The POWDER check Cornwall drivers are urged to do every month

When did you last lift the bonnet and actually check something? For plenty of drivers the honest answer is the last time a warning light came on.

Vision Zero South West, the road safety partnership covering Devon and Cornwall, is using Road Safety Week to push a simple routine it calls POWDER. Six letters, six basic checks, and it wants drivers in Cornwall to run through them this week and then at least once a month.

None of it needs tools or a trip to the garage. Most of it takes a few minutes on the driveway.

What POWDER stands for

P is for power

Keep your fuel tank topped up, and with the right fuel for your vehicle. Running low on a quiet road at night is the kind of thing that leaves you stranded and vulnerable, and the partnership’s advice is to always have enough for the whole journey.

O is for oil

Pull out the dipstick and check the level sits between the minimum and maximum lines. There should be no debris or lumps in the oil. And when the car has been parked for a while, there shouldn’t be any oil on the ground underneath it.

W is for water

Make sure your coolant and screen wash are topped up to the correct levels. One keeps the engine from overheating. The other keeps you able to see, which matters more than ever on salty, muddy winter roads.

D is for damage

Walk around the car and look for anything visibly wrong. That means checking the wiper blades, lights and mirrors for wear, and keeping an eye on any rust. Small problems spotted early tend to be cheaper to fix.

E is for electrics

Check that the battery and all your lights are working, including the indicators, and keep an ear on the starter motor. Working lights help other road users see you and understand what you are about to do.

R is for rubber

Your tyres are the only part of the car touching the road, so check both the pressure and the tread.

How the 20p tyre test works

You don’t need a gauge to get a rough idea of your tread depth. A 20p coin does the job.

• Push the coin into one of the main grooves of the tyre.
• Look at the raised outer band around the edge of the coin.
• If the band is hidden, your tread is above the legal limit.
• If you can see the band, the tread could be at or below the legal minimum, and the tyre needs looking at.
• Repeat it in a few places around each tyre, as tread can wear unevenly.

The legal minimum for cars in the UK is 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tread, all the way round the tyre. For motorcycles it is 1mm. Many tyre and motoring experts suggest replacing car tyres well before that, at around 3mm, because stopping distances in the wet get noticeably longer as the tread wears down.

Driving on illegal tyres can also cost you. The penalty can be up to £2,500 and three points on your licence, for each tyre.

The check that isn’t on the car

The partnership’s short video ends with one more check, and it has nothing to do with the vehicle. It asks drivers to make sure they are alert, fit and ready to drive. Alcohol, drugs, tiredness and stress all affect driving, and if you aren’t fit to drive, the advice is to make other travel plans.

Why this week

Road Safety Week runs from Sunday 15 to Saturday 21 November. It is organised by the road safety charity Brake, and this year’s theme is Safe People on the Move, focusing on what everyone who walks, wheels, rides or drives can do to keep themselves and others safe.

Vision Zero South West brings together councils, Devon and Cornwall Police, fire and rescue services, the NHS and others, including Cornwall Council and Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service. It was set up in 2019 with the aim of halving the number of people killed or seriously injured on roads in Devon and Cornwall by 2030, and eventually bringing that number down to zero.

Every board meeting of the partnership opens with a reading of the names of people who have lost their lives on the region’s roads since the last one.

📷A driver tops up screen wash as part of a POWDER vehicle check. Credit: Vision Zero South West