How a potato could stop your windscreen from freezing

Car experts have shared tips on how to look after your vehicle in severe weather – including making use of a potato.

The John Clark Motor Group has shared eight tips to follow for staying safe in your car when commuting amid difficult weather conditions.

And some of them are quite unusual – including making use of the underside of a half a potato to clear your windscreen.

This is especially important given the damage that Storm Henk has caused in recent days, with many parts of the UK hit by serious flooding.

It has caused severe damage and even led to the death of one woman when she crashed her car into a fallen tree in Oxfordshire.

Experts recommend, where possible, that people don’t drive and stay off the roads in conditions like the UK has seen in recent days.

However, it also recognises that this is not an option for some people, and so it has shared eight key tips that drivers can follow if they do need to get behind the wheel.

Rub a potato on your windscreen

As strange as it sounds, this tip really does work. Rubbing the underside of a cut potato across your windscreen surface can help when it fogs over in freezing weather.

It can stop your windscreen from freezing during cold spells and it can even be a help when driving in the rain.

The starch in the potato acts as a barrier between the glass and air, so it can help prevent your windscreen from fogging up, making it difficult to see.

Keep a safe distance

You should keep to at least double the normal distance between yourself and the car in front of you during heavy rain showers, especially the ones that appear to come out of nowhere.

Always keep an emergency kit in your boot

This may seem excessive but you never know what travel chaos the weather can cause, from crashes and break downs to long traffic jams, so it’s a good idea to have an emergency kit of supplies in your car at all times.

The kit could include a power bank for your phone, a warning triangle in case you break down, a stash of non-perishable food, water, torches, a thermal blanket or clothing and a high vis vest or jacket.

Drive slowly and avoid standing water where possible

If you have to go through standing water, drive through it in first or second gear at around three to four mph.

Driving too fast could not only cause your tyres to lose contact so you skid and even crash, but you could splash a pedestrian which can leave you with a £150 fine and three penalty points.

Give other road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists more room as they are more likely to be blown around by high winds or be distracted and trying to avoid flooding.

Check your tyres

While the legal tyre depth is 1.6mm, this is a bare minimum and it’s recommended you aim for no less than 3mm.

To check it you can simply put a 20p coin into the groove and if you can’t see the outer band of the coin it means your tyres are above the legal limit.

Avoid cruise control

While cruise control can be a very useful tool, you should avoid using it in heavy rain as more control is needed.

It’s also easy to let your brain switch off when you go into cruise control, but dangerous driving conditions mean you need to stay alert.

Get to know your car’s brakes

While you may have used your car’s brakes plenty of times, make sure you know the full extent of the braking system before you head out in bad weather, including how heavy or sensitive your brakes are.

Fill up, charge up

It’s never a good idea to run out of fuel as it’s inconvenient at the very least, but can also lead to a £100 fine and three penalty points if you car blocks the road. This could be even more dangerous in bad weather conditions.

Make sure you fill up well before your fuel warning light comes on or, if you have an electric car, ensure you charge it overnight and have lots of range before setting off on your journey.

If you’re doing a long journey make sure you account for any fuel stops that are needed and adjust your route if necessary.

The recent stormy conditions have already caused a lot of destruction, from roads being closed and causing traffic jams elsewhere to flying debris to damaged vehicles.

The weather warnings around Storm Henk have said ‘flying debris’ is ‘likely’ because of high winds and said this ‘could cause injuries or danger to life’.

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