It can be easy for motorists to forget that, when bad weather hits, adjustments need to be made both their vehicles and driving techniques to ensure safe driving. This article has tips which can help.

If you are used to driving during good weather, like when the sun is shining and the roads are dry, then it can be difficult to understand just how affecting bad weather can be to your driving and safety on the roads. After all, if you don’t have to drive in bad weather often then all you know is good-weather driving.

Small Adjustments Which Can Help You to Stay Safe During Bad Weather

If you aren’t used to driving during bad weather and could use a few tips on the matter to help keep you and your passengers safe on the road, below is a great post from Jim Ackney which can help.

Brake Earlier

How quickly your car can come to a complete stop depends on a range of things, most importantly the condition of the road. When the roads are dry then your tires can easily grip and bring you to a quick stop. However, when there is the slightest amount of moisture or water on the ground, how quickly you can come to a controlled stop is greatly impacted. Even if your car has ABS (anti-lock braking system), it’s important to brake earlier than you usually would, such as when arriving at traffic lights or when maintaining a safe distance behind the car in front of you. Additionally, while you drive, along with paying attention to the car in front of you, also be aware of the car in front of it and the cars either side of you. If you can see that traffic around you is slowing, do the same. Even if the car in front of you hasn’t shown any signs of braking. This can help you to avoid an accident in front of you.

Be Sure to Indicate

As mentioned above, you will pay attention to the car in front of you, which includes watching how the car moves and also the indicators. Similarly, cars behind and around you will do the same, so be sure of two things.

1. Each time that you are considering changing lanes or turning a corner, be sure to indicate a few seconds earlier than you would, to give cars around you more time to accommodate you. If you are driving in wet weather, other cars will want to ensure they are maintaining a safe distance, and this can help.
2. Secondly, ensure that your car is showing your intentions. It’s all well-and-good if you are if you are using your indicators and brakes but it doesn't help if your car’s lights aren’t working. Take some time to check the lights around your vehicle and make sure they’re all working as they should be.

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Be the Driver

With so many automation features in modern cars, it can be difficult to know whether it’s you or the car driving. This can lead many motorists to become complacent and believe that the car will take of the task for them. The most commonly used feature is cruise-control. This features maintains a set speed and, depending on the system you have, can even adapt your speed so that you don’t get too close to the car in front of you. While this has its benefits, it causes motorists to take their feet off and away from the control pedals as they relax on long drives. The danger this causes is that, when it comes time to preventing or avoiding a collision, it takes a second extra for you to put your feet back on the pedals, potentially getting them stuck along the way. On dry roads, this may be okay, but when the roads are wet or icy, this extra second can be the difference between an accident avoided and one which you are involved in.

Correct Tire Inflation

How well you can avoid a potential collision depends on the grip your tires can get on the road. If your tires are under or over inflated then it can adversely affect your ability to maneuver your car on wet roads. The easiest way to make sure you are driving on the correct tire pressure is to head to your local gas station and check the tire-inflation tool display against what is printed on your tires. If any adjustments need to be made, be sure to complete them.

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