Our top safety tips on driving in the rain

The UK is known for its rainy weather and unfortunately, it comes in the most unexpected downpours. If you are not a confident driver, this can be extremely scary when you’re behind the wheel, your vision can become unclear, with a misty windscreen and flooded roads and although our vehicles are great for keeping us dry you want to also feel safe, it is important to know how to handle your car during these wet weather conditions, especially as we approach colder nights which, unfortunately often comes with wetter weather. 

Speed check 

Our first tip is to check your speed, if the conditions are wet this will impact your cars tyres as the roads will likely have some slip to them. Ensure that you’re speed is lowered and that you keep a good distance between yourself and other cars around you. Due to the slip on the roads, your braking will not be as sharp as it is on dry roads. 

Know your route

When making a journey in the rain, it’s always good to know your route beforehand. The UK has many country roads that can often become flooded, you don’t want to have to change your route due to this mid-journey and most of all, you won’t want to cause severe damage to your vehicle by driving into a flooded area. Following on from this tip, when you approach a flooded area, don’t assume that your car can easily skim over it, you may find that it is a lot deeper than you expected, causing you to have a very costly bill as the outcome. If you cannot see the end of the flooded area, it’s simply not worth the risk. 

If you know that the flooded area is shallow enough and safe enough for your car to travel through, keep a steady, slow speed throughout the water to avoid any damage to your car. 

Test your brakes 

When travelling through flooded areas, or through heavy showers, it’s imperative that you test your brakes after. Water can have a lot of damage on a car, so before you speed up again, ensure your brakes are in a good working condition. 

Know your limits

When it rains, it pours so it’s always a good thing to admit defeat and simply pull over into a safe, visible space and simply wait for the showers to pass over. If you find yourself unable to see the road ahead, don’t continue to drive. 

Run the checks 

Finally, before you head off run a few checks over your car so you know you will have a safe journey ahead. 

• Look over your tyre treads, are these balding? You will have significantly less grip on the roads in dry and wet conditions if your tyres are balding and will need to have these replaced asap. 
• Are your windscreen wipers in a good working order?
• Are your headlights both working and clear?
• Double check your ventilation, due to rain causing humidity within cars, you’ll need to have a good working ventilation to help clear this and keep a strong vision when driving. 

If you feel like your car could do with a service to get ready for the winter months, call us today or book online. It is better to have a safe vehicle for each season than deal with the unexpected.