Start with thinking about what you use on a day to day basis, such as:

• Phone chargers
• Medicines
• Credit / debit cards
• Personal documentation / ID

 
Then start thinking about the top things that you will need if you were out for a period of time, such as:

• Hair brush
• Mini toothpaste and toothbrush
• Facial / body wipes
• Emergency contact details
• Torch
• Notepad and pen
• Book
• Personal toiletries

Keep your absolute essential items in a separate bag / compartment so that they can be found quickly and conveniently when needed!

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Make sure you are prepared!
Keep a spare pair of sunglasses in the car with you. Although it might be cold outside, autumn still does have sunny days and, in fact the low level of the sun due to the shorter days can prove to be very hard to deal with. Typically the low sun is very dazzling, especially if you have a dirty windscreen, which leads us on to….

Windscreen care!
Make sure that your windscreen washer fluid is filled up – with more dirty and grit on the roads, combined with more rain, you will get a dirty windscreen pretty quick. Make sure that the fluid you use has an anti-freeze property to it so that it doesn’t freeze and is ready to go when you are! Also, autumn is a great time to check your windscreen wipers.

Check your battery!
It’s a fact that most batteries pack up in the colder months of autumn and winter as the car has to use more electrical juice to keep going. If your battery is over five years old, it would make sense to replace it, before it gives up the ghost on you when you least need it!

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Like here in the UK,  you can be stopped anywhere you travel and be asked to produce your documentation – in order to save any mishaps from happening, take a look at our list of driving abroad essentials:

Valid full driving licence
This must be a full licence, not a provisional licence. Although the paper counterpart is not valid in the UK, if you still have it, we would advise to take it aboard with you just in case.

International Driving Permit
Apply and obtain an International Driving Permit which lasts for 12months – an International Driving Permit is recognised internationally and allows the named holder to drive a vehicle when abroad, in conjunction with a full UK driving licence.

Vehicle registration document – V5c
It is important that you have the original paperwork and not a copy, as a copy will not be accepted.

Motor insurance certificate
Again, ensure that you have a paper copy of this certificate. These days a lot of the policies we have are emailed or held in an online portal. Make sure you print a copy out so you have one in paper form and also make sure you have the contact details for your insurance and policy number saved on your phone in case you need to speak to them,

Passports
Never forget your passports!

Travel Insurance documents
Travel insurance documents form a major part of the insurance policies abroad, so be sure to have the details hand and stored in your phone as well as the paper documentation printed and ready to produce if needed.

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The official DVLA website has advised that drivers destroy their paper counterpart licence.

This new scheme means that all of your details will be stored online in a safe and secure government database that the police, amongst others, will be able to access.

Upon logging in to the website users can see if their current address is up to date, along with their licence information and renewal date.

Further tabs include information regarding the vehicles that the licence holder can drive as well as any penalty points.

And finally there is an additional tab that allows drivers to apply for a code that can be used to hire vehicles abroad. Now that the paper counterpart driving licence is no longer recognised in the UK, drivers will have to access the site and obtain a code before issuing this to rental companies abroad.

Although this new system has hit some teething problems in these early days, which is to be expected, we think that having everything online is much better!

Have you used the new online system?