Imagine you had headed out for a picnic with your family over the weekend and now get stuck in bad weather condition. The first question that will arise in your mind is - now what do I do? Well, the best thing to do when the weather is bad is not driving at all but sometimes situations may turn ugly without any prior warning and you might have to go with the flow, then. Therefore, it is always best to be prepared in whatever way possible while engaging in bad weather driving.
Yes, you can take a lot of precautions and be extra careful while driving In the following article, safe driving tips for different types of bad weather have been discussed briefly.
Driving in snow and ice
If you stay in a place that is prone to snow, you should probably take the following precautions while driving -- The fuel lines are the route for fuel to enter your car and keep your engine running. Ensure that they are not frozen at any time. Keep an eye out for it.
- Before starting your journey, remove whatever snow that may have accumulated on top of the car.
- The taillights and headlights might get a little foggy or damaged. Check it out and sweep it once before commencing for the long journey.
- While on the road, always keep a lookout for trucks and other big vehicles.
- Keep an emergency kit handy all the time for an unfavorable situation. A scraper can be used to remove ice from your path. Keep a flashlight with spare batteries and warm clothing like a blanket and gloves, in case you have to stop for some reason. A first-aid kit is also an important inclusion in case someone gets injured on the road.
Driving in the rain
This is the most commonly encountered bad weather that might catch you completely off-guard as the predictability of it is very less. However, despite everything, if you do have to drive in the torrential rain, here are a few points that you should keep in mind.- The tread marks on the tires of your car should be proper so that it provides proper traction against slippery roads. Check for the inflation of the tires as well.
- In case you notice a pool of water accumulated at one place or water flowing down the road at high speed, try to avoid it as much as possible.
- Keep the local radio station on and if they predict about thunderstorms along with the rain, it is a good idea to stop for a while and let it pass, for the sake of your own and others' safety.
- When it rains, the sky generally becomes covered in grey and black clouds. Thus, it becomes pretty dark which gets exaggerated at night. A car night vision system is going to be of immense help here. Some cars of the latest build and technology do come with this feature internally but they tend to be above the budget of common men. An external night vision system is equally proficient in doing the job and one company that has recently stood out from the rest is the Lanmodo. Lanmodo Vast Pro car night vision device works well in nighttime and rainy as well as foggy day. It produces HD full-color image displaying on the big IPS screen. The range of the cameras is close to 300 meters and they have an angle of 45 degrees to focus. The color and clarity is a phenomenon and you get a clear image of what lies ahead and thus you can drive safely in the rain without having any worry.
Driving under the scorching sun
This is generally encountered in the places situated near the equator where the Sun is directly overhead. The direct rays may sting your eyes and make seeing difficult. Having UV sunglasses is a must in this situation. Other than that, cross-ventilation by keeping windows open and replenishing fluids are two other precautions that you should take.
Driving in the fog
Cars have additional fog lights to assist in such a weather condition and you should use them when necessary. If the visibility is really low, you should drive really slowly and keep honking at regular intervals.
Driving when a strong wind is blowing
The first thing you need to do in such a scenario is get away from construction sites and trees as the chances of an accident are the maximum here. Keep windows and sunroof closed tightly. Stop for a while in a safe place when the weather seems to get out of control.
Like mentioned before, avoiding driving in all of the above situations is the best thing to do. However, if it is completely unavoidable, follow the above mentioned tips and be safe.
