Over 11,000 Women Now Have a Better Relationship – With Their Car
ES TV recently became aware of Women on Wheels (WoW) when the daughter of the publisher received an invitation to attend a free car maintenance workshop. Wary of the word free, as in no strings attached, ES TV asked if we could film the workshop. They agreed and this is what we found out:
The Women on Wheels National program is designed to help women become more aware of the mechanical workings of their motor vehicle. It is designed to offer practical guidelines for motoring safety and vehicle maintenance and covered a surprising range of topics in one 2 hour workshop for example, how to deal with road rage. However for the first 90 minutes the ladies learned the basics and some tips and tricks about checking oil levels, changing tyres, jump starting vehicles and checking and correcting tyre pressures.
In fact, in our opinion this course would be suitable for any driver especially teenagers and many men would also benefit both from the mechanical ministrations and the tips that were eloquently delivered by Joanne Chappelow from WoW over coffee and sandwiches at the debrief.
And yes, it is free and to the credit of Women on Wheels and the sponsor for the night, Suttons City Hyundai, there was no hard sell or promotion of any kind. In fact the attendees all received a gift bag and were invited to bring their own car in for a free check if they had any problem locating any of the items discussed on the night.
Jacqui Morrison from WoW informed ES TV that over 11,000 women have attended the free workshops since their inception over 12 years ago exposing many of them to the basic requirements of automotive maintenance for the first time. Our only complaint, our publisher who is a man won’t get to attend one.
10 Tips About Car Maintenance Every Woman Should Know
Check your tyre pressures every 2 weeks, this will maximize the tyre wear/life costing you less at the fuel pump and in tyres as well as optimizing vehicle’s handling.
Never let your petrol get lower that ¼ tank. If you consider ¼ tank to be your ‘new empty’ you will never run out of petrol, which could not only compromise your safety, but it is not good for your fuel tank/pump to run dry.
Lock all of your doors whenever you get into your vehicle.This will keep you safe from any potential carjackers or thieves who might want to steal your handbag from the front seat. It can also increase the structural integrity of your vehicle in a ‘rollover’ accident by preventing the doors from flying open.
Check your wiper blades regularly. The wiper blade rubber can perish easily and if you leave it until the next time you are driving in heavy rain, you may not be able to see properly.In addition, do not add anything to the wiper washer water except the correct water conditioner, as things such as detergent etc. can actually perish the wiper blade rubber.
Assemble an emergency break down kit and keep it in your car. These should include: Torch, WD40, emergency Tyre Sealer, Petrol Can, Jumper Leads, Oil Container, Water Bottle (2 Litres), First Aid Kit, Wet weather Jacket, Reflector Signs or Triangles, Ground Sheet, Wheel Chocks.
Check you tyre wear each month. Locate the tyre wear indicators on your tyres and track the tyre wear.If you regularly rotate and balance your tyres you will get maximum life from your tyres.
Check your spare tyre and jack kit and make sure that all the components are where they should be and the tyre has the correct pressure.Don’t find out your spare is flat or your jack is incomplete when you are parked on the side of the road somewhere with a flat!
Regularly check that all of your tyres have valve caps. These tiny inexpensive items save can save you money and extend tyre life! Without valve caps, tiny pieces of dirt can penetrate the tyre valve and cause a slow leak of tyre pressure, thus impacting on tyre wear.
If your vehicle does overheat, do not put COLD water into the radiator or reservoir.Wait until the engine cools and put room temperature water in.
Find out what brand, grade and type of oil is being used in your car, and continue using the same oil for oil changes and top ups. Different grades of motor oil, ie synthetic vs mineral do not mix well and could cause serious engine problems.
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