Posted October 3, 2013 by Ali's Woodinville
Fall, or autumn if you prefer, is here, and it brings changes for drivers in the Northwest. There are plenty of fall driving checklists out there, and while many of them are very complete, they all follow a general trend. Specifically, all of the tips fit into two main categories.
Driving safely in fall conditions (weather, leaves, darkness, school starting again and so on) depends both on the driver being more aware and taking extra care on the road, and on your vehicle being prepared to handle the rigors of autumn road travel.
1. Preparing Yourself for Fall Driving
Fallen leaves on the road can be more of a hazard than you realize. When leaves pile up on the road and get wet, they can be extremely slippery, a lot like driving on ice. If the temperature drops below freezing, wet leaves can freeze into an even slicker layer. Besides reducing traction and raising the risk of skidding and losing control, leaves often cover the painted road markings, making it hard to tell where the lanes are.
You also have to adjust for the weather, and not just the rain and wet roads, but fog too. Icy patches can creep in at night on overpasses and bridges if the temperature dips low enough. And the first real rain after a dry stretch is often the slickest, because oil that built up on the road surface over the summer floats to the top.
You also have to adjust for fewer hours of daylight, and for the fact that people may still be out and about after dark. Here’s a list of tips that takes all of this into account:
- Slow down on turns, and keep plenty of following distance between you and other cars.
- Piles of leaves can hide children walking or playing around them. Watch for kids.
- Keep your windshield clear of leaves.
- Set your headlights to low beam in fog.
- Watch your speed on overpasses and bridges in case of ice.
- Watch for children at bus stops and crosswalks. It gets dark early, and kids are still heading home.
- Take special care and drive slowly on Halloween. Costumes make it even harder to see children.
2. Preparing Your Car for Fall Driving
The usual tips are listed below, but along with these, make sure you actually bring your car in to a professional. Your car may already be due for its regular service. If you’re not sure when, it’s usually every 30,000 miles (30K, 60K, 90K and so on), but if you don’t know, it’s better to just get it done and keep track of the schedule from there. Or at least come get your next oil change with us. We’ll make sure all of the tips and checks below are taken care of for you.
Your car has to deal with bigger temperature swings in the coming months, and you don’t want a lingering issue made worse by the cold and wet. Wet roads also take longer to stop on, which makes fall a good time for our free brake check.
Tips for your car’s fall maintenance:
- Get caught up on scheduled maintenance (30K, 60K, 90K).
- Get your oil changed earlier rather than later.
- Get brake repairs and pad replacements done earlier rather than later.
- Check that your antifreeze is full.
- Check your tire pressure and tread.
- Replace worn windshield wipers.
- Check your windshield washer fluid and top it off.
- Make sure your headlights, taillights and brake lights all work, since you’ll be using them a lot more.
- Bring your vehicle to Ali’s Woodinville Auto Repair to get all of these done at once, and let us handle it for you.
Call 425-420-1630 or request an appointment to get your car ready for fall.
