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Old 14th June 2017, 18:36   #451
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

Thanks GTO for the comprehensive and elaborate article. This is definitely going to make many lives safer.

When you mentioned owners using mogra or other flowers to keep interiors fresh, I prefer using camphor cakes (Kapoor) used in Pooja as freshner. It smells clean and fresh. I found it particularly useful as I get uncomfortable with car perfumes particularly on long drives.
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Old 14th June 2017, 22:15   #452
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

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Originally Posted by monakar View Post
I prefer using camphor cakes (Kapoor) used in Pooja as freshner.
Doesn't that leave a stain post vaporization?

GTO, Thank you for all the points. you have covered everything I could and couldn't reckon.
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Old 14th June 2017, 23:24   #453
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

Very nice and exhaustive checklist.

Also from my personal experience speed kills no matter what the weather is..please be slow and be careful about the puddles on the road.

Slow down if you are seeing pools of water it might make you lose control of the car at high speeds.

Safe driving !!!

Last edited by moralfibre : 19th June 2017 at 10:12. Reason: Typo
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Old 15th June 2017, 10:40   #454
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

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Originally Posted by ImranShahnawaz View Post
Yesterday morning while travelling from Thrissur to Palakad I aquaplaned. It was raining heavily and I was driving at a normal speed of 60-80 kmph in a BMW X5. The incident took place when I was overtaking a car from the right. The road was straight, I noticed there was water stagnation on the right side. Unfortunately, I landed up overtaking the car on the left at that water stagnant point. All of a sudden the X5's nose drifted towards left while overtaking, I was literally zapped noticing the drift. Another car was behind my X5. Just to regain control over the car I applied slight brake (which I feel was my mistake) it drifted towards right towards road median. I felt the front right wheel touching the road median slightly before I regain the control over the car. All this happened in a fraction of 3-5 sec and came out of any unfortunate incident. The tyres are in good condition. However it's a first experience with aquaplaning with me.

I understand I shouldn't have touched the brake pedal and tried to manage with steering control. Did that happen because all four wheels were in water??
Hi, this seems v v surprising. With all the bells and whistles (esp for safety), your car should have been able to easily handle this situation. It doesnt look like an odd situation at all. Are you sure all the safety features are working properly? The speed you were driving at is very normal and it is shocking that a BMW behaved this way.
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Old 15th June 2017, 14:10   #455
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

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Originally Posted by vikram31 View Post
With all the bells and whistles (esp for safety), your car should have been able to easily handle this situation. It doesnt look like an odd situation at all. Are you sure all the safety features are working properly? .
Hi, the bells and whistles and safety features will not stop a car from aquaplaning.Aquaplaning is something everyone knows about but very few people understand.

Aquaplaning occurs when your car tyres, instead of touching the road, drive over a layer of water and lose contact with the road surface. You can tell when this happens because your steering goes very light.

Through my 20+ years of driving I have expereinced aquaplaing in various vechicles and my observation is that the tyre pressure and tread may be something to look at. Twice I expereinced aquaplaning on Mumbai pune express way two diffrent vechicles (Esteem and BMW X1) both times the tyres were over inflated when checked. I expereinced once in a rented innova and the treads were very thin.

According to me to avoid aqualpanning you need to check tyre presseure tread and most important if you are driving in the rains drive at a sane speed and at a speed where you know you can control the car avoid splashing through water and slow down when you see water logged or flowing on concrete roads.

I hope this helps.

RoS

Last edited by navin : 15th June 2017 at 16:04.
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Old 15th June 2017, 16:49   #456
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

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Originally Posted by rulerofsun View Post
Hi, the bells and whistles and safety features will not stop a car from aquaplaning.Aquaplaning is something everyone knows about but very few people understand.
If people skid on a wet road, they often call it aquaplaning
Quote:
Aquaplaning occurs when your car tyres, instead of touching the road, drive over a layer of water and lose contact with the road surface. You can tell when this happens because your steering goes very light.
... and fails to have any effect at all.
Quote:
Through my 20+ years of driving I have expereinced aquaplaing in various vechicles and my observation is that the tyre pressure and tread may be something to look at. Twice I expereinced aquaplaning on Mumbai pune express way two diffrent vechicles (Esteem and BMW X1) both times the tyres were over inflated when checked. I expereinced once in a rented innova and the treads were very thin.
I think you are right about all those things, but the primary way to prevent aquaplaning is to go slow. I am not sure now, but I remember being told that there is a minimum speed below which physics does not allow it. I think I was told 50MPH?

In a slightly longer (but maybe wetter, in UK!) driving lifetime, I have only aquaplaned once. Which was in cloudburst rain, on a British motorway, at over 80MPH. Just that fact that it has only happened to me once is part of the reason that I think it is a lot rarer than supposed. (Nothing bad happened: the car continued almost straight as I let it slow down. Otherwise I would not be here writing this.)

Quote:
According to me to avoid aqualpanning you need to check tyre presseure tread and most important if you are driving in the rains drive at a sane speed and at a speed where you know you can control the car avoid splashing through water and slow down when you see water logged or flowing on concrete roads.

I hope this helps.
Yes, indeed. Sadly, people have very different ideas about "sane." And even worse, they do not have any idea that their stopping distance is greatly increased on a wet surface.
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Old 15th June 2017, 17:44   #457
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

Safe driving tips for the rainy season by "GTO", be it a compiled one - no problem, is like a text book and is very useful.Great work!
Thanks.
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Old 15th June 2017, 18:32   #458
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

Many thanks for bringing back this thread just in time.

A word of caution to readers that though contents of this thread are elaborate but following these in letter and spirit require some discipline. Please remember things change far more dramatically in rain than we could expect. An instance during rain wherein I needed emergency brakes in a Wagon-R, some fine gravel which was under tyre behaved like bearing balls and car actually stopped much ahead of anticipated braking distance! It dented car bonnet along with my confidence for time being

Mind you it happened inspite of my awareness about hydroplaning etc. So make sure you accurately appreciate the challenges thrown by rain
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Old 15th June 2017, 19:35   #459
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

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Originally Posted by dghosh80 View Post
Thank you GTO, NC & others for drafting these tips, very useful and timely. I am surprised with the tip that rubbing tobacco on the windscreen helps in improving visibility, thank you for sharing.
Yes, its an old but a very useful trick. Tobacco actually works much better than many professional cleaning solutions available in the market today.

However, please be aware that you might be mistaken for a smoker/tobacco chewer and if your parents/spouse see the pack in your car's glove-box, then God help you...
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Old 15th June 2017, 23:40   #460
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains



Guys i am having trouble similar to this. The wipers are leaving a haze after wiping which takes a few seconds to evaporate. Was using proklear washer fluid but have stopped now. I also tried cleaning with mild dish washing soap but of little help. Any suggestions ? The haze conditions makes guesswork out of night driving. Have tried hot cold options on the ac but no effect.

Last edited by sumeethaldankar : 15th June 2017 at 23:44.
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Old 15th June 2017, 23:41   #461
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

Thank you for sharing such vital information. Specially for some parts of India that get special attention when it cones to yearly rain received most of the points you mentioned needs to be followed mandatorily.
Few things I try and follow.
Where the speed could be Xkmph in dry conditions, make it (X-20)kmph if its raining no matter what.
If your car has awd,part time 4wd, full time 4wd , ensure to use that with traction control, if your car has safety goodies, use all of them. For duster awd , I prefer driving in auto and not 2wd when it's raining.
Be super careful of water logging specially at night and on a 4 lane, there is a very high chance the way road is designed with slanted surfaces towards the divider, thats where puddles are formed and thats where hydroplaning happens and one can loose control.
I have seen manufacturers and owners pay no attention to fog lapms, a powerful set of foglamps during heavy rain can make your day and the drive easy.
If the drive is over slush, mud is bound to accumulate on the fog and the headlights, take the time to clean up atleast the glasses of all the lights before night drive.
No matter how powerful (lumens) you headlights pump the refractive index of road changes drastically after rain and on newly laid roads you feel like you are driving without headlights, in my duster i have switched to LEDs and I feel the visibility with white light (5800-6000 kelvin) lights is a tad bit better than halogens.

Last edited by ARAY : 15th June 2017 at 23:42.
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Old 16th June 2017, 01:47   #462
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

Quote:
Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar View Post
Guys i am having trouble similar to this. The wipers are leaving a haze after wiping which takes a few seconds to evaporate. Was using proklear washer fluid but have stopped now. I also tried cleaning with mild dish washing soap but of little help. Any suggestions ? ... ... ...
Mine are:

1. Clean/polish your glass with a cream glass polish, not just a regular liquid cleaner. I've been usiong Auto-Glym since for ever. I just got some CarPro CeriGlass, which, if used on a polishing machine, will actually take out small faults from the glass. I don't have a machine: I just expect to use it as a slightly more aggressive cleaner. Clean your wipers as well as your glass.

2. Replace your wipers.
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Old 19th June 2017, 20:24   #463
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

Thanks GTO and other fellow BHPians for the timely intervention for the forth coming rainy season. The detailed check list is sure to save many lives if followed religiously. I am sure this will help many people to drive safe in the rains at least for me this is a bible for rains.

Drive safe, save lives

Thanks
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Old 28th June 2017, 00:03   #464
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

Quote:
Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar View Post

Guys i am having trouble similar to this. The wipers are leaving a haze after wiping which takes a few seconds to evaporate. Was using proklear washer fluid but have stopped now. I also tried cleaning with mild dish washing soap but of little help. Any suggestions ? The haze conditions makes guesswork out of night driving. Have tried hot cold options on the ac but no effect.
This was solved by using Sonax windshield washer fluid and Sonax glass cleaner. No more hazy conditions at night.
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Old 1st July 2017, 12:11   #465
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re: Safe Driving in the Rains

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Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar View Post
This was solved by using Sonax windshield washer fluid and Sonax glass cleaner. No more hazy conditions at night.
Unfortunately the problem came right back the next day (night actually). On the first night of applying the Sonax cleaner it was raining heavily. The water combined with the effects of the cleaner did a good job of keeping the windshield clean however the second time when it was not raining as much and i had to use the windshield spray to remove the muck kicked in by other vehicles I found the haziness had come back again. The Sonax does help a bit. It clear's the effect fast while driving than before but I am unable to pin point the root cause. I have been using Formula 1 wash and wax to wax the car and use it on the glass as well. I had used it last 1-2 months ago. Can this application cause the haze effect ?
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