Is your Car Winter-Safe? 3 Key Items you may be Missing

Driving a car in the best conditions takes an extreme amount of care and caution, but the winter months bring a whole new element to safety. The colder weather, sometimes including snow and ice, can make driving on the roads a lot harder and if your car is not up to scratch your safety, your passengers’ safety and that of others around you, can be put at risk.

After you’ve checked the regular items such as battery, brakes, wipers and heating systems, what else needs to be done heading into the Tassie winter?

Check your windscreen - Inspect your car’s windscreen carefully for cracks or chips. In icy conditions, the windshield glass can become very cold and any cracks can spread further or even shatter your windscreen altogether. Getting the tiny chips fixed before winter can prevent such a disaster occurring.

Test your tyres - Did you know that if you turn your steering wheel to full hard lock you can check the wear on the tread of your tyres?  Doing this presents the full face of the tyres, which helps you to check the entire surface for baldness. Car tyres have wear indicators and shouldn't get to the point of ‘smooth’. If they do, you need to pay us a visit as a matter of urgency to avoid unsafe driving conditions.

Prepare an emergency kit - Apart from your regular first aid kit, it’s important to have an emergency kit packed in case you become stranded with your car during the freezing winter months. Items to include are: a blanket, portable phone charger, extra drinking water, protein snack bars and a torch. These few things packed in the boot will ensure you and your passengers are kept warm, fed and watered in the event of an extended wait for help.

If you need any assistance in making sure your vehicle is ready to face the harsh temperatures of winter, contact one of the Cooper Automotive Service Centres today. 

http://www.cooperautomotive.com.au/all-service-centres.html

5 Surprising Ways you can Lose Points on your License

The devil, they say, is in the detail. As a driver, if you are not aware of all the rules you could be at risk of a fine, losing your licence or even injuring yourself or another person. Here are five of the lesser-known rules of the road to illustrate our point.

1. You can be fined and lose three points for not wearing your seatbelt, even if the car is not moving.  Resist the temptation to unbuckle your seat belt at the lights and make a grab for something on the back seat.

2. As a driver you will be fined if one of your passengers is not wearing their seatbelt, even if the car is not moving.  If you don’t provide your passengers with properly working seatbelts then you will also lose points.

3. Speeding is of course a well-known offense but did you know that if you exceed the speed limit by 45 km per hour you can lose six points and get of whopping fine of $900? You might think that you’re not likely to be going that fast, but it is surprisingly easy to do when coming off a freeway or other fast road.

4. You can lose three points off your licence and get a $300 fine for just HOLDING a phone while driving, even if you are not using it. 'Holding' includes resting the mobile on the driver's lap, or between the chin and shoulder or even passing the phone to a passenger.

5.  Did you know that an amber traffic signal means stop?  It doesn’t mean speed up to get through the intersection before the light turns red.  You can only continue to drive through the intersection if lights turn amber when you are so close that stopping may cause a crash.

Brush up on more road rules here: http://www.transport.tas.gov.au/licensing/publications/tasmanian_road_rules/road_safety_rules/new_offences_table

Happy employees = happy customers

There's an old adage - happy employees makes for happy customers! Well if there isn't one then there should be! We're of the sound belief that the attitude of our staff can make all the difference to a customer's experience of having their car serviced at Cooper Automotive.

We did the rounds recently and spoke to members of staff at different service centres to see what makes them tick at work and what they like about their jobs.

Here's what they had to say!

Tim at Lindisfarne

Tim is a mechanic at Lindisfarne

“I’ve been here over 5 years and came straight here after Grade 11. I’ve done my mechanical apprenticeship and am now training as an auto electrician as well as learning more about the management side. They’ve provided all the training. They really look after their staff.”

Mike at Hobart

Mike is Branch Manager at Hobart

“My wife and I wanted to come to Tasmania from South Africa and I found the opportunity with Cooper Automotive. I had run a workshop back home in South Africa so had the right experience and was sponsored through a 457 skilled visa. I’m really happy here – we have a great team culture and feel well looked after.”

John at Mornington

John is a mechanic at Mornington

“This is my second time around at Cooper Automotive and I’ve now been here 9 years. I’ve worked everywhere but came back as I know the people and like the work. It’s a good atmosphere and even with the wide variety of cars we get we have the right procedures in place so we know what’s on for the day. It helps if you’re motivated and tech-savvy nowadays. And of course interested in cars!”