ARTICLE: Safe Driving in the Rains

[Ice]

Probably mentioned before:
1. Keep an umbrella in the car. Shake the umbrella dry before entering the car
2. Mudflaps - ensure that your mudflaps are in place. The spray from your wheels is a nuisance to you as your wheel-wall, bumpers, running boards will be coated with muck. The spray is also dangerous for anyone following you, hampering their visibility considerably.
3. Avoid driving with the high beam on. The regular whitish yellow lights bounce off the rain and can blind you and other motorists
4. Stick to the center of the road (on a dual-carriage road). On a 4/6 lane highway, keep away from the median and the extreme right lane as most the water from the median drains here. There may even be small rivulets running along the wall of the median if the rain is particularly heavy.
5. If you feel the car aquaplane, don't make any sudden adjustments to the wheel/slam on your brakes. Hold on tight to the steering wheel, and remove your foot from the accelerator.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Ice

2. Mudflaps - ensure that your mudflaps are in place.

Excellent point, and a basic courtesy to the vehicle behind you (especially a two wheeler)

3. Avoid driving with the high beam on. The regular whitish yellow lights bounce off the rain and can blind you and other motorists

In some rainy conditions, high beam actually reduces the visibility.

[Zahir]

Though being careful, it is often unavoidable to have water splash when you're driving in the rain. Surprisingly, a lot of people do it. I was wondering how bad water splashes really are for your car because honestly, the only other alternative is not driving at all. Opinions?

[Akki_5]

a very good thread! kudos to all the contributors.

if driving with the hazard lamps on is bad then i have seen worse.
on the mumbai-pune expressway, a car was doing a 80 infront of me in the right lane when i was doing over 160; so i flash the headlamps and the best part happens now:

this fellow doesnt bother so i honk and flash a couple of times more.
now he cuts to the middle lane (and mind you, he does not use the indicator)
then very shockingly he switches on the right side indicator lamp.
thinking that he would now cut to the right, i do not overtake him but flash a couple of times more.
he does not come to the right lane but the indicator is still on.
i overtake him and look at him in the RVM and he is still driving in the middle lane but immediately after i overtook him, he switched off the indicator.

and then it hits me, he was using the indicator to indicate to me that i could overtake him.
i mean, how many Indians get a driving license without knowing even the functions of the lights on the vehicle?

as somebody had pointed out earlier, half the guys don't know that there is a low beam and a high beam in the headlamps (if at all they do know, then they definitely do not know when to use which!)

God save us!

[raj_5004]

i would love to know that which scientist started this practice of using hazard lights in heavy rains? what are rear fog lights meant for?
hazard lights are meant to indicate a stationary vehicle.

[gpa]

I find this practice very irritating. On a drive to Kerala, I was swamped by heavy rains, so I slowed down to about 40-45 kmph and moved into the slow lane only to find other drivers zipping past in the fast lane with their hazard lights blinking.

[greenhorn]

question. If you are on a highway with medium traffic, how to avoid the problem of spray from the car in front of you ?
I've had my wiper's water supply run out.
If I leave sufficient distance to avoid the spray, the guy behind me overtakes me, and i have to move further back to avoid his spray, at which point, the next guy overtakes me, and the process repeats

If i move further, well, the spray clouds up my windscreen
If i move right behind him, then not so much of a problem of spray, but then, you're dangerously close.

Right now, the only option is to overtake every one in front. Is there a better technique ?

[Roy.S]

Originally Posted by Ice

.......
5. If you feel the car aquaplane, don't make any sudden adjustments to the wheel/slam on your brakes. Hold on tight to the steering wheel, and remove your foot from the accelerator.

Thanks Ice.
Anybody here ever had their car actually aquaplane? The rains have started and I will be doing some highway driving shortly. I'm a bit concerned about this possibility esp because my treads are worn down more than 50%. Gotta be careful until I get new tyres. What happens when your car aqualplanes and how do you identify it?

[rippergeo]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Right now, the only option is to overtake every one in front. Is there a better technique ?

There isnt. It is the best option.
If its a 4 lane highway, you drive offset behind the slow vehicle in front(which will usually be hogging the fast lane anyway)

[gpa]

Originally Posted by Roy.S

Thanks Ice.
Anybody here ever had their car actually aquaplane? The rains have started and I will be doing some highway driving shortly. I'm a bit concerned about this possibility esp because my treads are worn down more than 50%. Gotta be careful until I get new tyres. What happens when your car aqualplanes and how do you identify it?

Roy,

I have experienced aquaplaning and trust me, it is a very scary feeling. Was doing about 100 kmph on the NICE road leading from Mysore road to Kanakapura road and for some reason a portion of the road under a bridge (of about 70-80 metres) had a stream of water running across it.

On noticing this, I lowered my speed to about 90 kmph when I hit the water and suddenly the car skated and yes, I mean literally skated across the sheet of water to the left when my steering was indeed pointing straight. The front wheels had lost total contact with the road when this happened. My tyres had a fairly decent tread depth but I suppose this happened due to the slight dip in the road where the water had collected in a pool and the fact that I hit the stream of water at a fairly high speed.

With slow corrective steering inputs to correct the slide, I was able to bring the car back on line and continue on my way. But ever since this episode, I am that much more alert when driving in the rains especially on the highways regardless of the condition of the tyres of the car.

Hope this helps

Cheers,
gpa

[greenhorn]

Roy, I'd posted my experience here earlier
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...quaplanes.html (What to do when your car aquaplanes)

[gpa]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

I've had my wiper's water supply run out.

greenhorn,

Looks like I'm not the only one plagued by this problem. I had to stop twice and fill my car's washer reservior topping it up with a Wurth washer fluid each time during a highway drive where it was raining for almost 3 hours during the drive.

[Roy.S]

Originally Posted by gpa

...I have experienced aquaplaning .....

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Roy, I'd posted my experience here earlier......

Thanks guys. That really helps. I guess even brand new tyres would not be of much help.

[GTO]

this fellow doesnt bother so i honk and flash a couple of times more.
now he cuts to the middle lane (and mind you, he does not use the indicator)
then very shockingly he switches on the right side indicator lamp.
thinking that he would now cut to the right, i do not overtake him but flash a couple of times more.

I don't know which wise guy came up with the idea of communicating "overtake OK" with his RHS indicator lights. Think about it:

1. RHS indicator lights : Either he's letting you overtake or taking the next right turn. If it's the latter, and you mistake for the former, disaster strikes!

2. LHS indicator lights would have been preferred over option 1. Either he's letting you overtake, or taking the next left. Overtaking is okay in either situation.

question. If you are on a highway with medium traffic, how to avoid the problem of spray from the car in front of you ?

1. Switch your wiper on and use the spray judiciously.

2. Maintain a longer distance.

3. Overtake and follow someone else.

[teknophobia]

Originally Posted by gpa

greenhorn,

Looks like I'm not the only one plagued by this problem. I had to stop twice and fill my car's washer reservior topping it up with a Wurth washer fluid each time during a highway drive where it was raining for almost 3 hours during the drive.

Hehe. I guess I can laugh with my 3.5 litre wiper fluid tank that comes as standard fitment on the DLX . Never had a situation where I have run out of fluid.