Thursday, May 1, 2014

Things to Avoid Doing While Driving in the Rain

Rain can cause extremely dangerous driving conditions if you're not careful. Keep reading to learn five things to avoid doing while driving in wet weather conditions.

1. Don't drive toward the sides of the road. Roads are constructed so that they're highest in the middle. The difference may be slight, but it causes water to run off the center and drain toward the edges. If you're driving in the rain, you want to avoid standing water. You want your vehicle to be where the water isn't -- and that's in the center of the road.

2. Don't leave your headlights off. It's important to turn your headlights on when it's raining so that other people can see you. In the murky gloom of a rainstorm, even a light drizzly one, the lack of sunlight impairs our vision. Headlights will let other drivers know where you are.

3. Don't drive if you can't see through your windshield. Not being able to see ahead, you don't necessarily know what's there. There could be stopped cars in front of you that you can't see. There may be pedestrians running through the downpour. When visibility gets low, pull off the road as quickly as it's safe to do so. Stop your car and wait for things to clear up again.

4. Don't drive through deep water. If you see water flowing across the road from one side to the other and don't know how deep it is, don't try to drive across it. Vicious currents of rainwater exist that can carry you and your car for hundreds of feet. Even if the water isn't moving, if the bottom isn't visible, you don't know what's underneath it. Don't risk putting your tires on the submerged pavement.

5. Don't drive too fast for weather conditions. Never drive above the speed limit in wet weather conditions. The worse the conditions, the lower your speed should be. The worst danger of driving too fast in rain is hydroplaning. When the road is wet and you're going too fast, your car can actually begin to float on top of the water and the tire tread loses contact with the road surface.

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