Before doing car hire for self-drive in Uganda or car rental the following should be checked.

Check Fluids (oil, hydraulic, brake fluid, and coolant) and drive belts

beAn under-the-bonnet is checked first, as it is one of the main concerns motorists need to be aware of and don’t check often enough. If your coolant and oil levels are low, you might have a little leak somewhere. Make sure to also check the brake fluid, if this level is too low, your car is not safe to drive. While checking underneath your vehicle, examine the drive belt for any cracks. If your drive belt is damaged or worn out, you may have a total engine shutdown. This is very important – if anything happens to this belt, you will be stuck within a few kilometres.”

Wheels and tires

Tyres are perhaps the most important part of your vehicle. Check the surface of the tyres for any notable damage, or inflexions, and look for bubbles, it is also important for drivers to check their tyre pressure regularly, even if they are not on a road trip. If a tyre is overinflated, it will wear in the middle of the tyre, and if it is underinflated, it will wear on the sides and edges.

Wipers

The test is simple – are the wipers clearing the water from the windscreen, or are they leaving lines of water that impair your vision? Before setting out on your road trip, use the windscreen washers to spray your windscreen and then check if the wipers are doing their job.

Brake pads

The brake pads are made up of a metal outer part and a composite inner part. The composite inner part needs to be above 5mm thick. Once the pad wears down below this, it is advisable to change the break ads recommended by car experts. Make sure your handbrake is working correctly; your handbrake should not click more than four times before it holds the car in place, anything more than four clicks would not pass a roadworthy test.

Brakes and clutch

While the brake pads are checked when the car is stationary, it is important to evaluate how the vehicle reacts to braking when driving – whether it pulls to either side under braking. It is unsafe to drive a vehicle that cannot be controlled under braking.

The steering

Things such as engine sounds, vibrations, suspension and so on. So for the steering check, you may have a mechanic take it for a spin and see whether the steering pulls in a certain direction – if the vehicle veers to the left or the right. This could indicate a wheel alignment problem that may need to fix

Check the lights

You want to be sure that all of your car lights are working correctly – especially if you are in an unfamiliar region of the country. This is a simple but important test; check your lights and their switches if they are all working properly.