Car Safety Checks You Can Do At Home

The outbreak of coronavirus at the end of 2019 and the subsequent global lockdowns seemed to turn everything upside down. With everyone at home and many businesses near or outright shut down, everyone realised the importance of car safety checks at home – after all, a combination of cars sat for long periods of time and the pushing back of many MOT certificate expiries led to many unroadworthy cars possibly driving around!

Despite people using their cars infrequently, this does not mean that car checks should be neglected; in fact, they are now more important than ever. Performing regular checks on your vehicle’s core components and developing good maintenance habits can help to ensure that your car keeps functioning properly. Here at Kwik Fit we have compiled a list of crucial safety and care tips which will help to ensure that your car is working as it should be when the time comes to use it again:

Safety Checks

Tyres

We recommend checking your tyres once a week or before any long journeys to ensure safety and control of your vehicle. Please see our looking after your tyres page for full details. If you're unsure of what your tyre pressures should be, you can find out here.

Batteries

When left unused for periods of time it is not unusual for a car battery to go flat, which could leave you unable to start it again. We've also compiled some tips and advice on how to prevent a flat battery during long periods of inactivity.

Brakes

With vehicles being left stationary for longer periods than normal it is possible that corrosion will start to form. If you notice this or any other common braking problems occurring then you may need to have your brakes checked to ensure safety.

MOTs

Regardless of lockdown status, it is important that any cars being used on the road are up to safety standards; your insurance could be invalidated if you are involved in an incident and your vehicle is deemed as not being up to safety standards. In the interest of safety, we will still be providing MOTs during this period. If you have an upcoming MOT it is useful to check your car in advance to make sure you are prepared.

Other Areas

While these areas may be some of the most important for safety, the following links may also be useful to you during static periods:

• Exhaust Checks
• Regular Maintenance Checks
• Declaring Your Car SORN
• Check your vehicle is safe to drive (GOV.UK)

We're Here If You Need Us

Although the above checks will help to keep your vehicles in working order as much as possible there will still be times for some drivers when professional help is required to keep your car running. Should you still need to visit us for essential repairs and maintenance we are continuing to keep our centres open where possible. It is advisable to contact your local centre in advance before visiting and we urge customers to please avoid visiting for non-essential matters until the lockdown is lifted.