My wife started a solo road trip this week. On the second day out she encountered heavy
rain and the van started to hydroplane and fishtail. The cautious and good driver that she is, she pulled over at the
nearest gas station and waited out the storm.
Fortunately, the rain let up quickly and she was back on her way without
any further incidents.
We know that the tires on the van are getting worn, and will
need replacement soon. That is not an inexpensive proposition anymore, because
modern technology dictates that all tires be replaced for best results. Even if we choose not to replace all of
them, at least two should be replaced at a time.
The tire problem reminded me that it is getting to be the
time of year for me to once again publish some safe driving tips that I’ve
learned through the years. These might
very well save your life or the lives of your loved ones, so feel free to
share them.
I have a Youtube
video to share with you, but I want to caution you up front that it is very
graphic. If you don’t care to watch
accidents that obviously resulted in fatalities--no gore is actually shown--then please skip the video and
go right to the tips below.
One thing the video makes very clear is that YOU MUST SLOW
DOWN whenever you drive in wet, snowy or icy conditions. Posted speed limits are intended to be
observed in optimal driving conditions, but most of the vehicles in the video
were being driven way too fast for conditions. On hazardous roads always slow
down at least 10-15 miles per hour, and even more if visibility is poor.
There are other ways you can drive safer in winter
conditions too. For one thing, you
should not use cruise control or drive in the overdrive gear, the one usually
marked with a circled D, when roads are not dry. Downshifting to a lower gear will accomplish two good
things. First, the gear ratio will be
1:1, which means you have much more control of your wheels. You will also have the engine to actually
help you with speed control and braking, so you won’t have to use the foot
brake as much.
Downshifting on steep downgrades will help in the same ways
as on wet pavement. I’ve been on long
6% downgrades where I didn’t ever have to apply any brakes to maintain my
optimum speed. I could hear and feel
the engine hold the speed where I started at the top of the grade. I could also feel the tighter control on
curves in the road on the hill.
In some states it is mandatory that you turn headlights on
whenever you are using your windshield wipers.
It is always a good idea to do that even where it isn’t the law, as it
makes your vehicle more visible to other drivers both oncoming and
following. And don’t use parking
lights, put the headlights on for maximum visibility.
Finally, if you get into foggy or blowing snow conditions
use headlights on low beam only. Using
the high beams will be more likely to decrease forward visibility. If your vehicle is equipped with running
lights on the front bumper that can be turned on independent of headlights, use
them instead and your forward vision will be greatly improved. You still need to slow down however, and if
visibility gets too low, pull off the road completely trying to avoid using the
shoulder. Go into a gas station or other parking area or you might make
yourself a target for other traffic on the road.
Be safe out there this fall and winter…
