BATON ROUGE — During Tuesday's sub-freezing weather it's important to check your car before you start your engine and drive.

While officials are advising against driving, the owner of L & S Automotive said that if residents have to hit the roads, the first thing they should do is check their tire pressure.

“Your tire pressure is going to get lower with the colder weather so make sure you add air to your tires," Rachel Coffin said.

Coffin said that during the colder months, it is always a good idea to add a couple more PSI units to tires to make sure your pressure light doesn’t turn on.

To check a tire's tread, slide a penny between the ribs of the tread with President Abraham Lincoln's head down. If the treads aren't touching Lincoln's head, it's time for new tires.

Coffin said it is also important to check everything under the hood of the car, and to top off the antifreeze.

“You want to make sure that it’s not watered down and it’s topped off with antifreeze. Each car has a different antifreeze it takes, so make sure you’re using the proper antifreeze for your vehicle,” she said.

Coffin said its also a good idea to remember windshield fluid.

“Because it doesn’t usually get cold here, we don’t usually put freezing temperature windshield washer fluid in there, so you want to make sure that you put below freezing washer jug in your windshield,” Coffin said.

Coffin said people often try to defrost their windshields by pouring hot water, but this can cause windshields to crack because it adds heat too quickly onto cold glass.

"Lay a blanket or a tarp over your windshield the night before that way it kind of covers it. You can take it off if you aren't going to do that. You can always use just something around the house — a credit card or a plastic spatula or something like that to get the ice off of the windshield," Coffin said.

She said that if you start your car and it sounds sluggish, it may be an issue with the car battery.

"If you see any corrosion — like a green, fuzzy, or white fuzziness around the battery or the battery terminals, you might want to get that cleaned and taken care of. You can get a cleaner at a part store or you can use a coke and rinse it off with water. Just make sure everything is disconnected before you do that," Coffin said.