Risk Reduction Hacks in Driving During Wet Season
Date Posted:2 May 2018
Some drivers may find it more difficult to drive in wet conditions. True enough, the roads get slippery and rainfall reduces clear visibility, which causes a huge difference when driving in dry roads. In Australia, rain has ranked second on the primary causes of road accidents. That's why almost 30% of drivers are not comfortable driving in the rain.
However, there are inevitable cases where one is required to drive despite the wet conditions of the road. What we can advise you is to bear these tips in mind the next time you hit the road while raining.
Drive slowly. Sure, the road gets slippery, which may result to the driver to not have full control of the wheels after a sudden change in motion. Aside from this, driving slowly will get your tyres to get a grip on the road, as compared to speeding up. Speeding up may cause your tyre to lose contact to the ground and more in touch with the water surface which may result to loss of control.
Check your headlights and turn them on. During severe rain conditions, there is a chance of a zero-visibility situation on the road. That is why turning your headlights on will greatly help improve your vision in such scenarios. Before your trip, make sure to have a quick look on your head, tail, and fog lights and attend to the slightest damages immedately.
Turn your air conditioner on. Keeping your air conditioner on during a rainy trip will minimize, if not eliminate, the fog and mist build up on your windscreen. If you had your windows down before the rainfall, turn the AC on immediately after you close the windows (hail to a stop when necessary) to remove the mist. Wiping it off in the process of de-condensation would result to a more blurred windscreen.
Double your distance from the car in your front. Since vision is slightly affected, it is indeed important to keep your distance from the cart next to you. You could also wait for at least 4 seconds after the car in front accelerates before you hit on the gas, and try to maintain that distance throughout the trip.
Foresee dangerous situations. It would greatly help to check closed roads, flooded areas, and rerouting schemes during a bad weather, so you can anticipate what's going to happen and what you can do to avoid it.
Keep both hands on the wheel at all times. This is to have a better grip and control on to the steering wheel. It would also help in avoiding sudden turns and change in directions in such a slippery road.
