Driving in the rain can create hazardous conditions for drivers, and with rainy weather being a standard part of life in the UK, it's important to know how to drive safely in the rain. Reduced visibility, trickier handling, and increased stopping distances are just a few examples of how wet weather makes time behind the wheel that bit more difficult.
However, these conditions shouldn't significantly delay or put a stop to your journey altogether. With the right preparation, you'll be able to tackle the rain with complete confidence and control, enhancing the safety of each and every journey. In this article, we've highlighted some straightforward methods to help with driving in the rain.
- Preparing to drive in the rain
- Tips for driving in heavy rain
- How to drive through floods and deep puddles
- What to do if you break down in the rain
- What to do if you have an accident in the rain
- Other frequently asked questions
Preparing to drive in the rain
The first step to any journey should be to ensure you and your vehicle are adequately prepared for the road ahead. Wet weather in particular comes with unique challenges, but proper preparation can help to ensure you can handle these challenges, or avoid them entirely.
- Plan your route: Before you set off, make sure to check your route. There may be road closures, significant traffic build up, or other hazards that navigation apps will inform you of. This way, you're able to avoid unforeseen surprises and delays. You'll also want to check the weather for the duration of your route, if the rain is forecast to ease or get worse, you may be able to strategically plan rest stops during more challenging periods.
- Check your vehicle: Safety should always be the absolute priority, and neglecting your vehicle's maintenance can lead to problems, particularly in harder driving conditions. Key elements include:
- Tyres: Do they have adequate levels of tread, and are they in good overall condition?
- Lights: Do all of your lights operate as required, including headlights, dipped lights, hazard lights and indicators?
- Window wipers: Ineffective window wipers can greatly reduce visibility, leading to increased risk of accidents and collisions.
- Brakes: Damp or wet conditions can lead to reduced braking performance. Test your brakes early in your journey to ensure they're operating as expected.
- Other general elements: Components such as body panels, air conditioning, and engine parts can have significant impacts during trickier driving conditions, so it's important you keep your vehicle in a generally good condition. Look after your car and your car will look after you.
- Prepare a wet weather kit: Imagine this; your car breaks down during a downpour and you're left stranded with a dead mobile phone, no waterproof coat, and no way of being rescued. Nightmare, right? By preparing a wet weather kit in advance, you can ensure you're well prepared, should the worst happen. Consider packing an umbrella, warm waterproof clothing, a portable phone charger, and breakdown cover details, as well as breakdown kits to improve the visibility of your stranded vehicle for other road users.
- Be prepared to stop entirely: In certain weather conditions, the wisest choice is to stop at a safe space and wait for the weather to pass. Driving in times with severely reduced visibility or extremely challenging road conditions can be a significant safety risk, and a short wait can make a big difference.
Tips for driving in heavy rain
Lighter showers or periods of rain pose their own challenges, but heavier downpours come with significant challenges that need consideration.
The first tip is to drive to the road's conditions. This could mean travelling at a lower speed so you can detect and avoid hidden potholes, large puddles and other hazards before they cause any damage. Driving smoothly can also help; where possible, identify hazards in advance, and be smooth with both your acceleration and deceleration. Stamping on the brakes can cause aquaplaning and skidding, which could result in loss of control.
Using your car's features and functions as intended can also help you navigate trickier conditions. As mentioned in the previous section, use your wipers and demisters effectively. Adjust the wiper speed to match the intensity of the rain, use the front and rear demisters or defog setting, and set your air conditioning to a suitable level to ensure your vision remains unrestricted.
Finally, consider the actions of other road users, and assume they haven't completed the same level of preparation you have. Leave plenty of space between you and the vehicle ahead, utilise hazard warning lights to notify other road users of issues, and correctly use indicators and the correct head/tail lights to provide maximum visibility of your vehicle. Proactive driving, where you prepare for the worse case scenario, rather than reactive driving, helps to maintain optimal safety at all times.
How to drive through floods and deep puddles
Huge puddles of standing water on the roads are common in heavy rain, and are often unavoidable. Many of us have seen videos of driver's hitting puddles at fast speeds in order to create the biggest splash possible, but driving too fast through them can be dangerous and cause damage to your car, so it's good to know what you can do to safely get through them.
Large Puddles
- If you see a large puddle on the road, adjust your speed to one that's safe. This will ensure you maintain contact with the road, improving safety.
- You could also avoid driving through them where possible but only do this when it's safe to do so.
- If you begin to experience aquaplaning, lift off the accelerator, keep your steering wheel straight, and stay calm. Don't stamp on the brake, as this can cause the car to lose control altogether.
Fords and extremely deep puddles
- Size it up first. If the water is too deep, make your life easier by turning around and finding an alternative route.
- If you can safely drive through it, drop to a lower gear and keep your engine revs up. A lower gear will help keep your momentum going, so you can get through the puddle without flooding your engine.
- Slowly wade, rather than rushing through it. Water is much more resistant than air, and hitting water at fast speeds can damage components such as bodywork, or result in a flooded engine.
- Now you're safely on the other side, pause for a moment to let any extra water drain away, especially if the water was quite deep.
- You should also be aware that grip levels on the road ahead may be reduced as water from other cars has been dropped along the road, and braking performance may be reduced due to wet disks and pads.
What to do if you break down in the rain
Breaking down is stressful enough in perfect weather conditions, and a heavy downpour can be salt in the wounds. Breakdowns can actually be more common in wet weather, as certain components are more likely to fail due to water's effect on electrical systems. However, there are a number of tips that can make breakdowns much easier to deal with.
As previously mentioned, a well-prepared wet weather kit can ensure you remain dry and equipped to call for support. This could include an umbrella, waterproof coat, and portable mobile phone charger. If you breakdown on the motorway or select A roads, and your mobile phone is dead, there are SOS phones positioned at the roadside for you to use to call for support - these are orange phone boxes, marked by orange SOS signs.
While you wait for support, it's advise that you keep your bonnet closed in order to prevent water entering and damaging other components. If your engine has shut down completely, this could mean the engine has become hydrolocked; where water has fills an engine cylinder, preventing it from firing correctly.
Finally, maximise visibility of your stranded vehicle to the best of your ability. Keep your hazards on at all times, and place any hazard warning triangles you may have back up the road to notify other road users in advance.
What to do if you have an accident in the rain
In a similar vein to breaking down, having an accident or road traffic collision in wet conditions can really dampen the mood. But you'll need to act in the proper manner to ensure the situation is resolved without further incident.
Much like any other road collision, the first thing to do is to ensure all involved parties are safe. If there are injuries or individuals are acting aggressively, call the emergency services using 999 and ask for assistance. If there are no injuries and all parties are cooperative, a call to the non-emergency helpline (101) is still recommended, as traffic officers may still be required to properly manage the flow of traffic around the incident - you'll also receive a police incident number for insurance purposes.
Ensure you properly utilise the recommended wet weather kit too, to ensure you remain comfortable while resolving the issue. You'll have to get out of your vehicle, so a waterproof coat and portable mobile phone charger will ensure you remain dry and in contact with support and emergency services. Setting up hazard warning triangles and warning lights will also help to notify other road users of the issue.
Assuming everyone is in a safe place and uninjured, you should exchange insurance details with the other provider. You should take as many pictures as possible to give them the clearest picture possible of the incident, as this will help to establish fault. If the other party doesn't have sufficient insurance coverage, escalate the matter to the police. Once details have been exchanged, recovery services should be contacted if the vehicle is unsafe to operate - they should help you with travel to your next, or a safe, destination.
Other frequently asked questions
This entirely depends on your specific scenario, as exact road conditions can make stopping distances vary. The general rule of thumb is double the usual following distance, as this gives you additional time to detect and react to incidents up ahead.
Wet weather can cause increased levels of condensation, and fogged windows delay the start of your journey. To clear them both quickly and effectively, there are a number of steps you can take, including:
- Using a demister pad or to wipe your windows clear, or a car dehumidifier to remove excess humidity proactively.
- Utilise your car's features, such as maximum fan and heat settings, as well as heated windscreens, if your car has one. Many modern cars come with 'vehicle preconditioning', which allows you to control features such as air conditioning prior to getting in your vehicle.
- If weather conditions allow, open your window slightly to let humid air escape the cabin.
Squeaking window wipers typically represent worn or ineffective wipers. The good news is that this is a relatively cheap and straightforward fix that many drivers can do themselves. Most wipers simply detach using a clip system, so it's as simple as buying a replacement and swapping them out. If you're unsure, there are professionals that can support with this task, and that support doesn't come at a huge premium.
It's very important you swap your window wipers out in good time, as reduced visibility can lead to increased risk. As soon as squeaking occurs, use that as a sign to replace the wipers.
During periods of wet weather, the same rules of the road apply, but there are select elements that become even more important:
- Speed and Control: You should remain in complete control of your vehicle at all times, and it is your responsibility to ensure you are driving to the road's conditions. Failing to do so could result in driving penalties and at-fault claims, should you be involved in an accident, and a claim of 'there was a big puddle' will not be accepted as a valid excuse.
- Use of headlights: It's likely that the reduced level of visibility will require you to use your headlights and main beams. However, due to reflections of surface water, improper use can easily dazzle other road users and result in collisions. Ensure you are using your vehicle's lighting systems as intended and are considerate of other road users. Once the rain has passed, ensure you set your lights back to suitable levels.
- Pedestrian splashing: Some may see it as a bit of fun, but the pedestrian most certainly won't. Under Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1998, driving through a puddle and soaking a pedestrian can be classified as driving without reasonable consideration, which could land you with a fine of up to £5,000.
- Vehicle maintenance: This is always important, but even more so in trickier conditions, as insufficient tread depth can increase the likelihood of aquaplaning and loss of control. If you're stopped by a police officer and they find discrepancies with your vehicle, it could be seized and you may receive further penalties.
Staying safe in the rain
Driving in the rain can be daunting, but with these handy tips, you should feel much more prepared for the next time you need to brave the wet weather. Ensuring that your vehicle is fully functioning is important for driving in heavy rain, and you can book a vehicle health check at your local Evans Halshaw dealership to ensure it's ready for the inconsistent British weather.
For more car maintenance information and handy driving guides, go to our blog section, which is regularly updated with new information and advice.
