It?s Raining, It?s Pouring? Put Your Lights on and Drive More Carefully!

Many articles will tell you that you have to “drive with more caution in the rain than usual”. This goes without saying, and if you cannot understand this, you should not be driving at all.

Here are some tips from Wise Wheels Car Rental in Cape Town about driving in the rain:

Don’t follow the two second rule

You must stay at least 2 – 3 seconds away from the car in front of you. Unless your reactions are very quick, it should be more than this – and if you are driving over 60kph, it must definitely be further back. By the time that you see the brake lights of the vehicle in front of you, he has already taken his foot off the accelerator and applied braking – all this while you have been accelerating.

Your’e going to be late

There are probably going to be delays on the road including flooded roads, robots (traffic lights) out of order, generally people driving like idiots. Leave earlier to make sure you are on time and don’t get stressed out.

Use floodlights on your car

Ok, this would be over-reacting! The point is to make yourself as visible as possible. This is to increase the likelihood that other people will see you far in advance and will be able to act accordingly.

Slamming on brakes

Putting your foot down hard on your brakes is going to cause trouble. Even if you have ABS braking, there is the possibility that your vehicle will skid uncontrollably. Brake lighter than you usually would in good conditions. This will be possible if you are keeping the correct following distance

Know what’s on your backside

If somebody is tailgating you, apply brakes lightly to indicate that they should back off. You may be safe from hitting the vehicle in front of you, but what people don’t think about is that its also their own responsibility to prevent any accident they may be involved in. Remember – even though the accident may not be your fault, you could still be hurt.

Get annoyed, get hurt

People drive badly on good days – on bad days they just get worse. You will just have to deal with this. Please remember that it does not matter how angry you are with a person on the road, or how much he or she is driving like a moron, it is YOUR DUTY to prevent an accident.

Remember, driving carefully is just the beginning.

David A Nurick

South Africa

Salvage Car Sale Buddies

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