Learn to Drive in Adverse Weather

When driving down a tree lined avenue and the sun is shining through the trees it is like driving with a strobe light flashing in your eyes, it can seriously affect your ability to see properly. Take extra care when emerging at junctions where the sun is shining directly into your eyes. Keep all your windows and mirrors clean both in and out to give you a clear view both front and behind. Remember heat build up in the car can make you drowsy, let some air or use the A/C.Hot sun may cause tarmac to soften, this may lead to lack of steering control. If it has been hot and dry for a while and then there is a rain shower this may make the surface slippy because of oil and fuel build-up on the road surface.

RAIN.1st thing, remember your stopping distance has increased, check it out! Observation can be real problem, you have rain on all your windows and mirrors, run your fan or the A/C to prevent misting inside. If the light has been reduced put on your dipped headlights and at night problems increase due to headlights spraying light everywhere. Ensure you are not tailgating and if you feel like you are floating you are probably aquaplaning slow down by easing off the gas so that your gets a grip again.

It is much more difficult to assess speed and distance day or night. Remember that other drivers cannot stop as quickly also. Always ensure you do not ‘chance it’, better too wait those few extra seconds. Again, day or night light shine will tend to make road markings invisible, and if you cannot see them, neither can others. Do not copy the stupid people, leave your fog lights OFF! Keep your washer bottle full.

WIND. A million dead wheelie bins, trees that cannot stand up any more, carrier bags looking for a nice windscreen to land on, watch out for Mary Poppins’ umbrella coming straight for you, cyclists auditioning for a circus job, slim young ladies walking with building bricks in their pockets to hold them down, all this and more is an ever present danger when driving in the wind. Beware when overtaking a big truck on the open road when there could be serious side winds waiting to blow you off course when you pass them. Gaps in hedges or houses may cause sudden gusting and blow you sideways.

Remember. Give plenty of room both front and sides to everyone (2 wheeled vehicles especially) and if the winds are really serious, go home and have a cuppa.

FOG. Now we are talking dodgy. ALWAYS DRIVE AT A SPEED THAT ALLOWS YOU TO STOP WELL WITHIN THE DISTANCE YOU CAN SEE TO BE CLEAR! If it means 3 miles an hour, so be it. DIPPED headlights. Full beam lights will create a white wall, even in thin fog. USE FOG LIGHTS front and rear. If seeing distance is more than 100 metres turn off the fog lights. When you are in a queue (at traffic lights for example) switch off your headlights to conserve battery power, (be a green person).

DO NOT drive on top of the tail lights of the car in front.-DO NOT drive on the white line, that’s what the stupid person coming the other way is doing! Your front fog lights are designed to see the white line without driving on it. Keep off the motorway if you can, you are surrounded by fools, where do you think pile-ups come from? Keep your windows clean with your wash-wipe facility. Be aware fog drifts so obey the fog warning signs even if you cannot see fog at that time.

Where possible park off the road. When emerging and you cannot see, open your windows so that you can hear, when you are as sure as you can be it is safe, nip off smartly (moving targets are more difficult to hit). Make sure you fully understand the meaning of all road markings, they feed you information that will help to keep you alive! When driving in fog keep your eyes moving so that you are not staring at the same spot in front of you. Remember, the best place to stare at fog is from behind your living room window.

SNOW/ICE. The only place to be in the snow is the garden, building a snowman. However, you can get caught out while travelling to work or home. Remember, before bad weather starts check the car has anti-freeze in the engine cooling water Across the frost period add special anti-freeze to your windscreen washer bottle. Always remember your stopping distance, up to 10 times when it’s slippy!

If you are going to drive and you know there is a possibility of a lot of snow take food; sarnies, chocolate, water. hot drink, Bananas. thermal blanket, a hat, a small shovel, an old blanket (to put under your driving wheels if you get stuck) they give great traction. Make sure the car has plenty of fuel. When driving in snow change to the next highest gear as soon as you think the car will take it in order to reduce power levels to the driving wheels. If you spin the wheels too much the car will dig 4 holes.

If you get stuck try setting off in 2nd gear instead of 1st with careful control over the clutch, don’t forget of course there is a shovel in the car. When driving think and plan well in front especially when approaching junctions, a good driver would drive so as to avoid using the brakes when arriving at junctions, try to keep rolling very slowly and carefully to avoid having to stop. If you get into a slide remember to steer into it to bring the car back to a straight line but never pull fiercely on the wheel, use all pedals with great care. If the oncoming vehicle is sliding toward you and the only escape is into someone’s garden, offer to cut the grass. Anything is better than hitting a moving vehicle head on.

Nigel Masters is a professional writer working with http://www.clearpassdoncaster.co.uk who provide driving tuition in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.