Nights closing in? Check. Cloud and rain where once there was endless blue? Check. A crisp frost on the ground where hitherto was only a soft dew? Check. Ah, good. All the winter clichés have arrived on time and we can now settle into the freeze-fest that awaits.
Now, you would think that spending all our lives on a damp, cold, wet rock sticking out of the North Atlantic would have been adequate preparation for driving in the winter, but for some cussed reason, we Irish seem to think that we're actually a lost band of Mediterraneans, so we do tend to ignore the little tips and tricks that can make November-December-January (and a bit of February) mileage that much easier and safer.
Let's start with tyres. Winter tyres have picked up a lot of publicity over the past few hard freezes and there's no doubt that, when mean temperatures are below seven degrees Celsius (which basically means from pretty much now until March) they are phenomenally better at finding grip than harder 'summer' tyres. Now, there is obviously an expense involved in having to store a second set of tyres (possibly wheels too) for the winter, and they do wear out faster if much of your mileage is on the motorway. They're also not great from a handling perspective on some faster, more high-performance cars. Still though. When the next icy stretch appears (and never-wrong New Zealand weather predictor Ken Ring has said that we're in for a white one again this winter) you'll be sitting smug.
If winter tyres really aren't your thing, then at least consider getting your existing worn tyres replaced. Whatever about snow, we'll certainly be getting plenty of rain come the winter. The minimum legal tread depth may well be 1.6mm, but really at that stage you're nearly onto slicks. At anything below 3mm tread depth, tyres will struggle to clear standing water and you're looking at aquaplaning problems, so get the boot changed.
If you're really keen to hone your winter driving skills, it's worth having a go at the Rally School Ireland's winter driving programme, backed by BMW. A bit of skill behind the wheel is worth more than all the chains, tyre socks and de-icer you can buy, so get yourself up to Monaghan and have a try.
Other checks to make on your car are the straightforward ones. Is your oil good for low winter temperatures? Have you enough anti-freeze in the engine coolant? If you're refilling your windscreen washer reservoir, don't forget to use more detergent as it's harder to freeze than just plain water. Check your lights all round and replace banjaxed bulbs. In fact, it's not a bad idea to take advantage of many dealers' winter check offers. Often, these are free checks and you'll only have to fork out for anything that really needs changing.
While we're mentioning lights, can we all just agree now to switch our lights on when we start the ignition and only switch them off again when we've completed our journey? The number of cars out on the roads in dark, rain and fog with not a single light illuminated is simply shocking and we need, as a driving nation, to do something about this. Even on a bright day, having your headlights on makes you easier to see, so let's just for once copy our Scandinavian cousins and leave 'em on. OK? Fog lights of course should only be used in fog (and not to light the ten feet in front of the car at night - what's the point; you shouldn't be looking there) and please, please, please remember to switch them off again once the fog is gone. The button is right there, it's not hard. Actually, not a bad idea to throw the rear fogs on when driving in heavy rain during the day. Spray hanging in the air can often resemble fog, but don't do that at night, where the fog lights would just be dazzling, even in the spray.
You could, as a precaution, put some old carpet offcuts, a shovel, gloves, heavy jacket, hat, torch, tow-rope and chocolate into the boot just in case of an overnight blizzard, but to be honest, you then won't fit anything else in the boot. Maybe just get an AA membership and keep the card in the glovebox instead?
Oh, and a final tip. Make sure you have a decent pair of sunglasses. Really? In Ireland, in the winter? Yes. That low winter sun can come blasting in through the windscreen like Goldfinger's laser so get yourself a good pair of sunglasses with polarised lenses. You'll see much more clearly with them and they'll also help to dim that 'strobing' effect when driving along a tree-lined road.
Got all that? Right so. See you in the January sales. I'll bring the snow shoes, you bring the Huskies...