Shocking figures reveal a lack of basic safety checks

Twice as many women (14%) as men (7%) admit to never checking their tyre pressures, according to research from Autoquake.com, and almost one-in-five women say they never check the tyre tread-depth.

Shocking and dangerous figures indeed and a timely reminder to us all to check our tyre pressure and tread, before the weather turns really wet, cold and slippery - conditions when we rely on our tyres the most.

The eye-opening report from the UK's largest online used car retailer shows up other worrying statistics, and, I'm afraid to say, it's the ladies that are missing these key safety checks. But, the men aren't that far behind.

For example, 24% of women and 21% of men say that they never check the hydraulic brake fluid level in their cars. Mix this with the aforementioned statistics on tyre pressure and tread-depth and it's a wonder there aren't a whole lot more fender-benders on UK roads.

Let us all take note of of this well-timed warning and check our tyres, brakes, oil and coolant at least once a week. After all, it's always better to be safe than sorry.