Vehicle Safety and Maintenance
Routine checks
Walk around the car before driving: tyres, lights, indicators, windscreen, mirrors, and anything leaking underneath. Check tyre pressures when the tyres are cold, at least monthly and before long trips; the correct figure is on the door pillar or in the handbook, not the maximum moulded on the sidewall. Tread depth must be at least 1.6 mm across the central three-quarters of the tyre. Check oil, coolant, brake fluid and washer fluid with the engine cold.
Understanding warnings
Red dashboard lights mean stop safely and investigate - oil pressure, coolant temperature, brakes, battery. Amber means check soon - engine management, tyre pressure, low fuel. After a blowout, grip the wheel firmly, ease off the accelerator, avoid harsh braking and steer straight before pulling over.
Traps
Common wrong answers include checking tyre pressure after a long drive (hot tyres read high), pouring cold water on an overheated engine, and using the handbrake for normal stopping. Another error is inflating tyres to the number on the sidewall, which is a maximum, not a recommendation.
Worked rule
Treat a red warning light like a red traffic light: stop as soon as it is safe. Treat an amber one like amber: deal with it before it turns red.