HOLIDAY SAFETY CHECK

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30936, 17 December 1965, Page 15

HOLIDAY SAFETY CHECK

A LITTLE preparation can prevent considerable inconvenience and disappointment when touring by car. These holidays, check your car thoroughly before you start your trip, for the hoHday roads are no place for a car that is not in good condition. Start at the front of the car, and check your headlights are working and correctly aimed. Many car handbooks include a headlighttraining chart, and you can check the lights against the garage door in the evening. Make sure your indicators and parking lights are operating, and then start your check of the engine compartment Any radiator blockages should of course, be dealt with promptly whether you are ouring or not, but before a

rip, check also that the fanbelt is tight and in good condition, that the pressure cap is clean, and that all radiator and heater hoses are tightlydamped, and not perished. Have the engine oil changed before you leave for it is often difficult to arrange lubrication when you are on hoHday. Make sure the carburettor air filter is clean. Brakes and dutch should

be adjusted. Replace the windscreen wiper blades if they are worn and likely to smear in rain. Do not forget that a badly-worn wiper blade can easily scratch the windscreen. Make sure the exhaust system is free from leaks, oil the door locks and hinges and clean the car thoroughly inside and out. You would be wise to check your tool kit and include some spare parts. A good kit will comprise a selection of spanners and screwdrivers, some spare fuses, a length of electric wire (for emergency electrical repairs), two clean and gapped spark plugs, a spare distributor rotor, condenser and set of points, and a spare coil. Many holiday breakdowns are caused by ignition trouble, so ignition spares are an important part of your kit Other useful items are a spare tube, a tow rope, top and bottom radiator hoses, and a spare fan belt These items are often difficult to obtain at back-country garages: sometimes a motorist has struggled to the nearest garage to find a fan belt for

his make of car is the only one not in stock.

A two-gallon can of petrol and plastic containers of oil and water are also useful; if you do not need them yourself you may be able to help someone else. Never use a plastic can for petrol. It is both illegal and highly dangerous. “Bargain” petrol containers are rarely satisfactory, the best thing is a proper can designed for the job.

Check your tyres carefully, and replace any with less than one-twenty-fifth of ah inch of tread, or with any sidewall damage. Do not forget that a tyre with a moderate amount of tread when you leave may weU be bald by the closing stages of your trip. Do not forget to check and inflate the spare tyre. Make sure your jack is working correctly, and that all the jacking points on the car are in good order. Some jacking points are easily damaged, and it Is no help finding, when you have a puncture, that you cannot raise the car because the jacking point is bent. Do not overload the car, particularly if you have a

roof rack, for overloading can badly upset the roadholding. If the car is heavily loaded, raise the tyre pressures two or three pounds all round to compensate. Check tyre pressures with the tyres cold, not when they are warm after a run. If they are warm pressure will be up a pound or so. This is because of expansion of the air.

When picnicking be careful with matches, and do not leave litter behind you. When swimming, remember a spare tyres can be used as a very efficient lifebuoy if anyone gets into difficulties. Above all, make allowances for the heavy holiday traffic and unpredictable behaviour of other drivers. Your best protection is to pay full attention to your driving at all times.