We jump in the car, turn the key or press the button, often with little thought of the road and journey ahead.

Monday to Friday, you switch the radio on, settle comfortably into autopilot and arrive at work, devoid of drama.

Occasionally you may have to de-mist the windscreen or chip some ice away, but in the UK we don’t suffer any real extremes, so it’s very much business as usual.

You expect your vehicle, this marvel of modern technology, to perform it’s duties without fuss or complaint, modern cars are after all are very reliable machines. But the roads you drive on and the seasonal changes can and will affect driving conditions, and it is worth taking note and preparing.

The nights are drawing in, mornings are darker and for some inexplicable reason, we still change time by an hour twice a year, so commuting will soon be plunged into inky blackness.

So now it’s dark, we have wet roads, often strewn with leaves, mud, grit and soon ice, salt and snow to contend with. Do you give any thought to your tyre health, are all your lights functioning, do your wipers clear the screen sufficiently, do you have appropriate clothing in the car.

Lets visit each of these elements, tyres first. Potholes are the curse of the road user and your tyres are taking the brunt of the councils lacklustre approach to repairs.

Is your steering wheel vibrating at a certain speed, or can you feel it through your seat? Does your steeling wheel sit a bit lop sided or is the car pulling to the left or right like a reveller navigating a walk home after a good night?

You may be suffering with uneven tyre wear and completely oblivious to it. Any change in driving operation should not be left unchecked

Lights are not just there to illuminate the road ahead, they also function to let other road users see you. How often have you passed or come up behind a driver with a failed light. A regular check and walk round of the car will ensure you can see and be seen.

The police will also be interested in defective tyres and lights, so don’t give them a reason to look at you longer than a cursory glance.

You generally only bemoan a defective wiper the moment it doesn’t work, the bottle runs out of water, or it creates that streak directly in your eyeline.

Have you noticed that wipers do that, they never fail in any other area, only in your direct line of vision. Personally I think they are designed like that, just to annoy us.

Keep your washer bottle topped up, you’re going to need it at this time of year, and if you notice your wipers giving out, change them straight away, they’re cheap and easy to fit.

Clothing & accessories may seem like an odd consideration, but if you break down, do you have warm clothing or a blanket, bottles of water, a torch, a power bank if the car can no longer charge your phone. This may seem excessive but missing simple items, can cause a massive headache and frustration in your moment of need.

I sincerely hope you have a completely uneventful, dare I say, dull driving season, but taking note of the above I hope means just that.