He explained: “This one’s really quite critically important. It can be used for letting you know that your oil level is too low which would normally be accompanied by some information on your dashboard to tell you that it’s too low. 

“Especially if it appears yellow or with a little wavy line underneath it, that’s normally level related. 

“But if you see this light come on, especially if it’s flashing you need to try and pull the car over at the first available opportunity safely.

“Check your oil level first and foremost, see if you’ve got enough oil in your engine but if it’s coupled with a message on your dash saying oil pressure, you really need to stop driving your vehicle immediately and get it recovered.”

Stubbornly refusing to do this could easily backfire with motorists likely to do serious damage to key components. 

Tom added: “If you continue driving with no oil pressure in your engine then you are going to ruin the internals of the engine incredibly quickly and then it’s going to be new engine time which gets very expensive. 

“If you can get the engine turned off in time it will save you thousands of pounds but I would advise you getting it recovered.”

BookMyGarage, the leading car service and repair comparison site, also stressed drivers must react quickly to any sign of problems.

They commented: “If you are driving and notice that the low oil light on your car’s dashboard is illuminated, you must stop the car and use a dipstick to check the oil levels.

“You can add more engine oil if the oil level is low. Start the car and look out for any symptoms of a malfunctioning oil pump.”