Motorists warned to prepare their car if driving on Christmas Day

Drivers have been warned to prepare their cars if planning to travel on a ‘bitterly cold’ Christmas Day.

With those outside tier four areas seeing Christmas travel restrictions now limited to just the 25th, the number of cars on the road could be higher than usual.

Motoring organisation the RAC has warned drivers that they should give their car a once over before making any trips, with cold weather expected to make any journeys more complicated.

RAC chief operations director James Knight said: “The combination of 21 million people now being under the tightest Covid restrictions and travel being reduced to just a single day means we aren’t anticipating as many car trips this Christmas as we’d normally see.

“But, as predicting when and where people will drive this year is proving an almost impossible task, there’s still the potential for the Christmas period to create problems on the roads.

“So we’d encourage drivers to think really carefully about whether they should make a trip given government guidelines on travel and socialising.”

For those that do plan to travel, the RAC recommends a few simple checks ahead of time to minimise the risk of mechanical gremlins ruining your Christmas.

Firstly check you have more than enough fuel to get to your destination. If there’s an accident or poor weather closes the road, you could be stuck for a while. Having a topped up tank means you can keep the heating and entertainment running.

The RAC says it checks the oil of every car it attends and has found that a third have low oil. Check the manual to find the type of oil needed and how much you should put in. Next, have a look at your tyres and make sure they’re above the minimum tread depth of 1.6mm – though in winter 3mm is recommended.

You should also check your wipers are in good working order, your coolant levels are correct, your lights work front and rear, and your screen wash is topped up.

Finally, check your battery. Cold weather can play havoc with tired batteries, so if your car labours on start-up it could be time to get a new one.