Dangerous driving and poor weather are everyday occurrences. It is essential to take precautions for safe driving in severe weather, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and heavy rain or snow. When a major storm is expected to hit your area, it’s best to postpone your journey and stay indoors rather than get behind the wheel. However, if you are still planning to go for it, follow these tips for a safe drive.
Develop the Right Attitude
Teenagers’ vehicle accidents are often caused by their immaturity and lack of experience rather than by their talent. Make it a point to change to more moral and responsible driving habits. As a driver, you are responsible for more than three thousand pounds of fast metal, and you owe it to yourselves, other drivers, and yourself to drive it safely at all times.
Inspect Your Windshield Washers and Wipers
If your windshield washers freeze due to the extreme cold, you don’t need to worry about having enough wash for your windscreen. Make sure the windshield and water jets are defrosted. Dull blades will leave smears and obscure your vision. When you use your windshield wipers, you should check the blades to ensure they are in good condition and the windscreen to clear properly.
An important step in this regard is to turn on your headlights along with the wipers. See the full guide in the video below.
Control Your Nerves
Stormy driving conditions are terrifying. Keeping cool can help you make the best decisions even if you’re agitated. Act wisely! If you panic you may overestimate a danger where your actions can prove counterproductive. So be calm, don’t use your phone, and keep an eye on other cars. If others are not moving something is wrong ahead. So, stop and follow what the majority of others are doing.
In Case of Any Accident
But accidents do happen; we know that. In case of any injury, contact the attorney. The attorneys are prepared to assist you in the event of an automobile accident. According to The Barnes Firm, a team of highly experienced Brooklyn injury lawyers, “The cause of weather-related accidents is impossible to predict, so having a skilled attorney on your side is crucial.” The attorneys are here to help you get the answers you need, whether from an uncooperative insurance company or a question of fault in an accident.
Use Low Beams
This is one of the most ignored pieces of advice in bad weather. Drivers think they will get better visibility with the high beam on, which is insane.
What these drivers don’t know is that their enhanced visibility is at the cost of all other drivers’ visibility.
So, when driving in fog, whether night or day, turn on your headlights (but just the low beams, not the high beams). Your vehicle’s low beams serve more than simply those purposes. In dense fog, you may only be able to see objects in your path once they are dangerously near. As a result, you should drive more slowly and establish a safe distance from the car ahead. When driving in fog, stay to the right to prevent veering into oncoming traffic.
Radio Volume
Source: shopstreetsmart.com
This may not be necessary if you know how the weather behaves at this time of the year, otherwise if you’re new to a route tune into the radio for the latest updates on the weather.
Maintain a comfortable listening volume and tune the radio to a station that broadcasts current traffic reports so that it is not a source of driving distraction for you.
The station may advise on other routes or inform you of road and other closures. Keep the volume down, so it doesn’t interfere with your ability to pay attention behind the wheel in hazardous weather.
Don’t Speed
In keeping with the preceding rule, you should reduce your speed even more while driving in the rain. This will make the roads safer and prevent skidding.
Speeding up is not only dangerous for others but for yourself as well on clear roads. That’s because you won’t be able to stop the car when desired or you will skid badly.
Use the Car’s Features for Optimal Control
Automobile makers have used technologies to improve vehicles’ stability and control in hazardous circumstances. Examples include telematics, anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, traction control, four-wheel drive, active body control, freeze detectors, fluid level monitors, and more.
Source: freightnews.co.za
Certain features become “active” while driving, but others must be activated manually. You need to know how to use things like anti-lock brakes effectively. If you want your anti-lock brakes to work, you need to keep pressing down steadily. It would be best if you didn’t use extra stopping force.
Hold on Tight
Always use seat belts, both for yourself and your passengers. It’s not just the law in many places; it might also save your life if you’re on the road during a storm.
If you’re tired, it’s best to stop somewhere safe and far from the road so that you can close your eyes and rest. Stopping for a moment is safer than continuing, so don’t feel guilty about the “lost” time. If the weather worsens, it may be best to find a safe place to pull off the road and wait out the storm. Be careful not to walk into a deep puddle or a snowbank if the terrible weather accompanies heavy snowfall.
Cell Phones for Emergencies
Using a mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle is one of the riskiest behaviors a person can participate in. Only in case of extreme need should you maintain a telephone in your car. Please pull over to the side of the road and park your vehicle if you need to use your mobile phone while driving.
Keep Yourself and Others Safe on the Road
Source: melvillemazda.com.au
You should prioritize safety while shopping for an automobile. Stay away from little cars and opt for larger vehicles like SUVs and trucks. Truck and automobile safety ratings may be found in government data and consumer reports.
