February - Tailgate Tips: Rainy Day Driving

Tailgate Tips: Rainy Day Driving

February 2006

Winter is with us once again and we can never be careful enough in inclement weather. Although we don’t have a lot of snow and ice in our weather patterns, we do have our share of wet driving weather. In wet and stormy weather, it is more difficult to see oncoming motorist, read road signs and to see the road itself.

The following are some tips for rainy driving that we all are familiar with, but a “memory jogger” may help prevent an accident:

• Slow down! It takes longer to stop and adjust speeds in wet conditions.
• Stay on the middle lanes. Water tends to pool up on the outside lanes.
• Maintain proper distance—increase your distance in wet conditions.
• Follow the tracks of the car ahead of you.
• Maintain a safe distance from trucks and busses; they create a spray that reduces your vision.
• Be more alert in wet or slippery conditions. Watch out for brake lights in front of you. Avoid using your brakes when possible and let off of the accelerator to slow down.
• Before the heavy rainy season, check for broken or brittle wiper blades.
• Never drive beyond the limits of your visibility. Wet roads at night with oncoming lights, enhanced by the rain can caused a decrease in your visibility and increases driver fatigue. Also rainy nights make it harder to spot livestock or deer on the road and is much harder to avoid them.
• Turn on your headlights in wet, foggy or gloomy conditions.
• Obviously, they don’t help you see the road that much better, but other drivers can see you more readily.
• Never drive through moving water, unless you can see the ground.
• Slow down when it is necessary to drive through puddles of water, you don’t know the depth. If it is up to the bottom of your doors, turn around and find another route.
• Avoid splashing pedestrians.
• If possible, don’t drive during thunderstorms or lightning, it tends to blind you and cause disorientation. Also, the wind can cause you to loose control of your vehicle.
• Check your tires periodically. Bald or slick tires significantly reduce your traction and hydroplaning can occur.
• At intersections, watch for oily spots. Rain is more dangerous when a rain follows a long dry spell, because the surface becomes slick and smooth. Be extra careful when it first starts, as well. It takes a while for the rain to wash off the oil and dust residue.
• Refrain from using your “cruise control,” for obvious reasons, you have no control.

HYDROPLANING

Hydroplaning occurs when water accumulates in front of your tires faster than your car can push it away. It rides on the layer of water like a water ski and you have very little control because your tires are losing contact with the road.

Hydroplaning usually occurs at speeds of above 40 mph.

There are 3 main factors that contribute to hydroplaning:

• Vehicle speed- As your speed increases, traction decreases. Since we know that traction decreases and we lose control, we should always reduce our speed and pay attention to the traffic around us.
• Tire tread depth- The less tread the tires have on them, the harder it is to control the hydroplaning.
• Water depth- The deeper the water, the sooner you will lose traction. However, thin layers of water can cause you to lose traction even at slower speeds.

Hydroplaning occurs when the tire meets the water. It must move the water away from the tire for it to remain in contact with the road. All the water can’t be moved aside, so some of it moves through the tire tread. With good tire treads; a moderate rate of precipitation, and a well-drained roadway, hydroplaning rarely occurs under 55 mph. However, if any of these conditions are slack, it can occur at speeds as low as 35 mph.

VARIABLES THAT CAUSE HYDROPLANING

• Tire size- The wider the tread, the more speed it takes to affect a hydroplane.
• Tire tread pattern – Certain types of treads are better than others, as they channel more water through them.’
• Tire pressure- Maintain the manufacturer’s recommended tire pressure.
• Water depth – the deeper the water, the sooner you’ll lose traction.
• Water composition – Dirt, oil, temperature, salt all will affect the traction.
• Vehicle speed – As speed increases, wet traction is decreased. So the logical deduction is slow down in wet conditions.
• Vehicle weight – the lighter the vehicle, the more prone it is to hydroplane.
• Road surface – Smooth or non-grooved surfaces are more likely to cause hydroplaning than grooved or rough surfaces.

Remember that there two things to definitely avoid, if you feel a hydroplane happening. Do not apply your brakes and do not turn the steering wheel.

BE SAFE; NOT SORRY!
BE AWARE ~ BE ALERT ~BE ALIVE!

Excerpts:smartmotorist.com 11/8/2005

Ted Gordon is the Risk Management/Loss Control Manager for the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. His office is located in the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center, in Verona, MS. His telephone number is 662-566-2201.