A different kind of cool car
It seems that with every changing season there is a motoring organisation ready to warn you about some potential pitfall or other.
Now we’ve had the traditional heads-up about the clocks changing, winter is obviously the next period for motoring doom, and the first messages are starting filter through.
While we know that PHers are more than likely to be ready and waiting for the season of empty snow-covered car parks primed for fun, a couple of bits of information caught our eye.
For instance, according to the AA and RAC, 20% of breakdowns are caused by flat batteries, and it's no surprise that driving short distances with lights and heaters at full pelt causes extra strain for the box of volts under the bonnet.
We didn’t know that apparently the biggest culprit for causing a flat battery is interior lights being left on after parking: seems worth knowing just so you can double check.
Shell is also getting in on the act, by advising that checking you lubricant is just as important as checking you are stocked up with anti-freeze.
The oil company warns that with colder temperatures, obviously tyre pressures will suffer, thus placing more strain on mechanicals as they churn cold vehicles into action. All common sense stuff, but worth remembering purely to avoid the hassle of a breakdown.
Now all you have to do is avoid overcooking it on an icy back road, which we are yet to receive a warning about.
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)