THE New Year cold snap has made for difficult driving conditions on the roads around Journal-land, motoring organisations warn.

The Journal, with Wigan Advanced Motorists, has taken a look at how to make winter driving safe and what extra precautions drivers should take in hazardous conditions.

Here are a few essential tips:

Make sure your vehicle is fit for the road before starting a journey: remember the initials POWER ... P - Petrol, O - oil, W - water (have you added anti-freeze to the coolant and are your washers topped up with screen wash?) E - electrics (lights, indicators, demister and heater) R - rubber (tyres, tyre pressure and wiper blades)

Make sure windows inside and outside and lights are clean.

Lubricate all door and boot locks with an aerosol lubricant to stop them freezing.

In fog, drive on fog lights or dipped headlights night or day. It is compulsory to switch on sidelights and either dipped headlights or a pair of fog lights whenever visibility is bad. Do not try to overtake a vehicle ahead.

In snow or ice, stay in as high a gear as possible to stop wheel spin. Decelerate gently, brake gently and change gear slowly and smoothly. On ice stopping distances can be more than 10 times normal. Avoid accelerating when front wheels are not pointing ahead, and do not try to steer whilst braking.

When moving off in snow, use second gear and pull away slowly. If the wheels spin ease off the accelerator and let the car roll a little before accelerating again.

Ease off the accelerator if you feel your car "aquaplaning" -- which means tyres lose contact with the road and ride on a layer of water.

Be careful of wet leaves on the road -- they can be as slippery as ice.

Chairman of Wigan Advanced Motorists Dave Case said: "In severe weather conditions, consider whether your journey is really essential and if not -- STAY AT HOME!"