Make These Vehicle Safety Checks Part Of Your Monthly Car Maintenance

Have you ever gotten into your car and thought to yourself, man it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten a tune-up? It happens to the best of us, so don’t beat yourself up about it, but it’s certainly not something you want to let go too long. A car that is not cared for can lead to a situation that could end up involving you in a New Haven auto accident and leave you kicking yourself for not maintaining your car more regularly.

Regular car maintenance is required on a monthly basis, just like it is important that you take care of your own physical health regularly. Taking care of your car can be a challenge as you roll through your busy life and oil changes take a back seat to board meetings, but these types of maintenance activities can be so important, not only to extending the life of your car, but also to keeping your safe when you’re driving from place to place. Plus, maintaining your vehicle monthly has the added benefit of catching things early so when you’re at the mechanic for a simple maintenance visit you don’t get hit with a giant bill for all of the things you haven’t been keeping up on.

Many of the things that you should be regularly checking on your vehicle are things you can see with your own eyes and if they require attention you may be able to tend to them on your own. Even if you are not a “car person” a lot of the smaller items can be addressed with very little money and limited knowledge of your vehicle. While there are a few things that may require a mechanic to check and adjust, most of the things you’ll be looking at on a monthly basis are things you can address either in your driveway or at a local gas station, quickly and with minimal costs.

Here is your checklist of items you should be looking over once a month.

1.) Tire pressure. This fluctuates regularly and should be monitored especially during the changing seasons. When the weather goes from hot to cold, your tires will significantly fluctuate in pressure so you should keep an eye on them and adjust them accordingly.

2.) Lights. There is no schedule for lights to burn out, it just happens. If you are driving with one headlight or no brake lights you could be putting yourself in grave danger. Therefore, you should be checking these lights regularly. You may need a partner to do this, but if you do find that a light is out, a simple YouTube search will point you in the direction of how to repair or replace the bulb.

3.) Windshield wipers. You never know when a rain storm is going to hit and you need to be prepared if it does. Just a few weeks ago, hail was a problem in Connecticut and if you didn’t have wipers that could handle that type of weather condition you were going to be putting yourself at risk. Checking windshield wipers is reasonably easy, but changing them can get a little tricky. You can certainly try to change them yourself as you really won’t harm anything if you do it wrong, but if you are not sure you may want to seek the experience of a professional.

4.) Fluid levels. This is another easy thing to check and certainly something that will go a long way in making sure you are driving safely. You should check fluids like windshield wiper fluid, brake fluid and coolant to make sure your vehicle has all of the fluids needed. You may also want to check your oil levels as well, if this is something you feel comfortable doing. If it is not, contact a professional and make sure you are checking this regularly as well.

5.) Horn. You don’t hear a lot of people using their horns regularly but they do serve a purpose. If you are in a situation where you need to get another drivers attention for safety reasons you will want to make sure you have a working horn. This is easy to test, just press the horn, but may require a little extra attention if it is not functioning properly.

Not only will being focused in on the monthly maintenance of your car put you in a better position to avoid getting into a New Haven auto accident, it will also make it so when a repair comes up on your vehicle you are limiting the amount of money that you may have to pay. You can look at it as a win-win. All you have to do to make sure you do this regularly is leave yourself a note in your car, somewhere visible, so you are reminded that you need to follow through on this maintenance.

No amount of maintenance can completely guarantee your safety, but if you do it regularly you will be well positioned to avoid an accident. If you do get injured you may need to speak with an attorney who has experience with your type of situation. Contact our office and one of our experienced attorneys will review your situation and work with you on protecting your long-term interests.