While driving is ostensibly just as dangerous a practice year-round, it is the winter months that offer up higher degrees of risk. Black ice, low light conditions and changeable weather can each make driving a more hazardous prospect, even for the experienced driver.
For those driving temporarily, then, it is all the more important to bear safety in mind when driving in these colder months, Whether you are temporarily commuting farther and borrowing a vehicle for the purpose, or utilising a work vehicle to complete a specific task, there are some essential steps you should take to ensure your own safety and the safety of the vehicle you are borrowing. What are they?
Create a Road Emergency Kit
First and foremost, you should be in possession of a road emergency toolkit that can follow you from temporary vehicle to temporary vehicle. This toolkit would take the form of a sports bag, filled with important and emergency items to help you navigate a variety of events or crises.
The bag would include warm clothing and blankets to help you and passengers retain warmth, as well as non-perishable foods to ensure nutrition during long waits for assistance. It would also contain tools and equipment to enable safe operation in colder conditions, such as snow chains for manoeuvring through snow and ice.
Nail Down Your Logistics
On top of physical preparations, you should be making logistical preparations too. One such logistical preparation would be the securing of temporary car insurance on the vehicle you are using. Even if you have a personal vehicle on which you are insured, this does not guarantee that you are insured on a vehicle you are borrowing; a separate temporary policy would be necessary to give you the legal right to borrow a given vehicle.
Familiarise Yourself With Your Car
With respect to the vehicle itself, it is important that you know your way around it before you set off. While all cars operate in the same manner, they do not necessarily share the same conveniences, systems or layouts. A small pre-drive tour of the dashboard and vehicle controls can give you more familiarity with the vehicle, enabling you to use driver systems like ABS more readily – and allowing you to act more decisively in the event of an accident.
Plan Your Routes
If you have not been driving for some time before your temporary driving plans, you may also benefit from pre-planning your driving routes. This would be useful regardless, as it would minimise room for error in navigating to your destination. For rustier drivers, though, it can also be useful in minimising the opportunity for making mistakes in attempting to follow traffic laws.
Drive Responsibly
Finally, and perhaps most importantly of all, it would behove you to drive as carefully and responsibly as you are able. Complacent driving is a precursor to preventable accidents, and can be avoided by taking care in using the vehicle. Remember, every driver on the road has a responsibility to themselves and others to operate their vehicle safely.
