Christmas stress causes drivers to leave headlights on

Motorists suffer December Monday morning flat battery frustration

Monday mornings are always manic but finding you’ve got a flat battery because you’ve left your car lights on is the worst possible start to any week.

Analysis from breakdown expert the RAC has revealed it gets more call-outs on Mondays in December from motorists who have accidentally left their lights on than it does at any other time of the year.

The motoring organisation believes the pressure of preparing and shopping for Christmas is the reason behind the spike in demand as last December its patrols went to the aid of nearly 8,000 motorists who had suffered this fate – 1,700 more than the monthly average figure for ‘lights left on’ faults.

The problem also gets worse the closer it gets to Christmas with call-outs due to headlights being left on reaching their highest on 19 December 2011.

RAC technical director David Bizley said: “Mondays are always a busy time for us, but in December our patrols deal with more flat batteries due to lights being left on than at any other time of the year. The only explanation we can think of is the stress of Christmas. These days people have so much on their minds preparing for the festivities that the normally simple task of turning off their headlights becomes very easy to forget about.

“If you imagine a family with two or three young children returning home from the shops on a Sunday afternoon, rushing to get everyone and everything into the house, you can see how easy it is to overlook switching the lights off.”

The number of call-outs for lights left on isn’t as bad as it might be as many modern cars automatically switch off headlights after drivers have left their cars. Despite this, there are still more than enough vehicles on the road that don’t have this feature to make a December Monday far more miserable than it needs to be.

Bizley added: “Our patrols attend nearly 400,000 battery-related call-outs every year, making it the number one cause of breakdown. While people are always going to leave their lights on accidentally every now and then, the other battery problems we experience are quite easily avoided. If your battery is more than four years old it is a very good idea to get it checked out professionally. In cold weather, starter motors have to work harder as engine oil gets more viscous and this in turn puts extra strain on the battery.”

RAC top tips for batteries this winter:

1. Turn off all loads including lights, wipers, heater etc before switching off your engine at the end of your journey. This prevents any unnecessary drain on the battery the next time you start up. Check that everything is switched off before turning the ignition on
2. Heaters, heated screens and heated seats put high demands on the vehicle’s battery so try to avoid using these types of devices any longer than necessary. Some sat navs, in-car DVD players and iPods can also drain the battery if left connected
3. Check that there are no interior lights, including boot lights, left on or any accessories such as phone chargers
4. Park your vehicle in a garage whenever possible
5. Pro-actively get your battery tested, particularly if it is over four years old
6. If you’ve got a garage, use it – a warm car starts far better than a cold one

For more winter driving advice, visit www.rac.co.uk/advice/winter-driving.

If your battery does need replacing, the RAC Battery Fitting Service is the answer. Offering free delivery for all, and free fitting for RAC members, the service provides low cost, high quality RAC Exide batteries delivered to your home or work, seven days a week.

Visit www.racshop.co.uk/car-battery to find out which battery you need or call us on - 0800 096 2968.