Team-BHP - Safe Driving in the Rains

Quote:

Originally Posted by Visaster (Post 2824646)

If on the highway in heavy rain it is ok to use the hazard light thereby increasing your visibility on the road. (I have been in one and know how scary it is for not been spotted by a fellow driver before he bumps us)

We need to be extra careful about not-so-simple issues such as the use of hazard lights in rains. It does aid visibility but also carries the potential to bring disaster. Being part of this community, I'm sure that wanting to play one's natural part in making the roads saner and safer is one common objective we all share.

If one is used to seeing running vehicles with their hazard blinkers on, there is every chance of eventually running into a stranded, stationary vehicle with hazard lights blinking.

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Originally Posted by SupratikDebnath (Post 2823006)

It is not a good idea to use the hazard lights during rain. It might confuse the hell out of others! Anyways, this issue has been discussed time and again, across threads. Please read up a few of them for very logical reasons as to why this should not be done.

Completely in agreement with this. It's important that we take the effort to analyze and convince ourselves of the consequences of either practice (hazard lights on or off?).

Made a cardinal mistake today and my car paid the price for it.

I was driving thru' 2-laned, undivided NH3 today amidst torrential rain. While overtaking a truck, I drove thru' a huge pool of water. Now, I was at about 50 km/hr and the force with which water was thrown around loosened and ultimately pulled off 3 of the 4 screws that hold that small plastic arch above the tyre.

Not a good sight pulling it off.

Be careful while driving through a puddle of water for such loose things; among all the other imp. stuff discussed earlier.

Quote:

Originally Posted by skandyhere (Post 2833031)

I must confess that i was totally ignorant of the fact that driving with hazard lights in rain dangerous until i read this. Will never do it again. stupid:

However, I have a question. Shall we use the hazard lights in thick fog?

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Originally Posted by libranof1987 (Post 2833562)

It has happened to me quite a few times,and 2-3 times recently.
at times it is unavoidable in dark on a highway.
i am just wondering if it can cause any other damage other than just pulling a few screws apart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourabhzen (Post 2838761)

Shall we use the hazard lights in thick fog?

No, because rain or fog, the same problem persists. The point is, it's important for drivers to have a reliable method that warns them of one of the greatest dangers and largest killers on the road - a stationary vehicle either unexpectedly parked on the road or stranded in the middle of the road.

If the practice of using hazard lights while driving becomes widespread, it lulls drivers into complacency as one could well assume that the vehicle is moving and that the lights are blinking only for visibility. This assumption could prove fatal if what one encounters is indeed a stranded or parked vehicle.

Bottom-line is, if hazard lights are used for visibility, what reliable 'alarm indicator' would you have to let other drivers know that you're not moving? I have personally known of a number of accidents happening entirely due to this difficulty.

On the open road, when suddenly encountering bad visibility driving into heavy rain, fog, etc, a short duration of hazard warning is appropriate. You have encountered a hazard, and are warning of it. After that, as other posters have amply written, they should be turned off and the normal driving lights used.

Many cars have rear fog lights: they can be used in heavy rain too. The misuse of high-intensity rear fog lights, all too infuriatingly common in my mother country, is yet another story!

On the topic of driving in the rain with the hazard lights on, this is what happened yesterday.

At about 4 30pm its pouring cats & dogs on the Sealink. 4 of the 8 cars are driven with the hazard lights on. Thankfully due to the heavy rain cars were not driven as fast as they usually do. There is some sort of an accident involving a BMW 3series. I'm not sure whether the beemer got rear ended or whether it lost control & hit the raillings but the cars rear was in an absolute mess with debris fallen all over on 3 of the 4 lanes. Parts of the rear bumper, some bits of the boot,etc all lying around. Almost all the cars had to screech to a halt at the last moment including my own driver as they thought the cars were moving along, offcourse the brake lights did help but yeah the hazard lights were misleading!

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPS (Post 2839176)

Almost all the cars had to screech to a halt at the last moment including my own driver as they thought the cars were moving along, offcourse the brake lights did help but yeah the hazard lights were misleading!

Though didn't drove the car with HAZARD light ON even once, I never felt that to be of any problem until I read your post. Thanks for sharing

This switching on of the Hazard Lights during rains are really misleading. i saw it happening on a recent visit to Bombay and again yesterday when it was raining in Bangalore.
People ought to simply switch their headlamps on while driving in the rain and NOT their Hazard warning lamps!

Some people switch on their healamps in heavy rain in the daytime to make themselves visible. This blinds the oncoming traffic and also aids in poor visibility of the driver of the oncoming car. The best way is to switch on the fog lamps both front and rear.If foglamps are not present it is better to pull off the road and switch on hazard lamps as parking lights are not visible from a distance in extremely heavy rain. On older cars like ambassador and padmini driving in the rain is extremely dangerous as their lights are very dim.

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Originally Posted by 100kmph (Post 2841689)

In heavy rain you SHOULD switch on your headlights. It is wrong to think that switching on headlights blinds oncoming traffic. On the contrary, it aids in visibility (both of the driver and also makes your car more visible to other cars). Do not switch on high beam as that will blind oncoming traffic but low beam should be turned on. Fog lights can be turned on in addition. Also, pulling on the side of the road should be done only if the road is wide enough. Under any circumstance however, never drive in the rains with hazard lights on unless you actually have an emergency. This is a completely wrong practice that must be stopped immediately.

You are absolutely right and let me add stress...

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Do not switch on high beam as that will blind oncoming traffic but low beam should be turned on.

It will also reflect back off the rain and may matters worse for the driver too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 100kmph

On older cars like ambassador and padmini driving in the rain is extremely dangerous as their lights are very dim.

Why can't more people admit that some weather is just too bad for driving in at all, even in the most modern car? We have to adjust to the world, the world will not adjust to us --- and the kingdom inside our cars can be the hardest place to realise that.

On poorly-drained roads it takes very little rain to make driving dangerous. Sometimes we should just stay at home!

The Most "Pathetic" Non-safe driving that i have seen is my ex-company Indica cab with just the metal wiper arm (No blade) scratching the windshield, misty windscreen from inside (No AC Used) and swapping lanes at 60kmph in rains with almost bald tyres. :Frustrati

This may have been answered. I always have an issue of the outside of the windscreen getting misted only during wiper use in rain. It clears after a few seconds. Tried all methods, not able to rectify. Switching AC off mist the screen from inside.

I use colin to clean screen during non rainy season. Could that be the issue?

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Originally Posted by mail4ajo (Post 2842900)

Right - I agree - The cabbie was so bothered about mileage and loss compared to the risk of windscreen foggin by not using ACs. Switching on the AC would not have costed him much compared to the repair costs he would have to bear in case of an accident. :Frustrati