case you do have car trouble. In this kit, you can include items such as a warm blanket, a bag of cat litter, a flashlight, and gloves. Always let your friends or family member know where you are going and when you expect to arrive when you are traveling in bad weather. Don't get in a rush! Your life and the lives of those traveling with you are worth the extra time it might take you to get from point A to point B. Be careful out there!!