Riverina drivers hitting the road after lockdown urged to check tyres, batteries and fog lights

Bridget Ahern, a spokeswoman for the motorists group, said drivers could go through a maintenance checklist if they were comfortable with doing it themselves, or book in their car with a mechanic.

"We know that there are a lot of people who haven't been driving their cars, so if your car hasn't been driven in a long time or if you have only been driving down to get milk from the shops, chances are you haven't a had a chance to make a proper check on the car," she said.

"The first thing you have got to do is give your car a bit of a once-over, make sure the oil is topped up, your radiator fluids and coolants are there; sometimes the battery will have been running low as you haven't being driving as much.

"All these are things you need to make sure that the car is in a good enough condition to drive long distances."

Bob Jane T-Marts Wagga store manager Rowan Cox said drivers should check their tyres with a thread depth gauge or even just their car keys to make sure they had more than three millimetres of depth.

"You can also come into the store to check if you need for new tyres," he said.

"If you haven't used your car for a while you should check the tyre pressure as they can lose air pressure over time and low tyre pressure can have an impact on fuel economy," he said.

"Without a wheel alignment, unbalanced wheels can cause uneven tyre wear and increased road noise."

The NSW government lifted travel restrictions this month, including allowing 10 people in holiday homes.

Ms Ahern also urged drivers to check their spare tyre and make sure any child seats are fitted correctly.

"A lot of people don't think to check that their spare tyre is even in there and then don't realise until they are on the side of the road with a flat tyre," she said.

Ms Ahern said general maintenance not only reduced break-downs but also improved safety.

"If you don't have enough tread on your tyres, you could easily lose control," she said.

"You need to make sure your fog lights are working. All these things that might seem insignificant do have an impact on safety."