Car and Road: skills checklist

Car trouble is the area most young drivers say they feel least ready for, and it tends to arrive at the worst moment: a flat on the way to work, a dead battery in a dark parking lot, a warning light on a long drive. Most people were never shown the handful of checks and fixes that turn those moments into a short delay instead of an expensive tow.

These skills stay on the owner's side of the line. You will learn to change a flat, jump a battery in the right clamp order, check tire pressure, oil and fluids, read what a warning light is telling you, swap wiper blades and bulbs, and pull a check engine code before you visit a garage. There are also the driving skills that make daily life easier, from parallel parking to backing up a trailer, and the paperwork side: what to do after a minor accident and how to inspect a used car before you buy it.

Brakes, steering, airbags, fuel systems and hybrid batteries are not here on purpose. When a job reaches those systems, each page says so plainly and tells you when to stop and call a professional.