Ready for your holiday road trip? Follow this essential car maintenance checklist

It’s time for a road trip as the festive holidays approach.

Are you going to the beach? Heading to the bush? Avoid becoming stranded.

No matter where you’re going, you should make sure your car is prepared for the road.

From checking tyre pressure to testing your battery, stay safe, plan ahead, and keep emergencies at bay with these simple tips:

Below the hood: Verify the levels of your engine’s water and oil and add more if necessary. Make sure you have enough brake fluid, and remember to fill up your windscreen wipers with water.

Check the battery in your car: Take note of any warning indicators, such as a slow start or the appearance of an engine light. Examine the battery in your vehicle; if it has leaks, it should be replaced.

Windscreen wipers: Are you seeing any of the four S’ on your front or rear windscreen wipers? It may be time for new blades if they are slipping, squeaking, streaking, or skipping in order to provide the best visibility possible while travelling by car.

Clean it up: Unclean windows are more likely to steam up and enhance glare from other cars’ lights when you’re driving at night. In the same way, dirty mirrors can cause glare in your eyes by reflecting the lights from automobiles behind you.

Examine your tyres: Make sure your automobile tyres are inflated to the required pressure, which may be found on the driver’s side inside door panel or next to the fuel tank. Don’t forget to check the tread on your tires.

According to South African regulations, the tread depth of a tyre must be at least 1mm over its circle. Rememberto inspect the condition of your spare tyre as well.

Lights on: Verify that all of your car’s lights are operational from front to back. This covers your emergency danger lights, brights, and indicators.

Do you know not to put too much strain on the car? There is a maximum weight that your car can carry. Because overloaded cars are less stable on the road and can be challenging to manoeuvre, going beyond that limit capacity puts your safety at risk.

Cars that are overloaded take longer to stop and are slow to pass. The maximum weight that your vehicle can support is indicated on the driver’s door.

In the event of an emergency: There are certain items you should always have in your car, regardless of whether you have a dead battery or breakdown on the side of the road. For example: First aid kit, jumper cables, phone charger, spare tyre, tool kit, water, flashlight, fire extinguisher, jack, reflector jacket, warning triangle etc.

Plan your routes: Always make sure you’ve spent enough time getting to know the route of your road journey.

During the Christmas holidays, traffic on all of South Africa’s main highways, including the N3, N1, and N2 to Cape Town, usually increases as vacationers travel to different locations.

Always keep a backup plan in mind, and be abreast of traffic and road conditions along your intended route.

Finally, ensure sure you have insurance for any roadside emergencies.

• Information from AA.