Winter is a dangerous time to be driving. Accidents actually go up 20%, due to a combination of bad weather with ice and snow and shorter days after the clocks have gone back. So, I was quite keen to take part in the ATS Euromaster Winter Driving Myth Challenge.

I discussed these 10 driving myths composed by the experts at ATS Euromaster with my family to see how much they knew about car safety and winter driving.

1. Adding extra weight to your car will give you better traction

The answer to this in most cases is FALSE (unless you have a pickup truck!). My husband got this one wrong. We have a front-wheel drive car and do go a little overboard with weight in the boot. If you’re in a similar situation and never pack light when travelling with children, it helps to drive slower and use winter tyres. The reason you should use winter tyres is because they have better grip and braking. Snow catches in summer tyres which makes them smoother and less able to hold onto the road.

2. Car crime is less common around Christmas

We all thought that this would be false. We were of the opinion that thieves would be taking advantage of the cover of darkness provided by shorter days and the fact people are transporting presents would be too tempting for criminals. However rather surprisingly car crime reports decrease over Christmas and Boxing Day, so this myth is TRUE.

3. You can be fined for leaving the engine running while you’re defrosting your car

Everyone guessed this one correctly and said TRUE. On top of being fined leaving your engine running is bad for the environment, so you can do your bit and stay on the side of the law putting an end to engine idling. Plus, it’s better for your car, as leaving the engine running can drain your car battery and cause your spark plug and gasket quality to decline.

4. It is a legal requirement to carry a winter emergency kit

My husband said no and that he doesn’t have one, it’s probably advisable rather than required. He was correct as it is FALSE. However, I think we should get one just in case! You can include things like jump leads, torch, de-icer, and blanket. If you are going somewhere with thick snow a shovel might be a good idea too!

5. An engine doesn’t need time to warm up before you start driving in the cold

This one everyone thought was correctly TRUE but did lead on to a chat about older cars with carburettors needing time to warm the air or the car would stall. We are lucky with modern cars automatically adjusting to the weather conditions as they are much more sophisticated. It saves wasting money on fuel when you don’t leave your car running unnecessarily.

6. It is illegal to drive in wellies

My family thought that was actually the case, which led to an interesting discussion about whether you could drive barefoot and whether slippers and flip-flops must be illegal too. In reality it’s actually FALSE you just need to wear comfortable shoes that give you control over the pedals.

7. You can mix winter tyres with summer or all-season ones for the best effect

It was an across the board agreement that this would be FALSE. It seemed a bad idea to mix and match your tyres and for what turned out to be a very good reason. The different tread patterns will impact your road handling. The winter tyres give you more grip but when you turn the car you rely on all your wheels. This can be problematic and lead to your car spinning out of control because the tyres are not balanced.

8. It is recommended to de-ice your car using hot water

This was FALSE and we guessed correctly why, We assumed it could damage the windscreen. Apparently, even lukewarm water is frowned upon. You don’t want the heat to expand the glass then for it to cool down quickly contracting in the cold and shattering. Instead stick to using a can of de-icer, your trusty scraper, and a windscreen heater if you have one.

9. Driving with more lights on will help you when it is snowing

If visibility is 100m or less you should use your fog lights, but other than that ATS Euromaster found extra lights really don’t make much difference in terms of visibility in snow. Too much light will cause glare for other drivers, so you also need to consider them when deciding which lights to use. My husband said the lights will reflect back on the snow which can distract the driver and lead to an accident. So he was correctly of the opinion that this was FALSE.

10. If you disconnect your car battery at night, you can save power and stop it from going flat

We didn’t think it would be recommended so went with FALSE. We assumed there were easier things to do like turn off the car radio or navigation to save power instead of having to remove your battery each night. In winter you do need to watch out for overdoing it with the heated seats and heating in general which can reduce your battery power.

I was relieved we actually fared quite well as a family in the ATS Euromaster Winter Driving Myth Challenge. We scored 7/10 which wasn’t too shabby. I would love to hear how you get on in the comments below. It’s a good way to start talking about keeping safe on the roads this winter.

This post is a collaboration with ATS Euromaster, but all thoughts are my own