There’s a lot to think about when it comes to driving in winter. We need to check our cars more regularly and perhaps leave a little earlier in poor weather. Plus, there are a number of laws and rules that come into play that we don’t need to consider most of the year.
We all have car insurance but how do you ensure you’re always covered in the winter? You probably think that by ensuring your payments are up to date and you have a policy that suits your needs, you’re protected. However, in winter there are some things drivers do that could actually invalidate their policy once out on the road – whether you have comprehensive insurance in place or money-saving black box car insurance. We’ve looked into these a little further in this post:
Your insurance could be invalidated if you:
Are not driving appropriately in poor conditions
Certain weather conditions require you to drive slower or take a different route to avoid treacherous back roads. If you don’t drive in a way to suit the conditions – such as speeding on icy roads or in heavy snowfall – and you have an accident, you may be unable to claim and your policy may be invalidated.
Fail to demist and de-ice your whole car
A little gap in icy or fogged up windows isn’t going to cut it. To be deemed roadworthy, your vehicle’s glass and mirrors must be clear. If you were involved in a collision – no matter who was at fault – your insurer may not pay out if your car wasn’t considered cleared enough to have been out on the road.
We know you may be in a rush to get to work but you still need to ensure you clear that ice and misted up glass quickly. Here are some tips:
Leave snow or sheets of ice on your car roof
Snow is dangerous on the roads but even more so on the roof of a car. If you don’t clear it from the roof, it could fly off the back and into traffic behind you, disrupting other driver’s vision and potentially causing an accident.
Leaving snow on the roof could invalidate your car insurance if you need to claim, as you are not abiding by rule 229 of the Highway Code. This law requires you to remove all snow that could disrupt other drivers. While there’s no actual law against leaving snow on the roof of your car, if the police spot you then you could end up with a fine of £60.
Safety tips for driving in winter
Ensure you can tackle anything the season has to throw at you, with these tips:
All of these issues arise during the winter months, so it pays to leave a little earlier and plan ahead to avoid running the risk of invalidating your insurance and affecting your ability to make a claim if you need to.