Vital tips for driving in heavy rain and floods
As most people are probably aware, heavy rain can come out of nowhere, with little warning, and cause serious problems on the road. It can even go as far as flooding, and can really test our best practice in road safety.
Although many people would have taken a theory test in order to pass the driving test, the majority probably would have forgotten vital statistics such as stopping distances when faced with heavy rain in real life.
According to the Guardian, flooding will be in the forecast as the water continues to rise. For our Get Road REDdy campaign, CEO of RED Driving School Ian McIntosh is sharing his tips on driving in the heavy rain and floods.
Stay back!
Keep double the distance between you and the car in front of you.
Remember that on wet roads it takes double the time to stop a car due to reduced friction between the tyres and road surface.
One at a time please…
When facing floods, let the car in front of you go first so you can tackle the water one at a time and keep at a slow and steady pace in the middle of the road.
Once you have got to the other side of the water, make sure you test your brakes are working fine and dry them off by tapping the brake with your left foot whilst accelerating with your right.
Did you know?
Few people would guess that just 6 inches of water can cause loss of control of a car and stalling due to water being sucked into the exhaust – just 30cm of flowing water is enough to wash a car away!
It is for this reason that flooded roads get closed off and it is vital not to ignore these warnings.
“Driving in bad conditions is fine so long as you are prepared and know how to handle them,” says Ian. “As with everyday life, situations that we are unfamiliar with can be daunting but if we are confident with our abilities we should remain safe.”
Got your own experiences driving in heavy rain and floods to share? Tell us how you stay safe on RED’s Facebook and Twitter. Don’t forget to pack your brellies, it’s going to be a wet one!
