Weather difficulties and fewer daylight hours complicate travel during the coldest months of the year. Experts recommend keeping maintenance up to date and planning the route. Despite the fact that during the winter months the mobility indices are much lower than in other seasons of the year, the accident rate is high. According to data from the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) 31% of the deaths correspond to accidents that occurred during the winter, and somewhat less, 30%, to hospitalized injuries.
In addition, the first weeks of December have arrived with a significant drop in temperatures. The first cold wave of the season is caused by a break in the polar vortex, as the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) is warning.
Low temperatures that are usually behind a part of the mechanical problems that a car suffers, especially those related to the coolant. Therefore, it is essential proper maintenance and check that it has not lost antifreeze properties, because an operation that does not exceed 50 euros can be multiplied up to 5,000 euros if the engine breaks, according to Euromaster.
coolant It is not the only element to review with the arrival of the cold. Lights are crucial at a time of year when there are fewer hours of sunshine and lighting is on longer. And it is that a light that is too low can reduce visibility of the road, or if it is too high, dazzle the driver who is driving in the opposite direction.
As for the battery, it is a piece that suffers with changes in temperature. For this reason, it is convenient to carry out correct maintenance to avoid being stranded at any time.
On the other hand, the tire is not that it suffers in extreme cold, is that with the thermometer already at 8 degrees it begins to lose benefits and, in fact, it is behind 30% of the incidents at this time of year. For this reason, it is important to opt for a winter one, that is, with specific benefits for the cold, but also for rain and even snowy conditions.
In this sense, the correct maintenance of the rubbers is crucial to guarantee safety, with special attention to the depth of the pattern, a key element to have a correct evacuation of water. And it is that, if the legal limit is 1.6 mm, practice shows that below 4 mm the evacuation is not as correct as it should be.
If the driver opts for this type of tireyou will have to go to a workshop to replace the tires that you have used during the summer.
Another option is to equip our vehicle with ‘all weather’ tyres, which seek to balance their performance in different weather conditions and allow us to travel to the coast in summer or to mountain areas in winter without the need for chains.
Los All Season son suitable for any circumstance but maximum security will always come from winter and summer specific ones. In addition, ‘all-season’ tires increase fuel consumption and hold up to high mileage a little worse.
But its benefits are inferior to those offered by summer tires at high temperatures (dry and wet) and winter tires when the road is cold and slippery.
On paper, All Season tires simplify their use compared to the use of different sets of tires depending on the time of year. But the four season tires have less grip and they need more meters to stop the vehicle in case of emergency braking than summer tires when the temperature is above ten degrees Celsius, whether on dry or wet ground.
Below that temperature, the use of winter tires is recommended, which show some much higher benefits on slippery surfaces compared to four-season tires.