Driving Safely in the Rain

There’s no question that rain makes road surfaces slippery, especially as it first starts to rain. Not only does the rain affect our traction, but also our visibility. Being prepared, both physically and mentally to drive in rainy conditions will help us all become safer drivers.

Hydroplaning

The more it rains, the less the tires contact the road. If there happens to be too much standing water on the road or if you are going too fast, your tires may ride on top of the water’s surface, something like what water skis will do. This is often referred to as hydroplaning. When this happens, vehicle control can become very difficult. Ensure you have good tires with deep treads, and slow down when the road is wet are all good advice, but let’s understand hydroplaning a little more.

The reality of hydroplaning is that this layer of water causes the driver to temporarily lose the ability to steer and brake effectively. What confuses some people is how that can happen when you weren’t accelerating or braking at the time. It can happen quite easily and quickly.

Temporary Loss of Traction

When water begins to pool on the road surface, it can cause the vehicle’s tires to float or surf on top of the water. This will cause a temporary loss of traction. There does not have to be a lot of water on the road for this to happen. Hydroplaning can happen if the tread depth of the tires is worn out or if the water level appears to be deeper than the depth of the tire tread. This will mean the tread of the tire can’t disperse the water out of the way soon enough to help the tires maintain traction with the road surface.

You may notice this happen often if you’re changing your driving actions or if you’re driving too fast for the wet road conditions. As an example, a sudden acceleration or jerking of the steering may cause you to feel a lack of response from the vehicle during the braking or steering input. If this does happen, there are a few things you can do to help you regain traction once again.

Ease off the Accelerator

If hydroplaning of your vehicle was caused by having too much speed, all you need to do is to ease off the accelerator, which will allow the engine to slow the speed of the vehicle naturally and gradually. Applying the brakes to the wheels which have very little traction won’t do much for you. If you’ve steered toward a curve or turn and felt the vehicle not respond to the steering input, gently and smoothly steer back to allow the wheels to remain straight while easing off the accelerator. This will often help the wheels to rotate better and will help the water to be channeled through the tread much more efficiently, which can help you regain traction on the road surface once again. Once you feel you’ve regained more traction, you can gently apply the brakes to help maintain control of the vehicle. It would be a good idea to abandon the turn and go around the block instead of trying to make that ill-advised turn.

Inspect Each of Your Tires

There happen to be a few proactive ways that you can prevent your vehicle from hydroplaning in these conditions. The first thing to do is to inspect each of your tires. Having a good tread depth is a big factor in maintaining traction on the road. It would be wise to check your tires in more places than one to ensure you have an even wear pattern. Each of the tires should have a minimum tread depth of 1/16th of an inch or 1.5 mm for the rear tires and 1/8th of an inch or 3 mm on the front tires. Less depth than that and the tire won’t be able to disperse the water quickly enough to help maintain traction. Keep in mind that those are minimum tread depths. The deeper the tread depth, the better it is.

Having properly inflated tires can also make a difference on wet roads. Under-inflated or over-inflated tires may mean that not all the tread is contacting the road surface. It can be tough for the tread to do its job when only two-thirds of the tread is actually contacting the road surface. It would also become a good habit of checking your tire pressure regularly, but do it on a cold tire. A cold tire is a tire that has not been driven for a few hours. The air in the tire expands after the vehicle has been driven a short distance.

Reduced Visibility

Since the rain also reduces visibility, remember to drive slowly enough to be able to stop within the distance you can see ahead of your vehicle. Ensure your windshield wipers are in good condition as well. If your wiper blades do not clean the windshield without streaking, it would be a good time to replace them.

Look Ahead and Plan Your Movements

In rainy conditions, look ahead and plan your movements. Smooth steering, braking, and acceleration will help to reduce the chance of having any type of skids. It would be a good idea to leave more space between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead of you in case you have to stop quickly. This will also help you to avoid the spray coming from the vehicle ahead of you, which can make it even harder for you to see.

Avoid Driving in Large Puddles

If you can, avoid driving in large puddles. A puddle can hide a pothole, which could damage your vehicle or the vehicle’s suspension. It may even cause a flat tire. The spray of water from the puddle could obstruct the vision of other motorists and result in a possible collision, cause harm to a nearby pedestrian, or even drown your engine, causing the engine to stall. Water may also cause your brakes to become less effective.

Drive According to the Conditions

The last thing to remember is to drive according to the conditions. Reduce speed early before making any turns or before going around sharper curves. Reduce your speed slightly when you notice a lot of pooling water on the road. If you notice a lot of excess water being sprayed by vehicles ahead of you, you may also want to reduce speed early. Keeping your focus on safe driving can make driving in the rain very manageable.

Before you hit the road, enhance your understanding of road signs, traffic laws, and safe riding techniques with the Saudi Driving License Practice Test. This is an effective and straightforward way to prepare for the exams and ensure you drive safely.