10 SAFETY TIPS FOR DRIVING IN THE RAIN
Diving into the flashback of the early days of our childhood, we recall the days when we all loved playing in the rain. Jumping into the deep puddles and ditches had been our regular habit during the monsoons.
Moving forward a few decades, today, I’m steering my car through the similar ditches that are on the way to my workplace. The habit that I had developed in those days exists no more within me. Today, I rather keep thinking of how I can get out of the rain during the monsoon days.
I hope you too; as a driver; do have a very good knowledge of the fact that steering your car through the zigzag ditches on the roads is one of the most daunting tasks during the monsoons. You have to face a lot of risks and dangers while driving in the rain.
And I hope you’d never love that; would you?
Not ever.
Do you have any idea about how to avoid those risks and dangers?
You might be thinking of avoiding driving until the rain stops; right?
But what if there’s an emergency? What if you’ve to take someone to the hospital driving on your own?
You don’t have any idea; right?
Well, keep going through this blog to its end. Here, I’ve listed down some of the best safety tips for driving in the rain. I’m sure these tips will help you enjoy a safe drive during the monsoons.
Always Prefer Waiting Over Driving
Rain can be risky for every driver; no matter if the driver is a professional or a novice. And one more thing – If you’ve ever witnessed a vehicle skid on the road during the monsoons, I’m sure you wouldn’t ever imagine yourself driving during the monsoons.
Let me tell you the fact that you lose control of the vehicles during the rainfalls. This is something that tells you to keep yourself off the steering of the car. Meanwhile, if the reason to drive during the heavy rainfall is not an emergency, it’s better to wait for the rain to stop.
Can you just guess why?
Because getting 15 minutes late to a get-together is; after all; much better than ending up yourself in the hospital beds; right?
Check Well If Your Car Is Working Properly Before You Head-On
It’s very much important for you to check and in fact, double-check everything in your car before you head-on for anywhere during monsoon. This will give you knowledge of the working condition of all the parts of your car.
The next thing that you’d better keep knowledge of before heading on towards any place by your car is the headlights. Make sure both of them have no leakage in the plastic and also are free from electrical issues.
Finally, check all the equipment that you might need during your drive. Take a look at the treads of your tires if they are good enough to take on the slick and slippery roads of the monsoon falls.
Also, make sure that you check the windshield wipers, tail-lights, fog-lights, turn signals/indicators, AC, and more importantly, the horns. Once, you assure all of these to be in good working condition, you’re ready to enjoy the time-out in the monsoon falls.
Make Sure You Drive Slower Than You Usually Do
During the heavy showers, most of the cities reduce the speed limit. Can you guess why?
It’s because this helps in keeping the driver safe thereby avoiding any unwanted accidents and incidents.
Let me tell you that in wet conditions, it’s very much important for your car to be able to adjust to the lower traction. This is the reason why it takes a bit longer for your car to react to breaking and/or turning during wet conditions. Also, this is the very reason why the experts advise that the speed should be as much lower as possible during the season when the roads are generally wet and slippery.
Keep the Headlights On
If you’ve ever traveled in any four-wheeler, I hope you do have very good knowledge of the difficulty of visibility. It’s almost impossible to see the things that are just a few meters ahead of your car. Can you guess why it happens so?
Well, it’s all because of the mist and fog that accompany the heavy showers. This is something that makes it harder for the drivers to see anything ahead of their cars.
If this sort of thing ever happens with you, make sure that you turn the headlights on immediately so that you can get a better view of what is coming before you. This will help you keep yourself away from any sort of mishap that might occur during the drive. Let me tell you that keeping the headlights doesn’t only give you better visibility to the drivers; rather, it also informs the vehicles and/or the pedestrians around you about your presence.
After all, you must always be aware of the fact that most of the accidents during the monsoon are caused due to the lack of proper visibility and the negligence of not using the headlights and fog lights properly.
Turn On the Windshield Wipers for an Improved Visibility
In the above paragraph, I just discussed how important the visibility of the outside of the car is when driving in the rain. Can you just guess what do these words mean?
Well, most people understand that this simply means using the windshield wipers of the car effectively during heavy showers. But actually, that’s a bit wrong.
Let me tell you that when the rain continues to flow onto the windshield of the car, it distorts the driver’s view. Ultimately, this makes the things seem as if they are further away than they are. The windshield wipers of the car help ease driving in the rain by removing the excess moisture from the glass for perfect visibility at all times.
Let me tell you that most modern cars are equipped with multiple speed options for different rain conditions that range from a drizzle to a heavy shower.
Do you live in a region that experiences a lot of hail or ice more often?
If yes, I’m sure you’re always experiencing visibility problems while driving; right?
Well, in such conditions, I better recommend you using a cleaning product in the wiper-fluid. Can you just guess why?
It’s just because doing so will help keep the windshield free from the frost.
Maintain Distance
During the rains, it takes time for your car to react, slow down and then stop. Moreover, the wet roads cause the tires of your car to skid or slip before stopping. This is the reason why you have to take care of the distance between yours and the other vehicles around you.
Do you have any idea about what would be the best idea to make sure you have enough time to stop?
No?
Let me tell you then; okay?
Well, that’s very easy. Simply make sure that you maintain at least a 2-car space between you and the vehicle in front of you. This will help you avoid colliding with the vehicle in front of you.
Go Easy On the Brakes
When driving on wet roads, all the drivers experience traction. And it’s really hard to overcome this difficult situation especially when you drive faster on wet roads. Again, the same thing happens when the brake is pressed harder than it should normally be done.
It’s quite dangerous to make sudden movements of a car while driving on a wet road. This is because it takes time for the car to react on wet roads. Due to this reason, whenever driving on wet roads, if you want to slow and stop, you better release your foot off the accelerator and then push down the brakes gently.
In case if you jam down your foot on the brake pedal, you’ll more likely get the car skid and thereby lose control over the car in an instant.
Avoid Puddles
One of the most common causes of most of the accidents on the roads is hydroplaning. Got confused about what hydroplaning is?
Well, let me explain to you then; okay?
Hydroplaning is the phenomenon when that happens a car skids because of a film of water that is caught between the tires and the road preventing it from decreasing its speed or coming to a halt.
When driving in such conditions, it’s best to slow down before you drive through the puddles; or if possible, it’s best to avoid them completely.
Avoid Hydroplaning
What would you do if you ever find yourself in a situation where your car is hydroplaning during a rain shower?
You would get worried and panic; right?
Well, that would be a completely silly idea. Rather, you would try keeping yourself calm at first. Guess why?
It’s because the more nervous you get, the more would be the chances that you’re gonna lose control of the car.
The next that you need to do in such a situation is take your foot off the accelerator pedal. You might be wondering why you need to do so; right?
Well, doing so would help you slow the car down.
Then, simply steer your car in the direction that you’d want to go. This will help the wheels to break out of hydroplaning thereby enabling them to react to your actions.
That’s all. You have control over your car, once again.
Here, one thing that you always need to remember in such a situation is that you shouldn’t ever slam the brakes or make any sharp and sudden turns as doing so will cause the car to skid even more.
Turn-On the Air-Conditioner of the Car
Most of the territories experience humidity along with rain. And this humidity also brings fog with it.
I hope you know the fact that fogging is probably one of the worst things that a driver can ever experience when driving in the rain. Let me tell you that one of the most common causes, why cars fog up, is the difference between the temperature inside the car and that outside the car.
If that’s so, do you have any idea regarding the ways to prevent your car from fogging up?
Well, that’s very simple.
All that you need to do is simply turn on the AC and then set the temperature to the level that matches the temperature outside the car.
Having this done will stop the glass from fogging up that will give you better visibility. Still, if this method doesn’t work, pull the cover of your car to the side of the road and then ventilate it by opening a window or two.
For your information, let me tell you that some drivers also choose to keep a towel or a cloth to wipe the windshield whenever it gets fogged up but that’s not a permanent solution.
Also read safety tips for drivers driving in the winter.
Now that you’ve explored all the safety tips for driving in the rain, I’m sure you’d love to share this information with your friends and relatives. If you ever face any sort of the problems described in this blog, feel free to ring MSA 24/7 Towing Calgary Ltd. and read some other useful blogs on the site. Very soon, there’ll be our staff to help you out.
