When it starts to rain, have you noticed that other drivers seem to be going faster, or at least driving at the same speed, not seemingly to have slowed down for the conditions. You are right to be wary of the wet.
The wet does need some additional thought. I am going to talk about as many things as I can to help give you more confidence in these conditions. After all
' dancing in the rain ' seems alright, but a pirouette in a car, is not much fun if done on the road. On a skid-pan it can be great fun, there is nothing to hit, and of course it is not your car.
Many students in the past, would understandably become apprehensive when conditions were wet. I would tell them that if they have this weather on the day of their, final drive, don't think “Oh no”, try to think positively, say to your self,
“ Thank you, I now have plenty to talk about in my commentary, and can justify steadying up, the whole drive.”
Now that I have mentioned commentary, let's talk a little about it and how it can help you to be safer in the wet. Many drivers think it is about saying what you see, yes, in some ways it is, but it should come out as what you are going to do about something that is coming up.
Here is a little piece of commentary that could help you in the wet.
Simple it might appear, It can be used again, and again, on wet days. Use it when turning out of a side-road, or leaving a roundabout.
"Mirror, waiting for my wheels to get straight, before I -------------firm up the drive ".
Say it as you are doing such a maneuver, you will find it difficult not to comply with those words. There is no harm in coming onto the gas steadily as you say the above words. Even if your wheels spin, just come back off the gas a little and immediately back on the gas with more subtlety. With your wheels straight you will not swerve all over the road. Once again, try this somewhere safe with no one about. Keep scanning your mirrors all the time whilst practicing this method even if you are off-road such as a quiet car park.
I will be dealing specifically with the Method / System of Car Control used by the Police, with examples of when and how to use commentary, built round that Method / System. I have been asked about commentary many times, so don't forget to look for that article.
There are many other places the above piece of commentary can be used, even in the dry. When driving a peoples carrier, or a car, you can use the above phrase to help with passenger comfort, and a top-heavy vehicles stability.
Away from commentary for now, lets look at more tips for driving in wet conditions.
Turn on your dipped head-lights, and if conditions are very bad, put on your high intensity lights. Often called fog-lights, so many drives will not put them on until there is fog - How strange is that?
The proper name for these lights as stated above is, 'High Intensity Lights', this is so that you can be seen in poor visibility. A guide to go by, look at vehicles well ahead, when their rear lights seem dim or not on, even though they are on. This should help the penny drop, if you cannot see the lights of vehicle up ahead, then drivers following you will probably not be able to see your normal lights. Put on the High Intensity Lights, and be seen.
Also on a sunny day, when I go through a shaded wood area, I switch on my dipped head lights, again on a very narrow road, with passing places, I do this to be seen earlier.
On a sunny day have you ever used your mirrors, just as you enter a tunnel. You will notice, that those following cannot be seen at all. Put your dipped head lights on about 50 meters back from the entry point of the tunnel.
Be seen, if others cannot see you they may move innocently, and without an indication, catching someone out. There is not a great deal of room in a motorway tunnel once it goes wrong, do not forget to turn the lights off after leaving the tunnel.
Back to water, where does water settle? In dips. Before going over a rise in the road, ease off, take a more flexible gear, maybe third, depending on your speed, then cover your brakes, until you see what is in the next dip.
This is anticipation, the secret behind all safe driving, at what ever speed. The faster you wish to go the earlier you have to start the System / Method. If you cannot position enough to see things earlier for the speed you are doing, slow down.
When there is nothing over the rise, do not dismiss this advice for other dips, it only needs one puddle to cause a lot of potential trouble. How deep is a puddle? How long is a piece of string.
If you cannot move away from the water over one of these dips, don't panic, brake and loose as much speed as you can, being subtle with your brake pedal.
An unsubtle snatching touch, could start a slide, initially beginning with a momentary lock up. Once on the pedal, apply pressure gently at first, then progressively firmer and firmer, never so firm as to induce a skid, practice on a clear, wet road. Remember to use your mirrors before you do this, continue to monitor them, make shore there is no one about.
As you are about to go through the water, take your feet off, yes off all the pedals, grip the steering wheel very tightly, with both hands and good strong bent arms 'Ten to Two'. Stay like this until you are through the water and back on a better surface. Make sure your thumbs are on but not through the steering wheel, should you hit anything while going through the water that jerks the steering hard you could break a thumb that is through the steering wheel.
A skid is caused by 1. Harsh steering. 2. Harsh braking 3. Harsh acceleration, all three according to the conditions, or a combination of these three. Take away the cause, and you will take away the slide/skid. This does of course depend on the time and distance you have in your available, before going through the water. Your speed alone may not help, the strong grip of the steering wheel will help a great deal.
Also imagine one of your front steering wheels going through the water, the other on a slightly better surface. The one in the water may aqua plain, in other words, slide on the top of the water, even if you do it right as above, your speed alone may cause this.
If the steering deviates, when you come out of the water, onto a gripping surface, your vehicle will follow the direction of that steering. By the time you have reacted, you could be off the road , to your left into a wall, or a tree, or people. Even going to the right, head on towards on comers. Not nice either way.
If you can anticipate the above situation happening by looking well ahead to an on coming vehicle, use your mirrors, and try to brake well back from the puddle, even if it is only on the other side of the road.
Wait until the on coming vehicle gets through the puddle before moving forward. This is a bit of advanced thinking for another driver, about something you have realised may well happen. Yet another example of what safe driving is about, anticipation. I am fully aware, much of it depends on the time and distance available
The following is of an actual incident that happened to me. By using the method described above, it really proved it works.
Driving back along the A701 towards Edinburgh, on Thursday 11th January 2006, late morning, with plenty of water about, I had good reason to use the above method in extreme circumstances. My passenger, understandably, shouted, and I had to keep cool. This was a two-way road and I was approaching a cross-roads controlled by traffic lights, Green in favour of myself and the oncoming traffic.
The road climbed and leveled out immediately as I crossed the junction. It was then, and only then, I caught sight of a long curb-side puddle, about 6' wide and I could not avoid it. This was because of a line of on coming vehicles and the 6" curb to my left. I looked ahead to see the road straight, braked as much as I dared to, then I was in it.
I came off everything, and was gripping the Steering wheel very firmly, the screen was showered with water, so I momentarily had no vision. I just had to believe in the above method, I had never had to use it in such deep water. Thank goodness it worked.
The option was hitting a strong curb, or colliding with the on coming vehicles, as the screen cleared I was on my own side of the road, and very thankful for the years of training I had at Hendon, and that includes while an instructor for many years, where I had to use the above method of dealing with surface water.
Read through this method several times, and go and practice only when it is clear and safe. Think about what I have said about dealing with water you cannot avoid, as above, and stick to it. Do not panic, if you hear a wheel skipping, relax, do not take your tight grip away, only when you are on a better surface, out of the puddle.
You can use vehicles in front in the distance, with their extra spray telling you where water lies, you should then plan the possibility of having to use the above, To emphasis it, off all pedals, gripping the steering wheel very tight-relaxing, only when on a better surface.
Spray can block your vision, so when you are about to pass a large vehicle with lots of spray, turn on the windscreen wipers, very fast, to clear the screen before you actually pass them. This is on both a dual-carriage-way coming up behind bigger vehicles, and on a two way roads with similar oncoming vehicles, particularly a line of traffic with several being heavy goods vehicles towards.
Look for the possibility of an impatient motor cyclist, or car driver, coming out of the spray towards you, attempting an overtake. Do not turn the fast wipers off until you have passed them all.
On dual-carriage-ways, stay in the outer lanes as long as you can , use those mirrors, the inside lanes by virtue of many heavy vehicles using them, have nice deep ruts. Water sits in these ruts, and they are usually full of spray. Staying out, keeps you out of the spray, and a lack of vision, also giving you better and earlier vision of forthcoming hazards, particularly where the dual-carriageway bends to the left up ahead.
The wet changes a lot of things and I hope I have helped you to feel safer, that is as long as you stick with the advice above. There will be a lot more in the near future. take good care, and as I said before, slip-sliding away is fun on a skid pan, on the road it could be the last thing you ever do. Enjoy your driving, do not push over the limit, for you, the vehicle, or the weather conditions, live to enjoy it all again.
That is enough for now, don't forget to practice again and again so that it feels natural when it happens for real.
TAKE CARE OUT THER, NOONE ELSE CAN DO IT FOR YOU
DAN MOONIE.
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