AA urges motorists to begin winter car preparations as weather shifts

ON the heels of Storm Alex, AA Ireland is urging motorists to ensure their car is winter ready – including checking the condition of their lights, tyres and battery as temperatures continue to dip and the nights get longer.

While weather conditions in recent weeks have been relatively calm and mild, a continued drop in temperatures along with the potential for further storms over the coming months, the AA is urging motorists to carry out a basic car maintenance check, including a check of tyres and their battery.

Colder temperatures, in particular, can expose issued with older or weaker car batteries and lead to problems starting the car after it has been idle overnight or for a significant period.

“Many of us across the country continue to work from home meaning that the typical morning commute may look very different this year,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated.

“However, we are still seeing large numbers of cars on main routes across the country along with over 300 breakdowns per day being reported to our breakdown assistance service.

“While people may not be commuting to work as often currently, parents are still trying to get kids to school and many people are trying to assist older relatives or neighbours during the Covid outbreak, meaning many of us continue to need access to our car.

“To date, the weather this autumn has been quite mild but the dip in temperatures in recent days has made our breakdown service busier as many of the issues we normally see during the winter period, such as weak batteries, are now starting to crop up again.”

With many people having used their car less this year than in previous years, the AA is also encouraging people to ensure their service history is up to date and in particular to ensure their tyres are in satisfactory condition for the winter months. The legally required minimum tyre tread in Ireland is 1.6mm, however due to the risk of ice and snow during winter the AA recommends replacing tyres once they reach 2mm.

The motoring organisation also urged motorists to be extra vigilant when driving during the months ahead as poor weather conditions and reduced daylight can lead to a reduction in visibility.

The AA put significant emphasis on how these conditions can make cyclists or pedestrians difficult to see and urged motorists to use their lights where required and to allow extra distance when passing a vulnerable road user.